Inca Digital Launches Inca Vision to Monitor Inca Printers
CAMBRIDGE, UK—December 2, 2013—Inca Digital announces the launch of Inca Vision, a customer support service for Inca Digital flatbed UV inkjet printers. Inca Vision lets Inca remotely and regularly monitor and diagnose a machine, and in many cases, catch issues before the customers decide to call for engineer service.
"The last thing any company wants is machine downtime," said John Mills, Inca Digital CEO. "Inca Vision is able to detect possible failures before they happen, offering customers the opportunity to proactively service their machines and, in many cases, avoid costly delays."
By gathering data from machines globally on a daily basis, Inca engineers can conduct remote diagnostics to determine how well the printers are performing and whether there is need for intervention with engineering support. Dashboards used by the Inca Digital Support Team offer a view of high-level data across all machines throughout the world. A RAG (Red, Amber, Green) screen allows the Inca Support Team to prioritize printers most urgently in need of attention and the team can also assist distributors and provide back-up data for any serious machine issues in their regions.
Data can be interrogated at a detailed level per machine to help determine causes for any failures. For example, a faulty UV shutter message or high-temperature alarm compared with area printed or ink consumption—generally, machine usage—can help detect if a component is failing. Customer scans on iNozzle mapping allow Inca to monitor the condition of printheads to help the customer maintain quality and to offer suggestions for maintenance procedures. Also, the gathering of data on the use of vacuum zones can help to determine most commonly used sheet sizes.
While most printer activity is downloaded on a daily basis, the data—such as machine alarms and machine status changes—can be interrogated in minute intervals. In addition, the First Line support team can work with the customer to 'log-in' to the live data for more detailed analysis. Recent Inca Onsets are built with greater access to machine data, but even older models such as Inca Spyders offer access to sufficient data.
For customers, this means that their Inca printers can be monitored on a daily basis for any signs of future problems. Their support team can offer suggestions to help them maintain their machines in good running condition, based upon their own patterns of use, preventing downtime. If a printer needs onsite repair, data collected by Inca Vision can assist with a quick diagnosis and repair, as well as parts requirements.
"On average 60 per cent of the cases opened by our Customer Support Team are resolved remotely," noted says Mark Noble, senior customer service manager at Inca. "With the launch of Inca Vision we are aiming to increase the overall number of machine uptime, as well as the number of cases solved remotely."
Inca customers have access to similar, but much more specific data through ReporterPro, a software service launched by Inca in January 2013. Unlike Inca Vision, ReporterPro allows customers to see the files, customer names and job specifics that are unique and confidential to their business. ReporterPro provides an accurate picture of overall efficiency, allowing managers to fine tune production schedules and generate a variety of internal management reports. It is designed to allow the customers' management team to gather more information about machine utilization, productivity and job costing.
While the Customer Support team will use individual machine data to diagnose machines remotely and predict problems before they arise, other departments within Inca will also benefit from the composite data. For example, the R&D team can run reports on failure modes or review a sequence of events prior to a component failure. Results can assist with future machine development—in addition to determining service frequency/failure periods on key components. The marketing team may use machine data compiled from many machines to spot usage trends or plan future product features.
Inca Vision is currently in service in the United Kingdom and other regions directly supported by the Inca support team. It will be rolled out to the United States during Q1 2014. Inca Vision will be built into higher-level service contracts as part of the complete support package. It will not be actively offered to customers without a support contract.
About Inca Digital Printers
Inca Digital Printers, part of the Dainippon Screen Group, is one of the world's leading pioneers and manufacturers of flatbed inkjet printing technology. The Eagle and Columbia printers set the early standards in UV inkjet flatbed printing. Today the ground-breaking Onset Series and Spyder range ensure that Inca's products remain at the forefront of productivity, quality and reliability. Fujifilm manufactures and develops the UV inks used in Inca machines and sells the flatbed printers around the world. Inca's facility in Cambridge, UK, incorporates R&D, customer support, machine assembly and commissioning, a dedicated training facility and clean rooms for printhead assembly and refurbishment. With approximately 25 percent of staff involved in R&D, a significant investment here helps the company maintain its position at the forefront of machine productivity, innovation, quality and reliability.
About FUJIFILM Corp.
FUJIFILM Corp. is one of the major operating companies of FUJIFILM Holdings. Since its founding in 1934, the company has built up a wealth of advanced technologies in the field of photo imaging, and in line with its efforts to become a comprehensive healthcare company, Fujifilm is now applying these technologies to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the Medical and Life Science fields. Fujifilm is also expanding growth in the highly functional materials business, including flat panel display materials, and in the graphic systems and optical devices businesses.
About Fujifilm Graphic Systems
Fujifilm Graphic Systems is a stable, long term partner focussed on delivering high-quality, technically advanced print solutions that help printers develop competitive advantage and grow their businesses. The company's financial stability and unprecedented investment in R&D enable it to develop proprietary technologies for best-in-class printing. These include prepress and pressroom solutions for offset, wide-format and digital print, as well as workflow software for print production management. Fujifilm is committed to minimizing the environmental impact of its products and operations, proactively working to preserve the environment, and strives to educate printers about environmental best practice.
Source: Fujifilm.
