Northprint Sees Workflow Automation Systems

Gradual Software will have a strong presence at Northprint in Harrogate (UK) where it will demonstrate its complete product line on the stand of its UK distributor, Positive Focus (stand M 424).

Gradual Software will have a strong presence at Northprint, from April 24 - 26 in Harrogate (UK) where it will demonstrate its complete product line on the stand of its UK distributor, Positive Focus (stand M 424).

The company's workflow software will also be exhibited on the stands of Switch authorised resellers Pro2Col (stand C 380) and Silicon Systems (stand B281).

Gradual Software's Switch family of products includes Lightswitch and Fullswitch, which are claimed to enable users to implement workflow automation systems tailored to meet the production needs of individual work environments.

Powerswitch is claimed to provide automation features, such as support for scripting and metadata and is said to make it easy to deploy automation for a complete workgroup with Switchclient, five licences of which are included in the Powerswitch package.

Gradual's Switch software has been installed at a number of UK firms and is providing strong returns in productivity, efficiency and cost savings in a variety of production operations, said the company.

Positive Focus added the Switch automation software to its portfolio just before Ipex last year.

Ivor Dixon, managing director of Positive Focus, said: "With Switch, users can glue together the desktop systems they already know and use in to a productive, automated workflow.

Lightswitch is a logical move for those people who just need to move files around, avoiding the chore of doing it manually.

I think most people will be able to justify Lightswitch and Fullswitch on the time saving alone, paying back the cost in a couple of months." And he continued: "Powerswitch makes it easy to deploy automation for a complete workgroup, using the scripting capability to enable applications that have no 'out of the box' integration and the metadata handling makes intelligent workflows possible.

Ease of use, with a common interface and simple upgrades from one family member to another, means users can start simply and build to something really powerful, with no financial penalties and a gentle learning curve." Gradual Software said that Pro2col specialises in file transfer systems for the publishing industry, enabling advertisers to deliver artwork in a variety of formats, directly to the publisher.

The company's James Lewis turned to Gradual Software for a system to provide improved integration capabilities within Pro2col's production environment.

He commented: "The installation of Gradual's Switch workflow products with our file transfer systems enables customers to benefit from increased automation, with full integration between file delivery and production.

Automation has resulted in improved efficiency and significant cost savings.

With the industry shifting towards XML based workflows, Powerswitch provides publishers with fantastic automation at realistic prices." Gradual Software also explained that Silicon Systems added the Switch automation software to its portfolio and its Switch customers are benefiting from time savings and a solid return on investment.

Neil Dobson, managing director of Silicon Systems, said: "The Switch suite has enabled our customers to achieve substantial savings of time and money and they have seen the return on the investment in just a few months.

When coupled with Flowmation, our project workflow software, the Switch suite provides a seamless system from the web to final output.".

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