Automation and Management Information Systems are regular topics of discussion in graphics industries companies because of shorter turnaround times and run lengths. The less a job needs to be touched, the better the company’s economies.
In their 2014 survey for their ‘State of the Industry Report’, Epicomm (the U.S.-based graphic communication industry association) asked companies “What actions will be most important to your company’s success over the next 2 -3 years?” The number one response, listed by 80% of respondents, was “Be as lean as possible. Do more with less. Streamline workflow; reduce steps, touches”.
Large companies can undertake full-scale projects and investments to look at systems designed to help with process automation – manufacturing with minimal operator time, and process integration – finding ways to connect the different steps in workflow to minimize touches.
But smaller and medium sized shops should not be of the opinion that automation projects are just for larger companies. InfoTrends, the global market research and strategic consultancy for graphics industries, recently highlighted the growth of market for what they termed ‘Compact Workflows’. These workflows were defined as those tools supporting online ordering, print management, production workflow, output management, and reporting. They are generally designed to support a higher volume of low run-length jobs and are an economic alternative to major vendors’ sometimes-all-encompassing systems.
Automation and productivity enhancements, even basic ones, both in business processes and production processes, help increase our efficiency, can help us do more with less, and can even help make happier workers.
Cloud
A buzzword just a few short years ago, the ‘Cloud’ is a term that applies to networked computers, including the Internet. Not any one specific infrastructure, the Cloud is a combination of various hardware and software arrangements, making it faster and more economical to store, distribute and reuse data.
Cloud application services, or SaaS (Software as a Service), allow people to subscribe to software tools on demand, paying for time and usage, while someone else is responsible for ‘hosting’ the application, maintenance and upgrades. Customers access the app through a browser and an Internet connection.
The benefits of Cloud-based tools are appealing – there are cost advantages, through reduced capital investments, and their associated risks, as well as outsourcing of selected functions, and the benefits of choice and convenience.
Importantly, users also need to balance the benefits of ease of this use and lower cost with potential concerns. One is data security – having potentially sensitive client data outside their immediate control. Another is reliability; Internet service providers can have service issues, as well, popular Cloud based solutions, from mainstream companies such as Adobe, Amazon, Dropbox, Evernote, Microsoft and others, have all suffered recent temporary outages.
Also, the move from a capital expenditure to an operating expenditure (‘CapEx to OpEx’) can be significant for some companies. A capital expenditure is an investment, an asset, which is owned and can be depreciated over time. It can offer tax advantages. An operating expenditure, however, directly reduces owner or shareholder equity.
API Economy
An API (Application Programming Interface) is one way that software from different vendors can interact and exchange data and information. An API can be thought of as a ‘contract’ between one application and another, each running on different servers. It allows the information to be exchanged in a predetermined, structured format, using technologies such as XML (Extensible Markup Language). Importantly, this structure can stay consistent, even as the visual appearance of the website, or application, is updated.
Software companies generally provide APIs so that other software developers can design products that can use their services. This helps create a network effect, the more people that can easily use the data, the more people will, and this helps drive increased demand for all the connected services. APIs can create new business opportunities – they make data consumable and reusable, and are what connects different Cloud applications.
Business Workflows
There are numerous cloud-based productivity tools to help with daily administration of work – any company’s work. Project management tools, such as Basecamp (US $29 monthly for a company, with unlimited users or US $79 a month to include clients), and Jira (a tiered service, starting at US $10 a month for up to 10 users) are two popular choices.
While popular, these tools are specialized for Project Management; for daily Production Management, there are more task-focused tools available.
Podio promotes itself as a ‘customizable work management solution’. With over one million users, it is designed to support group collaboration. The goal is to assign production tasks, and provide an online space to collaborate – ask questions, and track completion, in one place. Podio also offers integration with other popular Cloud technologies, such as Dropbox and Google Drive.
Trello is focused on task management, and is a common tool to apply a ‘gtd’ philosophy (David Allen’s celebrated ‘Getting Things Done’). Trello has caught on, with over 10 million users adopting it for organizing things in lists, and moving them through different stages. For workgroups it’s a useful tool to replace ‘Post It’ notes, emails, and tracking spreadsheets.
Trello starts with a board which is a web page containing lists laid out horizontally on the page, to give a top level view of a project (or client). Items within the lists are called cards, and are dragged and dropped onto other lists, or reordered within their list. The cards can contain checklists, images, attachments, deadline dates, coloured labels, and discussion notes from others who share and collaborate on the board.
Other functions can be added (called ‘Power-Ups’). Integration is offered for other Cloud tools including Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive, Salesforce, and others. For more control and improved team access, there is ‘Trello Business Class’. The basic version is free, Business Class is US $8.33 per user per month, and Enterprise Class is $20.83 per user per month.
For recording and tracking people’s time on projects and tasks, Harvest is a tool that lets people easily record billable and non-billable hours. It can be used for invoicing and payments, as well as tracking expenses related to projects. It offers clear, easy to generate and share, reports on project budgets – showing forecasts vs. actuals. The solution also has a set of different APIs for their modules, and ties in with a wide variety of other Cloud-based business solutions.
Harvest states their tools are used by over 40,000 businesses globally. Another tiered service, Harvest, is free for one user with limited clients and projects. From there, costs are US $10 – $12 per month, depending on the tier.
Cloud tools offer efficiencies and add value, however one additional concern for managers using them is that the data they need to use is now in different places.
Business Process Automation
So how can someone, a non-developer, automate and integrate Cloud-based solutions that they don’t have any direct level access to?
Zapier (rhymes with ‘happier’) is one service designed to help people connect a variety of different Cloud business tools. It can automate repetitive tasks and the transfer of business data. It is a fee-based subscription service; an initial account is free, with increasing tiered pricing for selective functionality, and access to designated ‘premium’ apps.
IFTTT is another option, however it is generally focused more on home consumer use, helping automate news alerts, social media, shopping, and more.
Both are built around the concept of conditional logic – if / then statements – meaning if some specific thing happens, then do this other thing. The initial thing happening is a trigger, and the outcome is an event. For example, a rule that says “if I get an email, then save the attachments to a Dropbox folder”. These rules can also be used in groups; in our example we could also include another event, “and then create a Trello card”.
Filters can also be added, to help control automation. From our example they could be used to process emails from a specific client into a certain folder. The rule only gets activated when certain conditions are met.
In Zapier these conditional logic rules are called ‘Zaps’, and are straightforward to set up. There is a library of Zaps that other people have created, or you can build your own, and the company continually develops integrations into additional Cloud services.
Like most automation systems, Zapier can be set up to run manually, when activated, or automatically on a timer. Either way, it is controlled so it will only act (‘fire’) once per event, so you won’t get two copies of the same attachment. Timing in Zapier is either manual, or from 5 to 15 min., depending on service tier.
Production Workflows Automation
Within applications there are a variety of actions and macros available; these are ways to capture a repetitive sequence of steps, for example resizing and resaving images into a desired format. In some cases these actions can also be ‘published’ out as ‘mini apps’, and run on a desktop (for example Photoshop Droplets).
Adobe Scripting takes it a bit further and offers the ability to apply conditional logic to their actions, and use them in sequences. Super Export.jsx is ‘script’ for Photoshop that can export specially named layers to different formats (jpg, png…). It can also apply sizing, cropping, and tagging.
The Mac OS itself includes a tool called ‘Automator’ which lets users build their own custom workflows. For example batch resize images, extract pages from a PDF file, create contact sheets, or filter files by type.
Still on the Mac, AppleScript has long been a favourite tool for those automating the actions of the OS, and many applications. It can be used to help with copying files, backup folders, or use conditional logic to help build projects.
Similar tools are available for the PC, including ‘Actions’ and ‘AutoIt’.
Vendors such as efi, Esko and Kodak have solutions like ‘JobFlow’, ‘Automation Engine’, and ‘Rules Based Automation’, all which take varying approaches, but have similar goals, improving the process of building automation for graphics companies.
There are other options, such as Switch by Enfocus Software, promoted as “the automation solutions for any business and budget”. Enfocus takes a modular approach with Switch, offering functionality in different pieces, as perpetual licenses; customers buy pieces they need, and expand as required.
There are seven modules, the basic pieces being the ‘Switch Core Engine’ and the ‘Configurator Module’. The Engine supports receiving, sorting, routing and tracking of files, and the Configurator allows it to work with third party applications, such as those in Adobe’s Creative Cloud, to further process files for production. Other Switch Modules offers support for Web Services, working with Metadata, a Scripting Module, and others.
Released summer 2015, Switch version 13 has updates that included faster speed, and also introduced the Enfocus Appstore where people can buy subscription licenses for applications to address specific workflow issues in your shop.
For example, ‘LFP PDF Slicer’ is a plug-in that will tile or panel large dimension pdfs into the correct sized pieces for your large format printer (it requires Enfocus PitStop Server, a separate app, as well).
Pricing varies depending on the modules selected; a basic set up starts at approximately CDN $5,000, with a complete set up approximately CDN $24,000.
Racad Tech, Inc., based in Toronto, ON, is a developer of printshop-related technologies, starting in 2001 with one of the original Web-to-Print solutions, ‘www.goepower.com’. Reuben Quesus, Director of Business Development for Racad, explains that its client base covers the spectrum from “brokers to trade printers, and everything in between”.
Recently it has “taken apart” its main solution to offer it as “plug-ins for WordPress”, which are used with a client’s server. The difference from other WordPress e-commerce solutions is support for printing company related needs, such as selecting different stocks, colours, quantities, and the impact on pricing.
Reuben explains that Racad’s modular plug-in approach offers its clients benefits because a plug-in “develops at a phenomenal pace vs. a full solution, which has to be developed to cooperate with multiple levels of protocols [communication rules]”, and as a result “the speed to market is much faster”.
Another tool getting attention is its ‘uDraw’ HTML5-enabled online design software. It offers end users the ability to create and edit documents for use in marketing and promotional materials. Using a modern browser, customers can change text fonts, size and colours, as well as add and manipulate images, and more.
uDraw is designed to be embedded with WordPress sites, and offers printers looking to expand their web-to-print offering an alternative to more elaborate solutions such as Chili Publish.
Prices very depending on modules and configurations, prices for the WordPress essentials, variable data, and pricing matrix option with online quoting range from CDN $150 – $200 per month, see www.racadtech.com for more information.
MIS
After automation, capturing that data in a centralized space, and helping turn it into useful information, is a logical next business step.
At its core an MIS (Management Information System) works by keeping information in a relational database. For those not requiring larger scale systems, readily available database tools include Microsoft Access (Windows only) and FileMaker (Mac and Windows).
Access
Microsoft’s Access offers a graphical user interface (GUI), as well as software development tools. Benefits are its relative low cost (US $110 per seat), and that the data is portable and transferable. While Access stores data in its own format, it will readily exchange information with other applications and databases. It is Windows only, uses Visual Basic, and generally requires some foundational programming and database architecture knowledge to use effectively.
FileMaker
With roots going back to the 1980’s and DOS, FileMaker is a relational database solution that has been ubiquitous in graphics industries for over twenty years. Part of this success is its relative ease of use and fairly economical licensing. It’s cross platform, and runs on either Mac or PC.
FileMaker also has a graphical interface which supports ‘point and click’ scripting to allow users to automate without having programming expertise. Compared to Access, it is easier to publish a secure database online. FileMaker includes all the components to build a web-based docket or MIS, with no coding knowledge required: a database, PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), and support for third party HTML editors.
Another key advantage for FileMaker is their long established support for ‘plug-ins’, providing access for third parties that have extended the application’s use. It has evolved into solutions with dedicated developers and a robust user community. Third party companies such as BARD Business Solutions, and others, have built economical solutions tailored to creative agencies, publishers, and printers.
Version 15 of FileMaker, released in May, has new licensing models. Individual perpetual licenses start at CDN $399 ($670 for Pro version), and businesses can purchase team licenses, designed to support groups using multiple devices. Tiers are in blocks of 5; customers have the option of annual licenses, which includes updates and upgrades, or a perpetual license. For example, a team of 5 is CDN $1,085 annually or CDN $3,254 for an outright purchase of license.
However FileMaker’s relative simplicity, and relative lack of flexibility, can eventually become a limitation. As a company’s needs grow and evolve, the organization may reach the point where an investment in a ‘true’ enterprise level MIS or Web-to-Print system is required.
JDF in the Cloud?
JDF (Job Definition Format) was originally announced at drupa 2000, and since that time a whole ecosystem has been built around the specification. A success, it has helped streamline imposition, processing and finishing, and more, connecting a printer’s ‘islands of automation’.
JDF was designed to hold all the data about a job in a file and send it everywhere in a workflow. However in 2016, with interconnectivity and online applications, this approach is being revisited.
At drupa 2016, CIP4 (The International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press, and Postpress Organization) will be showcasing XJDF, a redesign of JDF, with an updated and improved alignment with XML. This could allow for faster and more efficient implementation of JDF workflows by allowing the use of industry standard XML tools. It is an alternative to, and not a replacement for, JDF. CIP4 will release twin versions of JDF and XJDF in parallel, built to a common master specification.
Conclusion
Some of these solutions discussed appeal to more than those people working in smaller workgroups. Large organizations can discover that perhaps some of their departments have quietly taken to running these as well. With the minimal costs and no need for hardware integration, these can be quick ‘Shadow IT’ projects (done without the knowledge or approval of a corporate IT Dept.).
Major vendors have not been idle while potential customers ‘kludge’ together their own solutions. In advance of drupa 2016, HP has recently announced their HP PrintOS, and Kodak has announced Cloud-based versions of Prinergy.
HP PrintOS will have a Cloud based solution, with some versions shipping by the end of this year. It has been designed to help companies manage their jobs from submission through to delivery. It offers the ability to access historical press data, as well as provide a source for sharing and accessing knowledge on training, custom media configs, and marketing resources. It offers automation (imposition, variable data, and more), and also offers an API for further integration. Most functions will be available at no cost under ongoing press service contracts.
Kodak announced earlier this year that Cloud-based tools, working with their Unified Workflow Solutions (Prinergy, InSite, Preps, and others), will be coming. These will offer businesses ‘real-time’ abilities to analyze production costs and overall system performance from anywhere. Other non-mission critical production functions such as archiving are also rumoured to have the option to be offloaded to the Cloud.
Software can be a success differentiator, and there are numerous automation, productivity and MIS options available to offer SME (small and medium sized enterprises) relatively low cost, risk free, ways to adopt new technologies, and can help them effectively compete with larger organizations.
Special thanks to the following people for their time, in preparation of this article: Stephen McWilliam, Executive Vice President, Avanti Systems, in Toronto; Reuben Quesus, Director of Business Development, Racad Tech, Inc., in Toronto; and John Sweeny, Business Development Manager, SpencerMetrics in Pittsburgh.
