Print Print Management Management Information Information SystemsSystems

The evolution of printingThe evolution of printing

• Print media has been undergoing an exciting metamorphosis in a new era that will see company’s print systems establish competitive advantage in the niches they choose as their core competencies

• The printing industry is under considerable pressure from electronic media and to improve its environmental profile

• Printers need to respond to the changing needs of the industry by developing products that will help the industry thrive

• Creating a future in print is about more than just saving money or increasing productivity it’s about creating new opportunities

Competitive advantage Competitive advantage through ERPthrough ERP

• As printers embrace systems automation— ranging from online Internet-based ordering to computer-integrated manufacturing—added importance is placed on print management systems that can coordinate the entire plant, from sales through delivery

• As print operations expand their reach into value-added services, such as fulfillment, internet content preparation, and asset management, robust, integrated IT-based systems must be put into action to better control production, inventory and shipments, while linking to front-office planning and control

• Business operations can link in for analysis of employee productivity, equipment utilization, and sales and customer reports

Supporting workflows Supporting workflows for systemsfor systems

• Adobe PDF format

• Submitting print jobs as optimized Adobe PDF files eliminates the issues of dealing with native application files

• Job Definition Format

• The most significant capabilities of JDF can be divided into three principal categories: Its ability to complete every part of the job, from start to finish; its ability to link MIS with production and its ability to perform both of the first two tasks no matter what tools are being utilized

Web-to-printWeb-to-print

• Web-to-print, also known as Web2Print or remote publishing, is a commercial prepress process that bridges the gap between digital content online and commercial print production

• This process allows a print house, a client, and possibly a graphic designer to create, edit, and approve computer-based online templates during the prepress phase

• One very robust Web-to-print process is HIFLEX a Web2Print system and HIFLEX MIS a “print management information system on steroids” because of its advanced functionality and Job Definition Format integration capabilities

• Another popular Web-to-print process is Pageflex a feature-rich software product from Bitstream Inc. that gives print service providers and corporate marketing departments an easy-to-use system to create, deploy, and manage attractive Web-to-print document customization

Prepress systemsPrepress systems

• When a printing press is stopped, it is the result of a major imaging error. Reversed colors, major amounts of missing type or incorrect information may be the typical culprits

• The technological advances over recent years that have transformed newspapers’ prepress and graphics departments include new software and procedures that continuously improve the system

• The Kodak Prinergy Workflow System provides advanced PDF-based workflow processing, in a framework that is modular, scalable and flexible enough to grow with your business volume and complexity

• The Rampage Workflow is a system that consists of Processing instructions that interpret each page individually to facilitate troubleshooting

Digital media flowDigital media flow

• More than most industries, print service providers are affected by the Internet and new technologies

• To stay competitive, printers need to innovate and diversify their offerings to include digital asset management systems and online services

• Digital asset management are the various techniques, and skills that facilitate content preparation for variable data printing jobs

• Effective Variable Data Printng is based on three key elements:

• the physical computing system (the system model) • information structure (the information model)• design configurations for different VDP types (basic VDP models)

ConclusionConclusion

• The Printing industry faces enormous challenges to stay profitable now and in the future

• The companies that don’t evolve into a multi-channel value added organization will continue to struggle and or fail

• It is no longer a business of ink on paper but a service for all media origination from print through web content and beyond

• It is imperative to have a good print management information system in place that links all of the financial, production, sales and human resources together to gain the competitive advantage a printing company needs to prosper