Where's the Money? Software Upgrades

Benjamin Franklin, American printing legend and statesman, is quoted with saying, “Time is money.” It seems that more and more, the statement holds a significant amount of weight, particularly in light of the bleak economy and the fact that many shops have had to lay off or terminate workers just to stay afloat. While everyone seems to have a solution for saving money, and perhaps the business, it is clear that one of the main strategies is saving money by saving time.

In recent years going digital has been one of the ways in which shops could save unimaginable amounts of time in the pressroom. Add in the reduction in make readies and supplies and the savings begin to add up. The next step is for shops to concentrate on software upgrades. Once again, updated software can cut prepress and front end time down by a large margin and also create a more seamless and efficient workflow.

The Front End
As a former designer, estimator and general manager, I know the importance of creating and maintaining a front end that is efficient and productive. Many shops do not see the front end as a profitable area; rather it is a necessary evil. Regardless of what people think, it is vital to any printing business to have a system in place that will process information quickly and accurately, from job ticket to purchase orders, inventory and of course, estimating jobs including the finish work.

Paul Sweeney, developer of Print Management Solutions, saw the need for a comprehensive, workable system that could do everything on the front end at an affordable price.

“I built the system myself after using all the others,” Sweeney said. “Because of my printing background, I know what a job ticket needs to look like.”

It sounds simple but it makes sense. Oftentimes the people who build specialized software programs have little or no experience in the industry. “There is a communication problem between printers and developers,” Sweeney added.

The Print Management Solution package is a system made up of as little as seven or eight external modules. Many companies have upwards of 25-50 modules in place. The systems work well but can be extremely complicated. Sweeney chose to develop his system around Filemaker. “The last 10 companies I talked to or sold to had already been using Filemaker, in one form or another,” Sweeney said.

From there, Sweeney integrated 45 individual databases that work behind the scenes. When a client purchases the system, Sweeney sets up the entire operation from customer information and specifics such as discounts, inventory, internal and external invoicing, estimating, fulfillment, etc. One of the most amazing things about this particular software is that there are no official upgrades. Sweeney takes customer feedback into account and makes routine changes to the system’s server. Customers are not charged for updates.

In the design arena, Adobe is not to be outdone with its upgrades. CS4 boasts improved capabilities for layouts and upgraded compatibility with other software, including the wildly popular Kindle. Adobe is clearly competing with QuarkXpress by offering the added bonuses of immersive content for playback in Flash as well as interactive PDF documents.

The Back End
Software upgrades are much more visible in the back end and have certainly made a monumental and lasting impact on the industry and the way it is headed. One of the most recent additions to the workflow revolution is the Kodak PRINERGY Digital Workflow system. The system assists printers in creating high-quality work in a fraction of the time. Plus a lot of the guesswork is taken out of the equation. The system offers full control with zero-touch automation and is easily adjusted to accommodate various digital presses.