Wide-Format and Print-and-Cut Automation: What Enfocus and callas Are Building

Wide format, signage and print-and-cut work is where a lot of the newest automation is landing. The jobs are often one-offs, the shapes are irregular, and every file needs something extra: grommets, wrapped edges, cut paths, registration marks. That makes this work expensive to prepare by hand and well suited to automation. Looking across recent releases from Enfocus and callas, the direction is clear.

Finishing details, added automatically

Enfocus has spent several PitStop releases on exactly the fiddly preparation that wide-format jobs need:

• Distribute along Path (PitStop 26.03) places objects along irregular shapes, the obvious example being grommet positions on a non-rectangular banner.
• Scale to Fill (PitStop 26.03) scales content to fill a chosen page box, useful for canvas prints with wrapped edges.
• Thin-part detection was extended in PitStop 25.11 to small shapes and areas, not just strokes and rectangles, which matters for anything that will be cut, routed or weeded.
• Structural line optimisation and other cut-line handling improvements arrived in PitStop 25.07.

Each of these replaces a step an operator would otherwise do by eye, and because PitStop Server runs the same Action Lists unattended, they can run inside an automated workflow.

Marks and bleed that adapt to the artwork

callas pdfToolbox 17 tackles two long-standing problems:

• Whitespace detection finds empty areas in a design so registration marks, barcodes or identifiers can be placed where they will not clash with the artwork. For print-and-cut, where cutters rely on those marks, this removes a frequent manual step.
• Bleed for repeating patterns extends tiled designs without breaking the repeat, which is essential for wallpaper, textiles and decor.

We cover the rest of the release in pdfToolbox 17 in production.

Nesting: the biggest lever on material cost

In wide format, the equivalent of ganging is nesting: arranging irregular shapes on a roll or board to waste as little material as possible. Enfocus Griffin focuses on this, and won an award at the EDP Awards at FESPA 2026. callas has also launched pdfNest, a nesting module for software vendors who want to build automated nesting into their own systems.

Nesting affects material cost on every job, which on rigid boards and premium media is significant. Combined with automated preparation, it is often where wide-format automation pays back fastest. For the sheet-fed side of the same idea, see imposition and ganging automation.

Putting it together

At PRINTING United Expo 2026, Enfocus ran a live demonstration that captures the whole idea. A visitor's photograph went through an automated workflow and came out as several finished products, a poster, a magnet and a printed card, using PitStop for file correction, Switch to connect systems and route jobs, Griffin and Phoenix for layout and planning, and Canon printing with Cutwork finishing. One input, minimal data, several products, no manual prepress.

A typical automated wide-format workflow looks like this:

1. Order and artwork arrive from the storefront or MIS with product data attached.
2. Automated preflight checks resolution, size and cut paths against the product.
3. Finishing details are added automatically: bleed, wraps, grommets, marks.
4. Jobs are grouped by media and nested to minimise waste.
5. Print files go to the RIP and cut files to the cutting table, with barcodes linking the two.

Enfocus Switch usually sits in the middle, orchestrating each step and handling the exceptions.

Where to start

Pick your highest-volume wide-format products and look at what operators do to every file before it prints and cuts. Those repeated steps, such as adding marks, wraps or grommets, are usually the quickest wins. If you would like a second opinion on where the time goes, a free discovery call is a good place to begin. Here is what a workflow audit involves.

Sources: Enfocus unveils PitStop 26.03 update (DPS Magazine); What's new in PitStop Server (Enfocus); callas releases pdfToolbox 17 (PDF Association); Enfocus puts print automation in the ring at PRINTING United Expo 2026 (WhatTheyThink); callas at PRINTING United Expo 2026 (WhatTheyThink).