Prepress
Supplier trio complete integrated web to print, production and MIS links
Tuesday 11. January 2011 - As the lean manufacturing culture spreads in the printing industry there is a clear need for an integrated solution tying together web-generated sales, production and management information functions allowing printers to decide the best production path based on true costs. A three way development partnership between Heidelberg, Red Tie and Tharstern has now delivered the answer.
The system will first be shown publically at Heidelberg’s open house on 9 to 10 February in Tamworth, the last major customer event at that site before centralisation into the enlarged Brentford facility.
Liz Gilmour, who handles international sales for Red Tie, says: “All parties have worked very hard to ensure we have a solution that is robust and easy to use. Heidelberg can now fulfil the customer demand for web to print solutions and we will oversee the consultation and integration stages. Embracing the Internet in this way is a way for printers to generate new business from currently unknown sources, make it even easier for existing customers to place orders and overall reduce the cost of generating sales. Web to print allows a printer to reduce both the administrative and production costs allowing them to accept jobs that would not otherwise be profitable for them to handle.”
Red Tie’s portal will capture and submit order details to the Tharstern MIS system. The MIS system will calculate the practicality and cost benefits of ganging multiple orders together and submit work to the production area. This is the Heidelberg Prinect solution which can handle prepress, press and finishing functions for quick and accurate set up and control. Production data, including cost per copy analysis of individual web to print jobs is then fed back into the Tharstern MIS so that sound business decisions can be made.
Lance O’Connell, Business Manager, Prinect and CtP, says: “We’ve talked for a long time about closed loop colour; now we are entering the age of closed loop manufacturing It’s thanks to brilliant teamwork that we have progressed so far and so fast and this is not the end of the road. But this is now a market-ready solution and we are already working with an early adopter, Maslands.”
Tharstern regards the three way integration as a leap forward on the road to streamlining administration and processing systems. Managing director Keith McMurtrie says: “The recession has brought process and cost control into focus. No printer can afford to ignore new and more cost-effective ways of generating business and producing accurately, efficiently and on time. That is what this integration will do and give management the factual data on which to make the best business decisions.”
The open house will take place at the Tamworth showroom on 9 and 10 February from 9.30am to 4pm with live demonstrations, seminars and consultancy available to companies of all types and sizes. A buffet lunch with hot and cold options will be provided.
For the first time Heidelberg’s range of prepress, press and finishing equipment will be linked in to real time to produce jobs created via a web to print portal with real production cost feedback. Access to the portal is via the Heidelberg UK website, www.uk.heidelberg.com
Crucially for the lean printer also on show at the open house will be a plethora of Heidelberg’s service products including:
its own ISO 12647 colour certification for printing and proofing
remote service and the eCall push button priority call technology
a broad array of consumables products that ensure the high performance potential of the latest is kit is realised and the financial options available for using these products to fund capital equipment spend.