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Printable have just announced an updated version of their VDP solution, FusionPro.
For those who aren't familiar with FusionPro (formerly DataLogics DL Formatter), this is a PDF-based VDP solution that uses an Acrobat plug-in to merge variable elements in a PDF. The plug-in enables Acrobat users to assign variable form elements in a PDF file, define an input data file and business rules for VDP jobs.
FusionPro also enables the creation of VDP templates in QuarkXPress or InDesign (using a FusionPro plug-in to tag the variable frames) where the template is then exported as a PDF and opened into Acrobat for merging of variable-data.
FusionPro offers a selection of VI output formats, including PDF, PostScript, PPML, PPML/VDX, JLYT, VIPP, and VPS.
This new version of FusionPro supports two additional features; text on a curve and drop-shadows for variable text elements.
Printable has not yet fully released support for the current version of Adobe Creative Suite; FusionPro v5.0 is only compatible with Acrobat 7 for Mac, Acrobat 8 for Windows and InDesign CS2 for Mac and Windows. However, they are working on support for Acrobat 8 and InDesign CS3 across all platforms, which is slated for release later this year.
It's interesting to watch Printable's pricing strategy for FusionPro Desktop. Several months ago, Printable slashed their list price from $3,200 to $299, but have now pushed it back up to $599.
Despite the 200% price-hike, FusionPro is still an affordable entry-level VDP solution. It's just unfortunate that Printable are lagging behind the release schedule of Creative Suite, as there is already a large selection of alternate VDP solutions available for CS3.
Posted on Tuesday, 23 October 2007 at 6:02 AM | TrackBack: http://www.veedeepee.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/46
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