White Paper Xerox® FreeFlow® Print Server with Adobe® PDF Print Engine

Executive Summary
The print industry is changing rapidly. Customers are developing  increasingly complex documents and are consistently demanding shorter  turnaround times and greater output consistency. Personalized marketing  communications and higher volumes of shorter print runs increase the need  for files to come into the print shop ready to print with minimal operator  intervention. Both Xerox and Adobe are evolving our solutions to help our  customers stay ahead of the crowd and address their emerging  production requirements. 

Xerox and Adobe have partnered to integrate the Adobe PDF Print Engine  into the FreeFlow Digital Workflow Collection including the FreeFlow Print  Server. This addresses the needs of today’s print professional by enabling   a true end-to-end native Adobe PDF workflow. The FreeFlow Print Server with the new Adobe PDF Print Engine and JDF support drives workflow  consistency and flexibility in a number of ways. First, it processes native  PDF files without conversion to PostScript, maintaining design integrity  without any compromise. It also ensures reliable, consistent printing while  keeping the PDF documents themselves device-independent. Because the  Adobe PDF Print Engine uses a common renderer for previewing and final  output, printers and designers alike can count on reliable  oft proofs.

Current Workflow Challenges
There are a number of challenges facing designers and printers today. At  the top of the list is ensuring that the designer’s creative intent is easily and  reliably produced on a printer. Jobs can include design elements such as  transparencies, mixed color spaces and layers, Customer demands for fast turnaround times and an increased number of short run jobs add further complexity to managing the print production process. There is a need for designers as well as printers to have flexibility in their workflow, allowing jobs to be sent to any number of printers as well as make last minute changes to a print file without having to go back to the source application.