Software

ONYX Service offers a line of products designed to help keep your business up and running.  Ranging from free web services to VIP care, ONYX offers the right option to make your customers’ lives easier.  ONYX Service options include email support, 24/7 access to web tools and resources, a phone center staffed with a highly experienced Support Crew, and two software maintenance options.
 
Our full line of ONYX Service products now include: ONYX Links, ONYX Plus, ONYX Advantage, and ONYX Premium service options.

The ONYX Links free suite of services is designed to help keep your business up and running.  Subscribing to ONYX Links suite connects you 24/7 to web site downloads for the latest features, printer drivers and profiles; the ONYX Service Web Portal for expert technical information and articles; and ONYX PrintMetryx JobView – a new web-based service designed to help you track printing costs and production trends.  Available mid-October.

The ONYX Plus service is designed to help you solve problems quickly and efficiently through 24/7 web diagnostic tools, articles containing the latest technical information, hotline access to the experts in the ONYX Call Center;  along with all the benefits of ONYX Links.  Available now for customers in N.  America.

The ONYX Advantage product is a simple and cost-effective way for ONYX PosterShop, ONYX ProductionHouse and ONYX PrepEdge software users to keep their software up-to-date.  The ONYX Advantage service provides product upgrades, new printer drivers, automatic disk updates, and a free additional active printer and RIP at purchase – in addition to all the benefits of ONYX Links.  Available now worldwide.  Contact your local reseller for more information on subscribing to this service.

The ONYX Premium suite of services is designed for the ONYX PosterShop, ONYX ProductionHouse and ONYX PrepEdge shop owner who wants to ensure their ONYX Workflow product is always up-to-date with the latest software and printer drivers; and who wants full access to the expert personnel and tools offered by the ONYX Call Center.  It includes all the features of the ONYX Links, ONYX Plus, and ONYX Advantage products.  Available now for customers in N.  America only.

Important Changes – in enhancing our line of ONYX Service products, we are discontinuing the ONYX Support Prime and ONYX Support Plus 6-Month agreement options.  

For more information on purchasing one of these products, contact your local reseller.

ONYX Graphics Inc. has announced the ONYX PrintMetryx Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform of web-based tools designed to give insight to wide-format printing operations. The first two products utilising this new platform will help wide-format print shops better manage their printing costs: ONYX PrintMetryx JobView service, a free, easy to use tool for tracking printing costs; and ONYX PrintMetryx In-House service, a subscription-based service designed to help in-house printing departments save time, reduce costs and improve productivity.

"With this new family of SaaS products, ONYX Graphics expands our portfolio to address the growing need of print providers to have on-demand access to information about their printing operations," said Jeb Hurley, CEO of ONYX Graphics. "Companies are bringing printing in-house to decrease print turnaround time and reduce costs, making accurate reporting of productivity and printing costs especially important."

ONYX PrintMetryx JobView service will be available at no cost with a subscription to ONYX Links service option—plus the latest version of ONYX RIP software version 7.3.2 packages. ONYX PrintMetryx JobView service gives print shop owners and production managers insight into daily printing operations. Each print job contains a thumbnail image, detailed information about the print job, and costs for ink and media.

Shops using ONYX PrintMetryx JobView service can also track production trends such as what is printed each day and which printers and media are used most frequently. Tracking production trends helps ensure that the shop is running efficiently and that materials are available when needed.

ONYX PrintMetryx In-House service is a web-based subscription service that shows the value of in-house printing by delivering proof of production and reports on printing costs. To help production managers save time and money, the ONYX PrintMetryx In-House service streamlines print tracking and reporting, enabling the creation of reports in minutes rather than hours. Visual dashboards quickly display work and cost information, and users can quickly find a job and view the details. Users can also customize reports to display the information they need.

"We started printing our own signs to save money on printing costs," said Jeremy Brown, an ONYX PrintMetryx In-House Service customer. "By using the ONYX PrintMetryx platform, I can see how much a sign costs to print and show management how much we are saving by printing the signs ourselves instead of outsourcing our prints. Since printing is a cost center, the ONYX PrintMetryx platform helps me show the value of doing printing in-house."

ONYX PrintMetryx JobView service and ONYX PrintMetryx In-House service require the new version 7.3.2 of ONYX RIP software (ONYX ProductionHouse, ONYX PosterShop, and ONYX RIPCenter packages).

Wasatch SoftRIP Version 6.6 features the all new Wasatch Tracer that allows users to create contour cut paths directly within SoftRIP. Available with the Contour Cutting Option, this innovative tool improves the cutting workflow, simplifies the cutting production process, and gives users complete control over cut path creation.

Improved Workflow

The Contour Cutting Option in Version 6.6 provides a streamlined cutting workflow so users can spend less time preparing their job and more time printing and cutting it. This improved workflow allows users to select their cutting unit directly from the Print Setup screen. When a cut job is generated, the job is sent directly to the Queues screen where users can quickly and efficiently manage it. With one click, users can print, cancel, delete, or view all the properties for their cut job.


Simplified Production Process

No matter what production process a user employs, the new Contour Cutting Option available in Version 6.6 will simplify it! Whether users are working with a print-cut device, printing on one device and cutting on another, creating a cut path in SoftRIP, or using a cut path created in a third party graphics application, the new cutting workflow streamlines the process to save users time and hassle.


Complete Control

The Wasatch Tracer gives SoftRIP users complete control of the cut path creation process. With the ability to change the background color, set a tolerance level, specify a minimum object size, apply a choke or spread to the cut path, exclude interior paths from being traced, and create a wrapper around the image, users can customize a cut path to work for nearly any situation.

Wasatch SoftRIP is available in the UK and Europe from Tech8

 

On November 15, 2009, ColorGATE Digital Output Solutions GmbH will unveil the completely overhauled Productionserver Version 6.

"Digital large-format printing or screen printing, outdoor production or interior design, pre-printing or fine-art reproduction—regardless of the main production focus, Version 6 offers all printing service providers future-proof solutions for greater productivity, optimum color competence and increased added value," said Thomas Kirschner, managing director, ColorGATE.

Productionserver, the universal production RIP that is already available in the Select, Pro and Ultimate editions, has been upgraded with the addition of the UXT Premium version.

Intelligent resource management provides for a significant increase in productivity. "Production downtime is reduced to an absolute minimum," said Kirschner. "With Productionserver 6, it is possible to process the same volume of work in just one quarter of the time."

An equally important technical innovation in Version 6 is the Ink Saver option. Algorithms for the calculation of the color separation guarantee a substantial reduction in the amount of ink used, particularly for vividly colored production processes. CCM, the Cost Calculation Module, which is already available for Version 5 and later, makes it possible to determine how high the savings will be before you print—right down to the last picoliter.

"Extensive practical testing has confirmed that Ink Saver is able to reduce ink consumption by an average of 15 percent," said Kirschner.

With Version 6, ColorGATE has also expanded its portfolio of stand-alone software packages. As an addition to Proofgate 6, Photogate 6 and Filmgate 6, Plategate 6, available in two versions, covers the inkjet CtP segment, which continues to experience notable growth.

"This is our way of saying thank you to our customers, many of whom have been loyal to us for many years. We want to make a migration to Version 6 as easy as possible to give them the opportunity of working simply more productively with ColorGATE in the future as well," said Kirschner.

 

SA International (SAi) has announced the launch of the online version of Sign Tracker at SGIA 2009 in New Orleans, LA.

During SGIA, SAi and Sign Tracker will team up at booth 1258 to kick off the official launch of Sign Tracker on SIGN.com. Booth visitors can participate in live demos, ask questions, and offer feedback about the recent release of Sign Tracker online.

Created specifically with sign shops in mind, Sign Tracker is a comprehensive online management system that helps shop owners keep track of their day-to-day business operations. Managing customers, creating estimates, tracking inventory, managing projects, and generating sales reports are just a few of the tools that will help make any sign company more efficient and profitable.

Sign Tracker maintains a pay-as-you-go, no commitment pricing structure that is scaled to fit the budget for even the smallest shop. Most importantly, all customers will have a fully-functional package.

"SAi is excited to announce Sign Tracker, a wonderful new online program hosted through SIGN.com,” said Don Feagan, president and COO, SAi. "Sign shops will now have the industry's best online management software right at their fingertips."

"Our goal for Sign Tracker is to provide the most effective and easy to use software, resources and technology in our industry. We will strive to give our best so that our sign shop customers can build strong sign businesses that positively impact their communities," said Joe Arenella, Sign Tracker developer.

SGIA 2009 will be held at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA from October 7 - 9, 2009. SAi will be exhibiting at booth 1258 and featuring Flexi, EnRoute and Sign Tracker.

 

ONYX Graphics, Inc. has announced it has achieved HP Certification of ONYX RIP software to drive the new HP Designjet L25500 printer.

Customers can take advantage of the versatility of the HP Designjet L25500 printer to attain high-quality results with a variety of applications. ONYX RIP software includes profiles for HP's media including recyclable HP Heavy Textile Banner, HP HDPE Reinforced Banner, HP Light Textile Display Banner, HP Photo-Realistic Poster Paper and HP White Satin Poster Paper.

ONYX ProductionHouseTM V7.3.2 software enables automatic, low maintenance printing with proactive alerts and a simple, at-a-glance view of printer status, job status and job accounting data. ONYX ProductionHouse software also offers accessibility to the embedded web server through the user interface.

ONYX ProductionHouse software has achieved HP Professional PANTONE Emulation (HP PPE) certification for the HP Designjet L25500 printer, ensuring customers can realise the printer's impressive media versatility and print quality. HP Professional PANTONE Emulation technology automates the process of colour matching HP printers to various media combinations.

Through the HP RIP Certification Program, HP Designjet L25500 printer owners can be confident that ONYX Graphics—as a Platinum HP Partner—is helping them maximize their investments. HP confirms which RIPs reach a superior level of integration, compatibility and performance with a particular HP printer. The overall level of integration and performance is reflected in the ‘star rating' awarded.

HP Certification of ONYX RIP software on the HP Designjet L25500 printer includes an exhaustive set of tests defined by HP: printing performance, HP Professional PANTONE Emulation, printer calibration using on-board device, HP media support and quality, media flexibility, printer status reporting and job management.

The HP Designjet L25500 printer driver and media profiles are compatible with the following ONYX RIP V7.3.2 software packages: ONYX ProductionHouse, ONYX PosterShop and ONYX GamaPrint Pro. All are available now.