Basic concept of the Prinect System
The Prinect Manager is designed as a modular, scalable workflow management system. The concept behind the architecture is that a simple basic configuration can be expanded almost infinitely by adding further components. The individual components are managed in a common user interface - the Prinect Cockpit.
The individual processing steps are performed in the Prinect Manager by so-called "engines". Examples of engines include the Renderer (generation of proofing, CTP or digital printing data), ColorCarver (color management), Central Device Manager (CDM), Imposer, etc.
Prinect Renderer User Interface
The Prinect Renderer engine processes the data prepared for printing for the designated output device:
•for plate imaging (generation of TIFF-B data)
•for proofing and
•for digital printing.
A special high-performance renderer prepares the output data for Labelfire and Primefire digital presses.
For digital printing, the Digital Printing Terminal is available as a user interface for controlling the rendered print jobs. See Digital Printing Terminal.
For plate imaging and proofing, the Prinect Renderer works as a background app without its own user interface. It is also possible to install a separate user interface for controlling the jobs processed by the Prinect Renderer, e.g. on a Cockpit client computer. In this user interface, away from the Cockpit, you can submit the incoming print jobs automatically to the intended output device or manually control the print jobs and, for example, influence the order of output. You can also view detailed information about each print job.
The Prinect Cockpit is the central user interface, making it the "control center" for managing and controlling jobs. As it does not always make sense to operate the Prinect Manager just from one central computer, i.e. the Prinect server, the Prinect Cockpit has been designed as a "client" software. You can install the Cockpit software on several computers (Windows and Macintosh), letting you to operate the Prinect Manager locally at each Cockpit computer.
In other words, you can install the Prinect server in a server room, while you can operate the system from one or more Cockpit clients in a different room.
The Prinect Cockpit gives you direct access to all engines, resources and jobs managed there, as well as to parts of the server's file system. By assigning different permissions for use of the Prinect Cockpit, you can customize the operational features of the Prinect Cockpit to different conditions.
The Prinect Cockpit shows all connected machines in the pressroom and the jobs assigned to them. A list of the most important administrative data and partially completed messages can be called up for all available jobs. The individual steps are clearly shown. As such, users can see exactly which stage a job is at and how far it has been processed at any time. And the best thing is, they can do this from any computer on which a Cockpit is installed without actually having to be on site in the pressroom.