Image servers are typically utilized to repurpose images for use in the various sizes and formats required for different web and print requirements. Helios has come up with a way to make their image server also function as a “proof server.”
By creating preview files of QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign documents, Helios ImageServer 2.5 enables designers and publication production teams to proof jobs earlier in the production workflow. It's not necessary for everyone in the workflow to have access to the same applications, fonts, documents, or images.
Descended from first-generation OPI servers, Helios ImageServer shifts computing-intensive image-conversion processes from the designer's desktop to a centralized server. In addition to the traditional image-placement functions of OPI servers, the Helios Image Server can automatically convert images in the various file formats, color-spaces, and resolutions required for Web or print requirements. It also provides server-based image compression, ICC color management, and color separations.
Document previews are automatically created during the file “Save” process and the properties are set via the Preferences settings. Multipage documents each receive their own preview page.
A catalog company in Europe used Helios' document-preview capability to enable production teams to verify the contents of the 1400+ pages of a fall catalog that features 70,000 products. (Helios: www.helios.de)