Al-Yamamah Press Establishment: Leading the press Industry via its state-of-the-art pre-press system

Al-Yamamah Press Establishment is one of the leading publishers in Saudi Arabia and in the Arab world. It publishes the daily Arabic newspaper Al-Riyadh and the Arabic weekly magazine Al-Yamamah. It also produces Riyadh Daily, one of the major English language newspapers in the Gulf which prints about 29,000 copies daily.

Al-Yamamah Press Establishment is determined to preserve its leadership position within the industry through continuous development and modernization of its presses and other technical equipment. With this, Al Yamamah has contracted Saudi Systems Corporation (SSC) to install Esko-Graphics' state-of-the-art Electronic Pre-press System: Computer-to-Plate (CtP).

The Workflow
The daily production cycle starts with EskoScan 2636S CopyDot scanner. It is capable of digitizing all types of pre-screened originals such as films, reflection and slides.

All scanned materials go through the Open Prepress Interface (OPI). It is a software and hardware system that is capable of producing low resolution files out of the scanned high resolution ones via the EskoScan 2636S. Since the low resolution images move faster within the network environment, the page setters get to work faster in accomplishing their layout jobs. The high resolution images, on the other hand, will standby in the server until the system calls for their use later to print the final pages.

Then, the rest of the page handling is taken care of automatically by a back-end system called the EskoNet workflow system.

EskoNet page handling is based on bitmaps, allowing post-RIP (Raster Image Processing) operations for ultimate predictability. Automating processes from pagination to imposition and output is the main task for the EskoNet system. This includes pairing pages for newspapers, imposition for commercial prints, plate output for different presses, multiple plate copies and other press specific plate handling are completely automated.

A backup of the EskoNet PagePair is installed in the system. It functions as a proof generator and a web server. Hooked to this backup terminal is an HP 1055 Plotter where a bitmap proof can be produced.

Also part of Eskonet is a software called Ink Preset Data. Its role is to equalize the density of the ink by feeding ink zone data to the press using CIP3 format.

Finally, the pages are ready for plate output using DMX HS Platesetter. The DMX system can easily be linked directly to an existing network workflow of either PCs, Macs or Unix. It handles multiple plate formats and employs a user-friendly interface that demands no computer knowledge.

It uses a fast and easy plate loading system that operates in a daylight environment. It can be equipped with multiple loader stations holding up to 1,500 broadsheets on-line.

It handles multiple plate formats and allows fast re-exposure of one or more separations.

SSC Support
In November 11, 2001, SSC Al- Masdar and Esko-Graphics (Purup-Eskofot) have completed the installation and commissioned the system to Al-Yamamah Press Establishment.

An on-site training has been conducted. The simplicity of the system required only two production staff and one production manager to undergo a three-day training session. Supply materials such as filters, chemicals and plates are generic and are available in the Kingdom.

Even after the project's one-year warranty period, the system has been running swiftly without encountering a major setback in its day-to-day operations. #

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