Navigate to a highlight area (like a sky or a smooth gradient). Use the "Info" tool to click on a dot. Ensure that the smallest dot present is above your press's minimum threshold (e.g., if your provider says 2% dots hold, ensure you don't see any 1% dots). Navigate to a shadow area (near 90%). Ensure the dots aren't touching too much.
Unlike a standard PDF viewer, which shows you vector graphics, text, and smooth gradients, a bitmap viewer shows you the actual dots. When you convert a vector file (lines, shapes, text) into a raster file (TIFF or proprietary plate-ready format), the continuous tones are broken down into a grid of pixels. In flexo and offset, those pixels form halftone dots of varying sizes and shapes. bitmap viewer esko
While the name sounds simple, the Esko Bitmap Viewer is a sophisticated raster analysis engine that allows operators to peer inside the very DNA of a print file—the halftone dots. This article provides a deep dive into what the Esko Bitmap Viewer is, why it is critical for flexo and offset packaging, how to use it effectively, and how it integrates into a modern, automated prepress workflow. At its core, the Esko Bitmap Viewer (often referred to as the "Bitmap Viewer" within ArtPro+, PackEdge, or the Automation Engine Pilot) is a specialized tool designed to visualize the rasterized output of a file before it goes to the platesetter or direct-to-plate device. Navigate to a highlight area (like a sky
"The solid areas look OK, but the fine text on the flexible package is unreadable." Bitmap Viewer Diagnosis: Zoom into the text area. You are likely using a conventional dot screen. At the edges of the text, the dots are aliased. Solution: Switch to Hybrid screening (Samba) which keeps text as a solid rim but screens the interior. Navigate to a shadow area (near 90%)
Use the Snapshot feature to save a view (e.g., "3% dot in Cyan.png") for your quality report. If using Automation Engine, you can export a Bitmap Viewer report automatically as part of a Proof of Concept (PoC). Integration with Esko Automation Engine For larger prepress houses, the standalone Bitmap Viewer is a luxury; the integrated one within Esko Automation Engine is a necessity.
After rasterization, click the Bitmap Viewer icon on the toolbar or select View > Bitmap View . The application will load the raster memory.