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Automation will be the future of quick printing. Companies such as VistaPrint are showing that you can automate the process for standard printed products and eliminate much of the labor cost. As the printing industry accepts PDF as the de facto file format and races to implement the JDF format, it is becoming obvious that even small printing companies will be able to introduce an automated workflow that can increase profits and provide faster turnaround.
Most quick and small commercial printers are job shops producing custom work. Some printers think that automation will be impossible for them because "each job is different" and "our market is different." Yet those same printers point to Web-based printing companies such as VistaPrint as major threats.
While the images printed onto the paper may be different, there are similarities in many of the jobs sitting in a job shop today. Even with thousands of paper stocks available, most companies inventory and sell a limited number of papers and order special stocks on rare occasions. Certain finish sizes are common for most orders and bindery is usually very similar. Odd size printed pieces are the exception rather than the rule.
So if you are printing the standard sizes on standard papers with standard bindery, you have the ability to automate the print process. Too often, printers spend so much time and energy on the exceptional orders that they overlook the hundreds of standard jobs going through the shop. If a company would organize its workflow around the majority of its jobs, it could start putting in automated processes.
What should a printer do if he or she wants to begin automating tasks to increase production and profits?
- Have a strong production manager who maintains the production standards. To automate, you must do things the same way each time. A production manager is key to assuring the entire organization is focused on moving the standard work through the shop efficiently.
- Organize around functions and not people. An efficient workflow can be destroyed by a weak employee. A prepress worker who doesn't think PDF is a good file format and has to use native applications will cripple a workflow. A salesperson or CSR who thinks they can interrupt the production schedule at any time can keep a workflow from happening. A production manager who can't decide which press is going to produce a job before the day of the press run will add inefficiencies to the organization. You have to have a staff that follows the workflow rules and understands the tools.
- Educate the customers to production standards. Certain tasks take a certain amount of time. Letting customers dictate production schedules where jobs are constantly being bumped and reschedule will make automation impossible. Customers have to know what the parameters of an average order are and what is expected of them. There will always be the need for exceptions, but those special customer needs can be handled another way and carry a much high price, since the job would have a higher value to the customer.
- Have digital standards that the customers follow. A majority of the work produced in many print shops comes in as an electronic file from the customer. Unless the customer follows the workflow rules, the job may require special handling and additional charges will occur. Printers need to have published digital standards for how a customer must create the file that will be submitted to the printer. The sales staff must be able to explain those digital standards. The production manager must assure the digital standards are followed before entering the file into production.
The key to automation success will be in organization, staffing, and training customers to the production standards. That process can start even before the printer has invested in the first automated equipment or software purchase. You can't automate disorganization. If a print company is well organized, then it will be possible to automate the process, increase production efficiencies, and increase profits.
Adobe Keeps Promise
Speaking of automation, Adobe has announced it delivered Acrobat 8.1.1 in October and references to FedEx Kinko's have been removed from the toolbar and drop-down menu of Adobe Reader and the drop-down menu of Adobe Acrobat. The update is available from the Adobe downloads page: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
The first release of the update required users to manually select the online URL, but the update was automated in early November and is now available through Adobe's automatic update manager for users of Adobe Acrobat 8 and Adobe Creative Suite 3.
The move was in response to the strong protest by printers to Adobe distributing the Reader with an automatic link to FedEx Kinko's. FedEx Kinko's will still have a special version of Reader with the link available to its customers, but the company will handle the distribution of that version through its stores and website. The central point in the protest was that Adobe was distributing Reader and it might have looked like an endorsement of FedEx Kinko's over other printing sources.
Adobe has worked quickly to appease its customer base and seems to be repairing any ill will generated by the original release. One positive result of the controversy was that printers became more aware of the penetration of PDF in the print buying community. More printers are now investing in automatic PDF creation programs to help capture the customer's files in a format that is easily printable. The printer who provided the customer with the special driver would be the only printer who could receive the customer's PDF file.
E-Commerce Order Forms Aid Automation
PagePath Technologies announced the addition of SmartForms to its MyOrderDesk program. SmartForms simplifies the print buyer's online ordering experience while delivering as much production detail as needed. A website with SmartForms walks the customer through the ordering process. As the client selects items on the order form, the screen is re-populated with information that is only pertinent to the selections made.
MyOrderDesk is a private-branded solution that combines print-to-Web, Web-to-print, automated proofing, automated pricing, reordering and more. It is added to a printing organization's existing website or used in a website supplied by PagePath. There are no monthly or transaction fees for using the system. More information on MyOrderDesk is available at www.PagePath.com, or by calling 630/689-4111.
More Technology News
Printable Technologies has updated FusionPro VDP Suite, Version 5.0. The latest version delivers new and enhanced template design capabilities to address the needs of the graphic design community for VDP communications.
The VDP program has added variable text on a curve and soft drop-shadow effects. It has also added enhancements to optimize output, including the cross-vendor PPML output format, which improves RIP speeds on select VDP job types. In addition, enhancements to the HP PPML output format allow for improved RIP efficiencies on large record-set compositions. At the same time, new optimized output for the Xeikon Intellistream workflow and improvements to Creo VPS output also deliver on specific customer and partner needs across numerous VDP workflows.
New licenses of FusionPro Desktop 5.0 are offered for $599. Users of previous versions may upgrade for $299 per license. Find more information at www.printable.com or 800/220-1727.
Quark Users Get Independent Website
PlanetQuark.com is now available online as an independent website dedicated to QuarkXPress and other Quark products. When QuarkXPress 7 was released last year, it created a groundswell of renewed interest in Quark's products. The website promotes it is "by Quark users for Quark users."
PlanetQuark.com features daily posts that cover news about Quark products, as well as tips, tutorials, feature articles, bug reports, XTensions, and more. A Job Board collects employment opportunities for QuarkXPress users all across the U.S. Users can subscribe to an RSS feed to have Planet Quark stories delivered directly to their desktops. Active Quark users create the content for Planet Quark.
Enfocus Updates Pitstop Server and Pro
Enfocus has released PitStop Server 4.04 and PitStop Professional 7.22. Both are minor updates for existing users. For more information, visit www.enfocus.com.
Contributing editor John Giles is the owner of The Giles Group, a training and consulting firm specializing in digital file issues. Giles conducts digital audits for quick printers around the country to assure they can accept digital files easily and increase profitability. He also conducts training seminars for printing customers on how to prepare files properly for a commercial printer. Giles also serves technology advisor for CPrint. Contact Giles at 304/552-5363, by e-mail at john@johngiles.com, or visit his website at www.johngiles.com.
author: by John Giles