Print Workflow Automation: Simplify Pre-Press Work with the AccurioPro Flux

Are you exhausted from dedicating countless hours to manage your pre-press workflow? Pre-press tasks require significant amount of effort, including but not limited to job management, file preparation, imposition, proofing and printing.

AccurioPro Flux is a revolutionary solution that changes the way we think on how we make prints. Konica Minolta’s AccurioPro Flux software is designed to liberate graphic art users and prepress operators from the tedious pre-press stages, allowing them to focus on more exciting creative processes. With its built-in job management support, state-of-the-art pre-press features, advanced preflight tools, pre-build imposition schemes, easy to use VDP functions with 2D barcode support for personalised printing, as well as the automation and enhanced integration capabilities, operators can finally say goodbye to pre-press strain.

Understanding the issues with manual pre-press workflows

If you own a printing company that specializes in high-quality, fast-turnaround, full-color, print-on-demand digital printing, then you’re absolutely receiving print orders from a vast array of sources. These could include businesses, organizations, government agencies, non-profit organizations and individuals who need printing services. Typically, these sources will supply digital files for printing. However, it could introduce potential file issues as you are unaware of how these digital artworks were created, which can lead to numerous challenges such as transparency issues, image qualities, missing fonts, crop and bleeds marks, stroke and line width, overprint and more. These factors are some of the common challenges for printing outfits, and without the proper tools, it can be difficult to ascertain if the files are suitable for printing or not. Preparing them for print can be time-consuming and arduous, if you do not have the right tools that could immediately detect or identify these problems at the initial stage on the fly. It could ultimately result in expensive reprints, delays, and unhappy customers.

How can automated solutions improve your print workflow?

Having a state-of-the-art workflow solution can improve your print workflow in several ways. For example, it can perform automatic preflight checks on imported or uploaded documents to ensure that they are print-ready that means free of errors due to missing or corrupted elements. Konica Minolta’s AccurioPro Flux software is a comprehensive pre-press workflow solution that brings together various tools and technologies to create an integrated workflow. Some of the key features of AccurioPro Flux include:

• Job submission and management: AccurioPro Flux allows you to receive, manage and register jobs submitted from various sources. You can also create and manage job tickets, assign tasks to specific operator, check and track the progress of each job via Flux work steps using QR codes and monitor job status via a centralised dashboard.
• File preparation: AccurioPro Flux includes powerful tools, such as advanced preflight option, pre-defined imposition schemes, chapters & tabs creation, repeat programming, object tools for creating NCR forms & running numbers, 1D & 2D barcodes, and raster editor. This ensures that you have all the tools that you need right at your fingertips to manage and prepare file-optimized press-ready PDF for any given output device.
• Print Management Feature: AccurioPro Flux allows you to control and manage print jobs effectively. It has Intelligent print functions, including load balancing that allows operator to setup page-split, copy-split and colour-split cluster, for more refined and faster production throughput.

Exploring Konica Minolta’s AccurioPro Flux 

Konica Minolta’s AccurioPro Flux is a workflow automation software. It comes with three different modules: FluxEssential, FluxPremium, and FluxUltimate. Each product is designed to meet specific printing business needs. Let’s take a closer look at each of these products:

Prepress: AccurioPro Flux Essential

AccurioPro Flux Essential is the entry-level version of the software, designed to simplify and automate pre-press workflows for print shops, Print for pay, CRD’s and small and medium commercial printers. It provides comprehensive prepress, automation and print management tools for seamless integration between Konica Minolta Flux sofware and competitors devices via supported Fiery Controller and other selected 3^rd party digital print engines via postscript drivers.

Automation & collaboration: AccurioPro Flux Premium

AccurioPro Flux Premium was built on the Flux Essential based module. Therefore, it contains all the features you can find from Flux Essential. In addition, it enables advance integration, automation and collaboration. Included in this module is the statical report that can be used to analyse order data extracted from Flux Database.

AccurioPro Flux Premium can provide interoperability with those agnostic 3^rd party solutions such as MIS, ERP, as well as with those custom built Web-to-Print B2B and B2C web services as a backend system via API’s and XML.

Web-to-Print: AccurioPro Flux Ultimate

AccurioPro Flux Ultimate is designed for web-to-print environments, providing a comprehensive solution for online ordering, job submission, and pre-press workflows. It includes all the features of the Essential and Premium version, as well as tools for e-commerce integration, template creation, and customisation, and online payment processing.

It offers an online print shop that is easy to use and integrates with the basic workflow modules. This feature allows for comfortable 24/7 online ordering, optimised for commercial printers that provide services to business clients and in-house print shops of public institutions, universities, and corporations.

Integration with other Konica Minolta solutions

The AccurioPro Flux software not only works seamlessly with Konica Minolta’s production printers, like AccurioPress C14000 series with IC-610, AccurioPrint C750i, but it also supports the integration of third-party production printers via controllers. This allows for greater flexibility and interoperability in printing options, so you can choose the digital print equipment that best suits your printing needs.

Transform digitally with Konica Minolta 

Whether you are a printing business or an in-house print room, Konica Minolta’s AccurioPro Flux software provides a range of solutions to meet your needs. With AccurioPro Flux, you can improve your pre-press workflows, simplify your ordering process, and ultimately provide a better experience for your customers.

Konica Minolta also offers a range of other services to help optimise your entire printing workflow, from office printers and production printers to document management solutions. If you need assistance with printing, scanning, or document workflow, we’ve got you covered. Browse our full range of digital solutions now.

Speak with a product specialist to learn more about Konica Minolta’s AccurioPro Flux and how our experts can help you find the best solution for your printing needs.