The Perfect Pre Press Portal

Started by motmit, February 02, 2016, 11:04:18 AM

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motmit

Hey guys (and gals).

I am currently doing a joint project through Uni and a company looking at current pre-press portals. This is looking specifically at the interaction between pre-press companies and their clients. Involving creation of jobs, uploading of files, status of jobs and approval of artwork.

I have created this short google form:
http://goo.gl/forms/M96NV5sVh8
which takes no more than 10min (and in most cases much less) to fill out. It simply asks some general questions on the interactions on and offline with a pre-press company. There is some focus on Kodak Insite as the company I am currently working at is using this portal at present.

I would be very grateful if anyone fills this out. If anyone has any questions for me or would rather simply answer my questions within this forum rather than an outside link I would equally be happy to hear from you.

Thanks anyway,
Tim

UX Designer,
Northumbria University


motmit

Hard to respond to such an in depth question.

The project itself hopefully will identify key areas that current online pre press portals are lacking in, on the flip side it will show areas that are not an issue at all. Any insights gained along the way from people who use such software on a daily bases would be beneficial. Many people have their own way of working with a pre press company even if it is not through an online portal and I am interested in finding a range of user cases.

The company is doing this to understand their clients needs better with a view to improving any interactions that we have with them, be that on or offline. The why for them would be to keep current customers happy or make them happier while attracting new customers.

This is my job which is one reason why I am asking these questions, but it would also help with the Masters course which I am currently undertaking.

Feel free to have a look at the questions on the form (only 1 question is set as required; 'have you used InSite') and answer if you wish.

Thanks either way.

Farabomb

I have never used insite but I am running Prinergy EVO here. All the automation that was touted is useless in our operation. There are too many variables in what we run. I've attempted to create workflows for some of the easier things we do and it's never picked the correct impositions or managed to set it up the way we need it. 

The perfect prepress portal is sending files to an experienced prepress operator that knows what they are doing. They need to have the proper information on the job ticket (never happens) and CSR's or Sales with the ability to talk to the customer and inform them of issues and how to resolve them. They can write up whatever buzzwords they want and use automation every 3rd sentence but in in the real world, it's hit or miss if it actually works. Creating the "perfect prepress portal" only works if it makes the operator's job easier.
Speed doesn't kill, rapidly becoming stationary is the problem

I'd rather have stories told than be telling stories of what I could have done.

Quote from: Ear on April 06, 2016, 11:54:16 AM
Quote from: Farabomb on April 06, 2016, 11:39:41 AMIt's more like grip, grip, grip, noise, then spin and 2 feet in and feel shame.
I once knew a plus-sized girl and this pretty much describes teh secks. :rotf:
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
         â€”Benjamin Franklin

My other job

David

well, first off, you are using the word "perfect" and "prepress" in the same sentence.

That will never happen.

We use Insite.
Try to get the customer to understand what it means when they click the "approve" button. It actually means you like what you see and it is ready to print. Their understanding is that it is ok for now, but they will change our mind in a few minutes... or days.

Prepress guy - Retired - Working from home
Livin' la Vida Loca

Ear

I agree with David... and Orangutans are skeptical of changes in their cages. :ninja:
"... profile says he's a seven-foot tall ex-basketball pro, Hindu guru drag queen alien." ~Jet Black

Joe

#6
Well I did your survey. Towards the end it didn't really make sense when you ask questions of prepress people like us:

QuoteWhat information do you look for when searching for a prepress company?

What Information do you expect from a prepress company after they have taken on your job?

Would prepress people like us be looking for a prepress company? And :wtf: is a prepress company? Years ago there were service bureaus that did prepress only. I'm not sure any of those still exist today. The great majority now are departments within a printing company.

Short answer: We use Kodak Insite and we like it. Is it perfect? No. We have also tried Fuji XMF Remote and it, at the time, was a couple of light years behind Insite in usability from both the administrative side and the user side. But it was far cheaper than Insite and it does work.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

motmit

Farabomb
Quote from: Farabomb on February 03, 2016, 11:39:36 AMI have never used insite but I am running Prinergy EVO here.
Did you look at or try any other solutions before being sold on Prinergys 'automation'?

Quote from: Farabomb on February 03, 2016, 11:39:36 AMThe perfect prepress portal is sending files to an experienced prepress operator ... They need to have the proper information on the job ticket (never happens)
Curious as to what causes the job tickets to never be correct?

Quote from: Farabomb on February 03, 2016, 11:39:36 AMand CSR's or Sales with the ability to talk to the customer and inform them of issues and how to resolve them.
Would you say your CSR's / Sale staff have this ability already? - If so what is in place already that ensures this, if not what do you think could help? (training, internal knowledge base, regular meetings/catch-ups)



david
Quote from: david on February 03, 2016, 11:44:23 AMwell, first off, you are using the word "perfect" and "prepress" in the same sentence.
Sorry I'll admit it's click bait, but it is exactly what I'm wanting to talk about. I agree with you though - nothing is perfect.

Quote from: david on February 03, 2016, 11:44:23 AMTry to get the customer to understand what it means when they click the "approve" button. It actually means you like what you see and it is ready to print. Their understanding is that it is ok for now, but they will change our mind in a few minutes... or days.
Do you think implementing an approval hierarchy/ chain of approvals would help with this? Do you have automated printing processes that run as soon as artwork is approved / what happens when they do phone up asking for changes - is this just wasted time or does this cause jobs to be re-run. If it does do you charge the customer for the delay/alteration?



Joe
Quote from: Joe on February 03, 2016, 01:19:07 PMWell I did your survey. Towards the end it didn't really make sense when you ask questions of prepress people like us:
Sorry I've updated the title on those pages - limited options for customization.

Quote from: Joe on February 03, 2016, 01:19:07 PMYears ago there were service bureaus that did prepress only. I'm not sure any of those still exist today.
We do prepress, plates and mock-ups. I guess it is more than just prepress though.

Quote from: Joe on February 03, 2016, 01:19:07 PMWe use Kodak Insite and we like it.  Is it perfect? No
Anything that you'd highlight as being less than ideal (other than cost?), or what do you particularly like? Did you look at many other solutions or after the disappointment of Fuji just stick with Kodak.



Thanks already for all of your responses. Sorry for this long message.
Thanks again!

Tim

Joe

Quote from: motmit on February 04, 2016, 08:43:34 AMWe do prepress, plates and mock-ups. I guess it is more than just prepress though.

Anything that you'd highlight as being less than ideal (other than cost?), or what do you particularly like? Did you look at many other solutions or after the disappointment of Fuji just stick with Kodak.

Thanks already for all of your responses. Sorry for this long message.
Thanks again!

Tim

Prepress, plates and mock-ups are all prepress here. In fact we don't have CSR's. Just sales. The prepress techs are their own CSR. We do everything from the CSR point to when plates go to press. That is all prepress. Plus I also do all of the IT work for the whole plant. Just another benefit of being in prepress. And customer complaints about press and bindery issues? Yes they always come back to prepress somehow.

Kodak

Pro: Support is great.

Con: Development is slow. Getting a bug fixed takes forever.

Insite:

Pro: Every job must be approved with Insite. That puts more of the responsibility on them to make sure their files are correct before they go to press. If they approve it and something was visibly wrong it is on them.

Customer uploading is much easier for them now that Kodak has eliminated Java and it is much easier then trying to explain FTP to customers. Once files are uploaded they are automatically processed and customers can immediately approve their job without having to wait for someone to look at their files.

Con: As I explained in the survey I wish Insite had the ability to view the files in Smart Review or Preview using the Preps trim dimensions instead of the PDF page box dimensions. Like a switch to flip from one view to another. Mainly just to show customers how badly their files are constructed.

Insite wish list: A boxing glove to shoot out of the monitor and punch customers in the face if they set their jobs up at anything other than the finished trim size.

XMF

I  wasn't really disappointed with it. I could have made it work. The only cons were it isn't quite as user friendly as Prinergy and XMF Remote was a lot less user friendly than Insite. The reasons we didn't switch were that the owners were worried more mistakes might get through because processing jobs is more complex than Prinergy and they were worried that our customers would not like the way XMF worked. Mainly when you view files in Remote customers cannot see the preflight report. To view it they would have to download a PDF, open it, and view it.

Their support was top notch also and if you report a bug it gets fixed much faster than Kodak gets around to it.

Plus the whole product of XMF/Remote and support is about 1/3 the cost of Prinergy/Insite.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

Farabomb

1: Yes, we demoed  XMF, AGFA, Kodak and Rampage as well as a few no name workflows. The Kodak salesman couldn't talk enough about how much easier it is (I was running a old version of apogee/printdrive at the time) and how the workflows will cut my workload in half. I should have known better than listen to a salesman. Turned out it was more button clicks in EVO to run jobs and the workflows never worked correctly. From install the EVO server was never right. I was also supposed to have training after the system was installed. The server was never fixed and I had no training other than what the installer told me and the manual. The server issue I fix because I have a background in computers. I saw the salesman once about a week after install then never again.

2: Tickets are never correct because a human is involved, same reason a perfect portal will never exist. Not sure if it's sales/csr/customer/designer not caring about their work or they are just incompetent.

3: My sales staff is quite good at customer relations. There are more than a few customers that we have helped improve their files. It's because he isn't afraid to call and inform them of the issues rather than avoid it, deliver and do damage control. Easy way to improve CSRs is to block the IP's of all social media sites, remove all games form the computer and take their phones. I've dealt with some good ones in the past but the majority are blood sausages.

Speed doesn't kill, rapidly becoming stationary is the problem

I'd rather have stories told than be telling stories of what I could have done.

Quote from: Ear on April 06, 2016, 11:54:16 AM
Quote from: Farabomb on April 06, 2016, 11:39:41 AMIt's more like grip, grip, grip, noise, then spin and 2 feet in and feel shame.
I once knew a plus-sized girl and this pretty much describes teh secks. :rotf:
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
         â€”Benjamin Franklin

My other job

Mikie

lulz you people need to get back to work

Joe

Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

Mikie


Joe

Quote from: Mikie on February 10, 2016, 08:54:39 PMFine, feed the sausage :p

 :lmao:

Not much traffic around here these days. We'll reply to anything! :rotf:
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.