The Kodak DotShop software plug-in has been developed for setting screen attributes in refined PDFs.
DotShop consists of two components:
- The DotShop Acrobat plug-in—used to apply screening attributes within a refined PDF
- DotShop Composer software—used to create screen instances that can then be applied using the DotShop plug-in software
You must first create screen instances in the DotShop Composer software before they can be applied using the DotShop plug-in. The DotShop Composer software resides only on the Prinergy primary server or on the Prinergy Evo server.
You can use the server as a workstation, but because servers are often in other physical locations, it may be more convenient to install Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection software and access the DotShop Composer software remotely. The Remote Desktop Connection software is a free download from the Microsoft Web site, and is available for both Windows and Apple Macintosh computers. Note that you must have sufficient privileges to log onto the server.
You can use DotShop to specify every attribute of screening, including advanced flexo screening features such as Maxtone and HyperFlex. DotShop can also be used to specify Kodak Harmony software tone reproduction curves for adjusting press dot gain for individual artworks.
The latest versions of DotShop allow you to specify very detailed or very general screen and tone calibration settings. You can select explicit settings for some attributes, or accept the default selection of Use selection from Output Template for other attributes.
DotShop Composer, with only screen angles set
Note: All other settings will be picked up from the process template.
In packaging, tag, and label production, it is common to use many spot colors in addition to CMYK. You may want to have senior operators "lock in" screen angles to be used for spot colors, to avoid operators making manual selections at the time of output, with the potential for error or inconsistency. DotShop provides an automatic method of ensuring that screen angles are correct on final plates. All that is required is to open up the refined PDF in Acrobat, and without selecting any objects, change the default setting that is applied to the entire artwork. This means that you can set screening on an input file in seconds.
Setting the default screen using the Acrobat DotShop plugin
Note: No objects need to be selected in order to set screening for the entire artwork.