Product category:
Management and Administration Software and Systems
News Release from: Positive Focus | Subject: Crossroads workflow specification service
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 11 October 2007
Website Enables Self-Build Workflow
Systems
An attempt to improve access to enough information to enable printing companies to construct their own workflow systems, which is said to be sparking a resurgence in the practice.
Crossroads is the initiative established by Gradual Software and 10 of its third party collaborating companies and it will be unveiled at the Digital Print World exhibition following its international debut at the IFRA show in Vienna (Austria) Saskia Desmet, Gradual Software's international marketing director, will be at Digital Print World to show how anyone investigating automation can use the Crossroads website to track down suitable applications and find ready to use sample workflows
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 16 Mar 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Ivor Dixon, the managing director of Positive Focus, Gradual Software's UK distributor, commented: "It has been difficult to find detailed information for projects built with products from different manufacturers.
Gradual's Switch has created a revitalised interest in do-it-yourself workflows because you can build-in just the features you need and stay with cutting edge technology." And he explained: "Crossroads is an attempt to improve access to that information.
It brings together manufacturers with a common interest in providing automated systems for the printing and publishing industries, extending through a large part of the manufacturing process." He said that on the Crossroads website a potential user can search by his or her primary function, or by manufacturer, or product to find a selection of processes that can be automated and sample workflows and product information are available from one site with a resource of previously difficult to access information.
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And Dixon further comnmented: "At Digital Print World on stand 158 we will be promoting the Crossroads concept, showing many of the flows in action, including examples from Callas, Axaio Adobe, Alwan, Apago, DevzeroG, Elpical, Enfocus, Markzware and Quite.
Those companies have products that have specific configurators, as well as hot folder enabled systems, such as the Impostrip range." Positive Focus will also be able to give an instant assessment of the time required to achieve payback on basic automation projects, with a calculator from the Gradual Aoftware website.
Dixon said: "The return on investment can be just a few weeks and it's rarely more than nine months, even with complex workflows involving a number of third party products.
Automating away a few minutes of manual handling here and there can produce quite significant cost savings, makes production more consistent and the whole process less prone to human error.".
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