RealTimeImage, an Internet infrastructure company that provides imaging products and services for the graphic arts, is showcasing its RealTimeProof solution for Mac OS X at this week’s Macworld New York expo.
“RealTimeProof is a suite of online proofing solutions offering unsurpassed imaging quality for remote soft and hard proofing,” Chris Gulker, vice president of marketing for RTI, told MacCentral. “With RealTimeProof, gigabytes of original production data are securely transferred, reviewed and annotated in full resolution and color fidelity with a Web browser, even over a dial-up connection.”
It requires a Web browser and a free downloadable plug-in. No additional hardware or IT infrastructure reconfiguration is required. Using a Mac or PC, the customer downloads a free plug-in from the RealTimeProof Web site and installs it into his browser. This lets a client to access to the RealTimeProof server and their own private, secure and customizable workspace set up by either a designer, ad agency or prepress house. This workspace represents the numerous projects that the client is currently subscribed to. The workspace is a one-stop access point for complete project portfolios and multilevel administration tools, Gulker said.
An agency, designer or prepress house posts current projects to the site, which automatically alerts all participants via e-mail. The participants can simultaneously view the documents at full resolution, annotate using “sticky notes” and collaborate on images. Email notifications automatically alert all participants to changes with a direct URL link to noted images.
With RealtimeProof, basically you can open and losslessly view gigabit-sized images (PDF, PS, DCS, TIFF, Scitex CT etc.) in a browser, even over 56K lines, he added. RealTimeProof is designed to meet the needs of graphic arts professionals, such as print companies, prepress shops, advertising agencies, designers, photographers and publishers, who need “real-time” turnaround for proofing cycles.
“We’re really excited that the more than 60,000 Mac enthusiasts expected to attend the upcoming Macworld will be able experience the power of RealTimeProof technology utilizing the Mac OS X platform,” Gulker said. “RTI is committed to supporting the designer, creative and ad communities — the original Mac devotees.”
RealTimeProof offers “real-time” communication. Designers and their clients, for instance, can collaboratively view and proof images, rather than wait for a messenger or overnight service to repeatedly send costly, high resolution proofs or disks to numerous locations, Gulker said. He added that it also offers a significant return on investment.
“Collaborating in ‘real-time’ means getting changes made and approved quickly, so design teams can move on to their next jobs,” Gulker said. “It’s a win for productivity and a win for the client who saves time and money. Companies and individual users can employ RealTimeProof systems according to their specific proofing and equipment needs.”
RealTimeImage offers two core solutions: RealTimeProof.com, and RealTimeProof Classic. RealTimeProof.com is RealTimeImage’s online proofing service. Users of this application service provider (ASP) model benefit from RealTimeImage’s centralized database and proofing tools without any IT infrastructure investment, Gulker said. Accessible from any Internet connection RealTimeProof.Com streams gigabytes of image data for instant viewing with all proofing tools and administrative processes provided by RealTimeImage, he added.
RealTimeProof Classic offers the same imaging quality as RealTimeProof.com. However, this application operates on the customer’s existing hardware infrastructure, allowing collaborative proofing throughout the local area network (LAN).