Software - Workflow

On the Wednesday evening of 2011’s Sign & Digital UK exhibition, many of the industry’s leading companies and commentators assembled for the inaugural Sign & Digital UK Awards ceremony at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.

The category list was ten strong and the winners were decided by a panel of judges from the sign making and digital print media including Brendan Perring (Sign Link), Morwenna Kearns (Output), Abi Ricketts (Large Format Review) and Martin Hinchliffe (Sign Update).

Congratulations were in order for three Clarity Software customers who beat off a very strong field to secure victories, along with some well-deserved recognition from their peers for their outstanding contribution to the industry.

Best Wide Format Printing Company: Hollywood Monster

In 2009, Monster Digital and Hollywood Signs merged to create Hollywood Monster Ltd, which has gone on from strength to strength and is now recognised as one of the most dynamic sign and display manufacturers.

Short listed against Carrick Signs, Hollywood Monster secured the victory from an impressed panel of judges, with their ‘epic’ scale projects such as a 600sqm mesh banner for Chelsea FC’s training ground proving influential in the decision.

Hollywood Monster implemented Clarity shortly after completing the merger and has testified to its contribution to their success over the last two years, with the software helping them grow their business efficiently and confidently.

“We needed a business-wide solution that would work for everyone in the new company, one that all our employees could adopt and use effortlessly to perform their digital print or sign making tasks,” Managing Director Tim Andrews enthused.

Best Sign Company: Signbox

Signbox, a Clarity user since August 2007, specialises in architectural signs and displays to the commercial market, boasting an impressive customer list including Motorola, Deloitte and Tower 42, the tallest building in London.

Sign 2000 provided stiff competition for Signbox, but the Egham based company emerged victorious, with historic projects such as the complex installation of Northern Trust’s elevated sign installation at Canary Wharf contributing to their winning credentials.

Best Textile Printing Project: The Wild Group

One of the most talked about winners this year was The Wild Group, who took the Best Textile Printing Project from under the noses of The Jericho Foundation and Ink Media Solutions.

Having installed Clarity in February 2009, The Wild Group is a renowned manufacturer of yacht and boat sails, with previous commissions including the sole supply of hull and brand sails for the 2004 Olympic Games.

Their winning project was for Twentieth Century Fox, producing a set of printed boat sails for the promotion of their hit movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Congratulations To All Winners

Clarity Software would like to send their congratulations to all the companies who won awards at the event, including Vision Visual Solutions, Photocast Products, Raccoon, Service Graphics, Icon and Gordon Dick (Aggregate Industries).

Last but not least and nominated twice on the night is Sign 2000, who were not to be disappointed as they left the show clutching The Green Award.

Denona, Ltd offers its initial assessment of its new MIS solution from EFI. The software suite includes EFI Monarch, AutoCount and Printflow. Denona also uses Epson SpectroProofer driven by EFI Colorproof XF. According to production manager, Robert Valpotic EFI's MIS system saves the company money, increases productivity and allows Denona to offer customers added value.
 
With services ranging from graphic design to finished product, Denona's workflow is not easy to manage. Valpotic identified estimating as one of the most vulnerable points in the workflow. Faulty manual calculations can quickly erode the bottom line. He recommended a central MIS system for a variety of reasons.
 
"Having everything in one system: estimates and jobs, purchase orders, inventory receipts and material transactions allow you to easily locate information instead of searching through lots of papers, and most importantly it allows you to compare real material and production costs with estimated costs for a job. This is really important for every company. It allows you to identify which types of jobs are most cost effective and most profitable and then build a sales strategy around that", said Valpotic.
 
With 90 employees, located in Croatia's capital city of Zagreb, Denona is proud of its growth over the last 18 years. Valpotic attributed this to staying on top of technology, which allows him to give customers the quality and service they require. Denona produces the full gamut of printed products from books and magazines to posters and leaflets.
 
"Monarch Foundation provides a comprehensive solution for purchasing, inventory, estimating and job management. One of the biggest benefits is the elimination of mistakes from manual calculation. If a customer requests a new estimate for a different quantity, you can make a revision and have a new price in only few seconds which is 100 times faster compared to manual estimate," said Valpotic.
 
"AutoCount gives very precise, real-time shop floor production data, which can help in comparison of press operators, for example. We can also identify bottlenecks associated with waiting for plates, paper, etc.
 
"Printflow improved our scheduler's productivity because it automatically evaluates each job to determine the optimal schedule for each work centre. Printflow optimises the use of employees and equipment, and the best feature is on-time delivery", added Valpotic.
 
Valpotic also praised EFI's Colorproof XF. The combination of the Epson, a spectrophotometer and Colorproof's linearisation capabilities ensure him his colour proofs are 100% accurate, he said.

At Sign & Digital, EskoArtwork announced that it has signed up City and West End Solutions (CWES) as the first UK partner for its i-Cut Suite of Signa and Display workflow solutions.

As the largest wide format reseller in the UK, CWES is ideally positioned to drive sales of Esko’s RIP-, colour- and printer-independent workflow software.

PitStop Connect 10 connects printers and publishers with their customers, ensuring hassle-free file delivery and PDF quality control. By eliminating errors and streamlining the production process, users can save time, cut costs, reduce stress and improve customer satisfaction. New to PitStop Connect 10 is automatic updating of Connectors, secure file transfer and personalized service by using intelligent metadata through enhanced Switch 10 support.
                                     
PitStop Connect 10 allows printers and publishers to easily create and distribute Connectors, i.e. small desktop tools to which customers drag and drop files. It offers a single gateway for file transmission that can be made more predictable using Enfocus’ bulletproof PDF preflighting and correction technology within a Connector. Issues such as missing fonts and low-resolution images are detected, and if possible even corrected automatically.

Customised metadata fields can be set through integration with Switch, and can be used automatically for routing and processing decisions thereafter. Using Connectors significantly reduces job cycle times and costs, and makes file delivery a hassle-free process.

“All too often file delivery causes problems on both the production and creative sides of printing and publishing workflows,” says Elli Cloots, Director of Product Management at Enfocus. “What is needed is efficient communication between all parties, and that is precisely what PitStop Connect 10 delivers. It allows for streamlined delivery of files that will fly through the production process, and enables printers and publishers to cement business relationships with customers.”

PitStop Connect 10 not only benefits printers and publishers, it also makes life easier for creatives. They can save time and enjoy invaluable peace of mind knowing their files comply with the printers’ requirements and will be printed as intended – no more last-minute phone calls to correct errors.

Connectors are free for creatives and can be downloaded straight onto their desktop. Connectors do not require any installation and simply run when required. Those sending files are given immediate feedback when the file has been delivered correctly. For PDF files, the sender can view the preflight report to identify and solve any issues, or see the automated fixes that took place.

What’s new?

With PitStop Connect 10, whenever the printer or publisher changes preflight and delivery settings in a Connector, these settings are automatically updated and distributed to all installed Connectors. This ensures everyone in the delivery chain is working with the correct parameters.

Additionally, PitStop Connect 10 has a smooth interface with the Switch 10 suite of automated workflow solutions from Enfocus. Intelligent metadata fields can be set within the Connector so that customers only have to fill out relevant and personalized information. Once received at the printer or publisher side, files can be quickly and easily sorted, managed and processed. Through Switch and the integration with MIS and ERP systems, it is possible to re-use existing information and maximize efficiency and customer service. [1]

File transfer security has also been improved, using the industry-standard SFTP. PitStop Connect 10 is also compatible with the latest preflight technology and PDF standards. This includes Preflight Profiles and Action Lists, as delivered through Enfocus’ PitStop Pro 10 software, and support for PDF/X-4 for printing and PDF/A for archiving.

“PitStop Connect 10 is all about streamlining the workflow and strengthening the relationship between printers, publishers and creative professionals,” concludes Cloots. “The solution ensures files print exactly as designed, which helps improve turnaround times, increases productivity and ultimately improves customer satisfaction. Creatives win as well, as they can relax knowing their files are error free and print ready.”

PitStop Connect 10 will be available in the second quarter of 2011 from www.enfocus.com.

[1] Available from Switch 10, update 1

Enfocus announces Switch 10, the latest version of its suite of workflow software solutions that automate repetitive tasks, allowing printing and publishing professionals to focus on creativity and adding value to their businesses. The new version gives printers, publishers and ad agencies exploring and adding new revenue streams - as well as anyone interested in higher overall efficiency across departments - the simplest yet most robust automation backbone for their organisation.
          
New and enhanced features within Switch 10 will give publishers more robust automation, greater depths of data security, and the ability to extract more value from existing information sources and third-party tools. Switch automation software comes in three versions, depending on users' needs: LightSwitch for smaller publishers, printers or ad agencies; FullSwitch for larger customers seeking greater integration with third-party applications; and PowerSwitch for more complex graphic arts environments.
 
IT departments provide input for wider Switch implementation at customer sites

One of the key elements of Switch 10 development, according to Elli Cloots, Director of Product Management at Enfocus, was the input of Switch customers' IT departments. Many publishers' production and IT personnel have been working together to move Switch into a more over-arching role in their entire operation, as both are recognising the value it brings in connecting with third party programs, including the companies' own DAM and MIS systems, with simple, visual workload management and easy modification of all processes for more efficient automation across all processes.
 
"When Switch is at the heart of your company, you're looking for continuity, predictability and security, and that's exactly what we want to deliver with Switch 10," says Cloots. "We didn't stop there, though. Users will also be able to save valuable time and money through the seamless integration of Switch 10 with third-party business software and databases."
 
Enfocus Switch 10 Highlights
 
To automate with confidence, Switch 10 includes:

• Workload visualiser: continually tracks whether network loads, file volumes and other critical performance parameters remain within workable limits. The tool informs you of any risk to system overload by means of a simple indicator. Switch also provides more advanced monitoring tools to find the reason for the warning.
• Optimised processing: an improved processing engine enabling Switch 10 to handle many simultaneous processes independently of each other. A problem arising with one process will not affect the others.

Enhanced data security is provided through:

• Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP): this is integrated within Switch 10 to ensure that files are sent and received safely over the Internet.
• SwitchProxy module: operations and IT continuity is assured; clients can always deliver to a publisher's server, even if it is being maintained or updated, through a proxy server. This separate module is available for FullSwitch and PowerSwitch users only, as an option.

Users can gain more value from existing information sources and tools:

• Database Connector Module: Switch can automatically use relevant information from other business software such as MIS and ERP systems. In Switch 10, integration is even easier through a specific module (optional). Available for PowerSwitch users only upon release of Switch 10 update 1.
• Third-party configurators easier to manage: Switch users can update a plug-in as soon as a new version is published on the Crossroads website. Available for FullSwitch and PowerSwitch users only.

Improve Customer Service with SwitchClient

Further enhancements in Switch 10 (FullSwitch and PowerSwitch only) are improved job filtering, sorting and locking via a new graphic user interface in the desktop SwitchClient collaboration tool, which makes life easier for operators. Customers benefit from an easy and customised interface when submitting files, thanks to the ability to use, and interact with, metadata fields.
 
Availability

The Switch 10 product family will be available from www.enfocus.com in the 2nd quarter of 2011.

Enfocus, a leader in quality control and automation software, is pleased to announce that it will showcase its cutting-edge Switch automation technology and famed PitStop family of quality control products at Enfocus booth 2032 at On Demand 2011, March 22-24 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
 
Enfocus executives will be available to provide individualised demonstrations of the latest versions of its modular, powerhouse automation solution, Switch; and new PitStop Connect solution.
 
In addition, Enfocus Switch will be featured in the Publishing Automation: Latest Tools and Technologies session being held March 23, at 2 pm, in Room 146.
 
Enfocus Switch Automation Platform

Enfocus' state-of-the-art, modular Switch solution lets users automate repetitive tasks, thereby standardizing their work and reducing errors. Switch offers an easy-to-use visual interface to automate processes using simple drag-and-drop, and allows users to easily integrate with other third-party applications.
 
Switch 09, Update 2  - This latest update of the Switch automation software suite includes a new tool for routing Enfocus Certified PDF files, depending on their preflight status. The Switch Update also adds compatibility with the newest features in PitStop Server 10, which was released in October. PitStop Server 10 users can now create Switch flows to not only preflight files, but to also automate transparency flattening - with or without preflighting. Switch 09 Update 2 also adds four new configurators - for solutions from Dynagram, Elpical, ColorLogic and Axaio - and updates existing configurators.
 
Enfocus PitStop Quality Control Family

Enfocus' 2010 breakthrough tool makes communication between designers and production or publishing partners easy.
 
PitStop Connect lets printers and publishers create Connectors to deliver files directly into Switch via an FTP server, including metadata. It also allows them to incorporate Enfocus' bulletproof PDF preflighting and correction technologies to receive PDFs that meet their requirements.
 
Printers and publishers can distribute Connectors -- without incurring additional costs -- to as many creative professionals as needed, either via an FTP site or by posting it on a website. The no-installation-necessary Connectors are free to the creative professional, who just drops completed files on the Connector icon for automatic preflight and delivery according to the printer or publisher's specifications. Files are delivered to the printers' FTP or right into Switch.
 
New in PitStop Connect 09, Update 1
This first update to PitStop Connect 09 allows updating Connectors and live feedback during operations, and is free to all existing PitStop Connect users.
 
Enfocus PitStop Pro, Update 1
PitStop Pro has long been recognized for its many PDF editing features and user-friendly design, enabling easy management and customization of presets and tools. The feedback Enfocus gathers as part of its 'You first' commitment to customers contributed to the further expansion of these features in PitStop Pro 10, which was introduced in September 2010. Update 1 offers compatibility with the latest Adobe® Acrobat® X Standard and Pro. It also introduces compatibility with the latest PDF/X-4:2010 and PDF/A ISO standards.