Greetings from South America! I am spending my summer working for Heidelberg in its lead market, São Paulo, Brazil. Similar to my time with Heidelberg in Germany, I am working within the company’s integrated workflow system, called Prinect.
The “cloud”—once the purview of IT geeks and software developers—has gotten personal. For several years, there’s been a movement to transition software from the desktop or local server to the cloud. One example is Web-to-print software, typically offered as Saas (software-as-a-service).
Nearly a quarter of the firms surveyed that subscribe to software through a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model subscribe to Web-to-Print software. The benefits of using SaaS include a universally accessible Web-based interface, reduced start-up costs, and decreased risks in developing and launching new services.
Many print service providers have heard the term “cloud computing.” The availability and affordability of such computing power, coupled with increasingly capable Web development technology, has led to the rapid development of software that is accessed through a Web browser.
By 2014, InfoTrends predicts that $31 billion of the anticipated $107 billion in commercial printing revenues will be submitted through a Web-to-print (W2P) system. Indeed, the Internet continues to rewrite how printing firms procure and produce work.
It was refreshing to see so many printers investing their own money and time at the 12th annual EFI Connect users’ conference in the quest to optimize their workflows and maximize their MIS software and digital hardware investments.
I am writing from Heidelberg, Germany, where I have started a four-month internship at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen. Heidelberg has never before had a student from the United States intern at its world headquarters and, coincidentally, I have never been to Europe.
The common thread I see among printers I’ve talked with that have continued to see growth and success in the industry—even through tough economic times—is smart investment and application of software in their businesses. Printers need to proactively make an effort to get a handle on understanding software technology and the impact it can make
The outcry continues regarding Adobe’s announcement to put a “Send to FedEx/Kinko’s” button in Acrobat and Acrobat Reader. Everyone is very busy these days, so when 214 plus members of Print Buyers Online.com voted in last week’s PBO Print Buyer and Print Supplier Quick Polls, they spoke loudly both in terms of numbers and intensity. The consensus is that the vast majority of printers and print buyers are disappointed if not outraged by Adobe’s decision. Our polls show that 81% of print buyers and 94% of print suppliers feel that it’s inappropriate for Adobe to add a “Send to FedEx Kinko’s” button. Moreover, if
