Software - Web-to-print

Gerlinde Williams has been waiting a long time for a graphic arts management information system. “I’ve been wanting this for 10 years,” says Williams, administrator of Central Printing for the State of Oklahoma. After putting up with an internally created job ticketing and billing program for years (with a flawed estimating function), her 22-employee print and mail operation got its big break when the IT department decided not to continue supporting the old program. She immediately thought of Avanti Computer Systems, having seen the Canadian company’s exhibits at in-plant conferences. Avanti won the bid and is in the process of installing its Graphic Arts Management

I WAS amazed to learn that only 42 percent of in-plants have shop management software. I then got down from my high horse and remembered the not-so-distant past when the shop that I manage was part of that statistic. Like many small in-plants we had a homegrown system that relied upon Microsoft Excel, carbonless forms, chalkboards and the memory of our employees. While it sufficed for years, the two-day drudgery of generating the end-of-the-month chargeback reports for our controller’s office was reason alone for me to begin investigating management information systems (MIS), knowing in the back of my mind that we couldn’t afford

Printable Technologies, a provider of Web to Print workflow and variable data printing (VDP) solutions, has presented Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley, in Kansas City, free copies of its FusionPro Desktop VDP solution. The donation, valued at nearly $10,000, will supply a class of 24 students and an instructor. MCC-Penn Valley is the third educational institution to receive such a donation from Printable. FusionPro Desktop offers workflow templates, guides, and wizards that allow novice users to learn the application quickly. MCC-Penn Valley offers a 21-credit Digital Prepress Technician Certificate. “It is gratifying to see FusionPro Desktop used as a training tool in advanced prepress courses,” said Coleman

The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has implemented Avanti’s Print MIS software to manage its Washington, D.C.-based printing operation.  “Avanti has a great deal of expertise in helping government print facilities streamline their workflow and provide added value to their customers,” says Patrick Bolan, president and CEO of Avanti Computer Systems. “We are excited to be involved in helping the GPO take their operation to the next level.”  The U.S. Government Printing Office is the Federal Government’s primary centralized resource for gathering, cataloging, producing, providing, authenticating, and preserving published U.S. Government information in all its forms. GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of hundreds

EFI hosted a half-day seminar in New York City specifically geared toward in-plants. The goal was to show them how a Web-to-print workflow in the form of a digital storefront can make their in-plants stronger by making it easier for customers to work with them. (See a video of this seminar in the Video section of our home page.) Held in an office overlooking Times Square, the seminar also stressed how the data collected in the job submission process can be integrated with an MIS system to let in-plants evaluate jobs and give customers personalized feedback. To illustrate how a digital storefront can benefit an in-plant,

EFI held a seminar for in-plants in New York City to demonstrate how online job submission can strengthen their shops and make it easier for customers to work with them.

Printable Technologies has created the position of executive vice president of technology and appointed Josh Roach to that role. Roach has had an extensive career focused on large-scale software development with such companies as Intuit, HNC Software and others. The appointment comes on the heels of Printable’s release of the FusionPro VDP Suite, Version 4.1. Available as a free upgrade to current FusionPro 4.0 users, FusionPro 4.1 delivers a variety of new and enhanced features that make the design and composition of variable data documents faster and easier.

A few weeks ago, EFI hosted a half-day seminar for in-plants in an office overlooking Times Square. IPG was there and has just produced a video featuring highlights of the event (www.ipgonline.com/video/video.bsp?sid=47520&var=video). The seminar’s goal was to show in-plants how a Web-to-print workflow in the form of a digital storefront can make their in-plants stronger by making it easier for customers to work with them. The seminar also stressed how the data collected in the job submission process can be integrated with an MIS system to let in-plants evaluate jobs and give customers personalized feedback. To illustrate how a digital storefront can benefit

Printable Technologies and Pace Systems Group have integrated the ePace print management system with the Printable PrintOne Web to Print solution. Utilizing Printable Technologies’ Web Services and XML Data Feeds, the integrated solution provides an end-to-end online print procurement and production workflow leveraging each system’s full range of functionality.

In-Plant Graphics has redesigned its Web site, unveiling a host of new features to keep readers informed about the printing industry. In addition to links to current stories, the new site (www.ipgonline.com) provides access to relevant articles from other graphic arts magazines, as well as up-to-the-minute industry news from a number of sources. Access to an online graphic arts book store makes it easy to browse and buy titles like “Re-energize Your Printing Business” and “Managing Print Production.” A video screen on the home page lets visitors select and watch videos from in-plant conferences and in-plant tours. A brand new video highlighting the