Print and the Cloud

Christoph Grunicke, project/sales manager at TraffiC GmbH in Germany, also commented, “With its interactive campaign flow diagramming tools and contemporary, marketing-oriented user interface, Circle provides the perfect way to show your customers the possibilities of cross-media, and gives an image to your vision.”

Circle is not limited to XMPie users, does not require any software download or installation, and is easy to use by both beginners and cross-media experts alike. To help beginners get started quickly, XMPie has equipped Circle with sample campaign flow patterns for unlimited use by users. XMPie also will offer a free, feature-limited edition of Circle for basic campaign sketching, in addition to two premium editions with added capacity and extendibility.

“Our focus on creating a visual language for ‘telling’ the campaign story was driven from realizing, through experience with our customers, the acute need for clarity between brands and their service providers,” said Ranen Goren, VP of product innovation at XMPie. “Through our work with the Xerox Innovation Group and PODi [see sidebar], we leveraged this technology investment and introduced to Circle an extendable knowledge center that will help users view award-winning campaigns as ‘stories’—a valuable asset for expanded learning and practicing of 1:1 multichannel campaigns.”

XMPie Circle 1.0 was made available worldwide following the show.

4 More “Cloudy” Highlights That Brightened drupa

• Hiflex MIS version 2012 takes the complete management information system to the cloud, so that both the firm’s MIS and Webshop entirely operate via the Internet and be installed and executed on a server in a printer’s facility (a “private cloud”), in an external data center (“public cloud”), or at the Hiflex Data Center. It took Hiflex almost three years to develop this new architecture for its existing solutions. Using the cloud will reduce the Total Cost of Ownership as users no longer need to invest in server hardware, facilities, or back-up solutions.

• Introduced in February, paper manufacturer UPM show edits first web/cloud-based Colorectal Service at drupa. The print workflow pilot project is powered by Dalim and managed by GMG’s color-server technology.

• A world first for Screen at drupa was the introduction of a cloud-based variable-data print (VDP) application that simplifies the production of VDP jobs and gives printers an investment-free entry into one of the fastest growing areas of printing. Designers and data owners can collaborate on projects via a standard web browser before the finished file is sent to the print provider (in Screen’s case, Equios user). The service will be launched within the next 10 months, Screen said.

• FFEI launched RealPro ColorCloud, available to Caslon customers. The cost-effective cloud-based color application offers online ICC and Device Link profile creation combined with ink saving via a “pay-as-you-go” pricing model. The solution offers free registration allowing users to create and test profiles with no initial outlay. Ink saving is offered as standard and can be applied in profiles previewing the effect on the user’s own test images, which can be processed in the cloud, downloaded for viewing, and assessed in advance of payment.

Improving Cloud Printing on Demand

At drupa last month, the PODi Printing On Demand Initiative announced a strategic working group consisting of a consortium of industry leaders, including EFI, HP, and Xerox. Its mission: to define how cloud computing will be used to create, prepare, and produce printed work. The group is chaired by Craig White, an HP technologist who describes the effort as “a strategic initiative that will create clarity in how to best utilize the cloud in production workflows.” The initiative’s threefold charter:

1. Identify and prioritize key production applications most likely to benefit from the cloud.
2. Create a reference workflow and architecture for each production application.
3. Define the need for any standards required to enable the reference workflow architectures.