Adobe PDF Print Engine 4 for next generation print

Print Solutions

Adobe has announced the availability of the fourth version of Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE 4), the high speed, high fidelity print platform used by leading print equipment manufacturers, and running in more than 150,000 print operations around the world. Today, hundreds of different products are powered by APPE – from digital production presses and label presses, to wide format inkjet printers, to platesetters for traditional printing (offset/flexo/gravure).

APPE 4 will deliver new performance efficiencies and colour features and will enable printers to increase workflow efficiency and capitalise on the profit potential of new innovations.

Adobe has worked to advance new market segments, partnering with leading manufacturers of digital presses, wide format printers and digital front ends (DFEs).

New in Adobe PDF Print Engine 4

Tile Parallel Processing (TPP) brings the efficiencies of the Mercury RIP Architecture to wide format printing. TPP accelerates system performance by breaking up large assets, like a poster, retail sign or architectural drawing, into smaller sections, each of which is assigned to a separate instance of APPE, running on a separate CPU core. By processing multiple tiles in parallel, then seamlessly reassembling them, TPP significantly reduces overall rendering time.

Performance is now 10 times faster for graphics consisting of a pattern, which repeats over an extended area.

Continuous shading effects are more fluid than ever. New algorithms developed by Adobe colour scientists smooth out long gradient blends, especially at inflection points where hue can shift abruptly.

Spot colour handling has been expanded. Up to 127 colour channels can now be specified and used in any given region.

For designers, version 4 offers the assurance that their artistic vision will be faithfully reproduced on press, with no unwanted surprises. APPE 4 shares the same core technologies used in Adobe InDesign CC, Illustrator CC, Photoshop CC and Acrobat DC, and has been optimised for the latest updates. This guarantees reliability across proofing cycles and reduces the need for last-minute fixes.

PDF Print Engine 4 has been distributed to Adobe’s print partners. It will become available to printers throughout 2016.