Prepress
CIP4 Releases New Case Study Tool to the Public
Monday 14. April 2014 - Print Automation Case Studies Easier to Find
The International Cooperation for the Integration of the Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4) organization announced the availability of the Print Automation Case Studies Database. This new industry resource was established with 70 case studies from printers of all sizes and types around the world that have been collected through a CIP4 printer recognition awards program. The new database allows CIP4 members to easily upload new case studies. CIP4 members, including Tharstern Ltd, have added new case studies in the last month to kick off this new program for the printing community.
“The CIP4 website receives 10,000 to 15,000 unique visitors each month and case studies are among the more popular resources,” said CIP4 Executive Director James Harvey. “We have well over a 1,000 pages of case study material, much of it including financial results and great detail; however, that much content becomes an obstacle for printers looking for specific information. Many printers like learning from the example of other printers, and case studies provide them with inspiration and new ideas, but printers also want to find examples of similar companies, of a similar size or with similar equipment. The new Print Automation Case Study Database solves that problem.”
The Print Automation Case Study Database search tool is freely available to the public and can be found from the homepage of www.cip4.org, or directly at www.cip4.org/pacs/. Users can search by keyword in “company”, “vendor” or “product” name, or can construct searches by selecting options for one or more search fields, including:
* Printing company type such as “label”, “digital” or “publications” printer
* Printing company size
* The system and software components integrated
* The scope of the integration, such as “interdepartmental”, “full plant” or “integrated with customer”
* Country or Continent
* The year of the case study
* Whether or not the case study includes financial results
Search results can be sorted by a variety of factors and include results in a table that provides a summary of what products and functions were integrated in the case study as well as several of the variables listed above. Users can select “show details” for a more comprehensive summary of each case study, including the names of vendors cited in the case study with links to the JDF Integration Matrix, where users can find a custom JDF Integration Matrix result showing all the established integrations between that vendor and others.
While most of the initial case studies are in English, the Print Automation Case Study Database now allows case studies to be added to the system in a variety of languages, including:
* English
* French
* Germany
* Mandarin Chinese
* Japanese
* Spanish
Once users find the case study they are most interested in, they can then open the case study document directly to review or save to their computer.
“The Print Automation Case Study Database is a wonderful resource for print professionals and students of print automation,” said Harvey. The system makes it easy for printers to access and find the information they are looking for whether they are senior managers looking for strategic inspiration, managers looking for implementation planning resources or technical staff researching solutions.