PitStop Video Series
PitStop 2019 will be released soon. With it comes quite a few new features. There are a handful of heavy hitters in that list. We’ve made videos to explain. Let’s take a look at those.
Rasterize Selection
Often, there is complex vector art in a PDF page. The way that prepress addresses this is to rasterize the page. Doing so can lead to some surprises, or at a minimum, pixelated text. There is a better way. Rasterize only the problematic elements. You will be able to do that soon.
Object Browser
PitStop Pro has always been a powerful PDF editor. Just like any application, you have to select an element to manipulate it. PDF files continue to be mine fields for users trying to dig through layers and overlapped objects. This will get easier. The Object Browser displays all of the objects on a PDF page in a selectable list view.
Barcode verification
Checking for the existence of a barcode and verifying that it contains an intended value in an automated way is a valuable production tool to have. Is there a barcode of type XYZ? Does it have value 123? There is a smart preflight coming for that.
Show objects outside of the visible page
PDF files contain a lot more objects or larger objects than are intended to print. These elements can lead to problems for RIPs or just plain give prepress headaches. Users will manipulate the page geometry to show these elements. There is a function coming that will expand the page boxes and “show all” with the click of a button.
Digital printer preflight
Digital printing is all about click charges. There are multi-colored elements lurking in PDF files that will cause what should print as one click black to print in four click CMYK. A standard preflight profile is coming that will help cure that particular production ailment.
Dashboard for PitStop Server
PitStop Pro 2018 introduced an opt-in dashboard for users to get metrics surrounding the way they use PitStop Pro. It helps production and management take count of common errors, types of fixes, number of files processed and much more. Forthcoming is the same feature for PitStop Server.
“This new release contains some great new functionality that we have been working towards over the last few years. It’s great to finally be able to release it to customers so they can benefit from it. Initial feedback from customers that have tested the new version has been tremendous and we’ve been able to refine some of the features with their real-world feedback. I can’t wait for the webinars to demonstrate the new version to a wider audience.”
The full list of new features in PitStop 2019 is available and comparable to previous versions.