CASE STUDY
Enfocus Switch: Automated Proofing & File Intake
Eliminated manual file sorting; dramatically reduced proofing turnaround time
Industry: Commercial Printing / Prepress Automation
Technology: Enfocus Switch, Scripting, Email Integration
OVERVIEW
Before this project, incoming print-ready files arrived through a variety of channels: email attachments, FTP drops, and shared folders, with no consistent handling process. Sometimes not even print ready. Operators manually sorted files, routed proofs to customers, and tracked approvals by email. Mistakes were frequent and turnaround was slow, inconsistent, and took time to process.
THE CHALLENGE
The core challenge was creating a reliable, touchless pipeline that could receive files from multiple sources, enforce preflight rules, generate customer-facing proofs automatically, and route everything to the right place. All without requiring constant human oversight.
THE SOLUTION
Enfocus Switch was deployed as the backbone of a fully automated file intake and proofing workflow. A connector in our MIS was created and would submit the files from the order’s folder. As files arrived, Switch applied preflight profiles using Enfocus PitStop to validate against press specifications. Files that passed were automatically soft-proofed and emailed to the corresponding customer for approval using Enfocus Review. Once reviewed, the MIS was flagged that the proof had been approved or rejected. Switch variables and scripting were used to dynamically name files, log job data, and submit the proof file and a final print file to the order’s corresponding folders. The result was a near-zero-touch intake and proofing pipeline that ran continuously.
RESULTS
What it delivered
- Proof delivery time reduced from hours to minutes after file receipt
- Preflight catch rate increased, reducing press errors and reruns
- Operators freed to focus on exception handling rather than routine file movement
- System scalability allowed new job types and customers to be onboarded without workflow redesign
REFLECTION
This project demonstrated the power of workflow automation in prepress environments. Creating the full project was a challenge integrating the results with the MIS and getting the files into our file system. As the pieces were finalized, it was great to see jobs run though and pass each module without issue.
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