Press Release Almanac: 10 April 2008
Print 21 keeps you up-to-date with the latest industry releases.
GMG presents new and advanced products at drupa 2008
Free guide shares tips to amaze customers
Machine Guarding Guidance for the Printing Industry
Australian owned and operated Websend has announced an industrial-strength, digital-asset management, validation and delivery system with its iQ Enterprise Suite.
Peter Lamont, managing director of the web-based ad delivery system Websend, says iQ improves efficiency and reduces cost for electronic artwork production, with a multi-user, in-house server solution.
"Websend has re-written the book when it comes to validating and delivering advertising to publishers," Lamont said, "and for some, the security of having their own archive of ads, on their own server, in their own premises, managed by a high-speed, multi-user system is like the holy grail.
"Websend has always provided a multi-user system that allows everyone in the advertising cycle to interact, but these days speed has been the most requested feature."
Using its own locally developed technology, Websend eclipses the competition by offering "gate-keeper" validation using its iQ Enterprise Server, which resides on the local network and interacts with the iQ Enterprise desktop applications.
"We've recognised that speed is a critical concern, however advertisers also want proper validation and file correction. Until now, the only way to get this was to use our centralised, multi-million dollar equipment with a web browser or our iQ Pro desktop applications.
"iQ Enterprise changes the paradigm significantly, by moving many of those processes onto a dedicated server running locally in the advertiser's office.
"To say 'it's fast' is an understatement," Lamont says. "In trials, we've seen complex PDF ads checked in just 12 milliseconds."
Websend's iQ Enterprise Suite consists of a server application, the iQ Enterprise desktop software and a special plug-in for Adobe InDesign. The combination of these three components allows a user to create correctly sized artwork that meets the publisher's technical specifications, create job tickets that can be shared with other production staff, send ads in the background and create a permanent archive of all material put through the system."
Lamont says, "With iQ Enterprise, we believe we have a range of solutions that suits every kind of business. With many new designer features being introduced, Websend is becoming much more than a delivery system - it's an indispensable artwork production tool."
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Visitors to the exhibition can expect a major advance in the field of proofing. The new versions of ColorProof, DotProof, and FlexoProof focus on additional functions, even easier handling, and intuitive support of the various industry standards. That is just one of the highlights at the GMG booth - not only for existing GMG users, but for all businesses that need to produce colour-accurate contract proofs reliably, simply and repeatably. The software solutions feature the new Adobe PDF Print Engine technology.
In the color management sector, users will be able to see "ColorMaster in a Box" for the first time. Based on GMG ColorServer, this is an attractive product for companies - such as advertising agencies or prepress businesses - that want to keep their data in the RGB color space for as long as possible. Only at the very last minute, when the printing process has been definitively defined, are the RGB data separated into the required CMYK target color space using GMG ColorServer. Vector data can be created directly in the GMG ColorMaster color space and then converted into the target color space in preconfigured hot folders by CMYK-to-CMYK conversion using high-quality GMG 4D profiles. GMG supplies predefined settings for all important target color spaces, making it very easy for the user to set up an automated workflow. In addition, GMG ColorMaster offers a colour space that covers all common printing gamuts, and is also available as an ICC profile for retouching images in Photoshop. This approach is supported by a DVD containing video sequences that explain how to set up the workflows and enable every user to create and use workflows themselves in a minimum of time.
One completely new product is GMG Connect. This software solution permits simple integration of GMG products in Prinergy, Esko and Dalim workflow environments. The software is additionally of great benefit for efficient remote proofing, enabling cross-platform checking of print job statuses via the Internet, for example.
The presentation for visitors will also include the two GMG products GMG PrintControl, software for standardizing the printing process from start to finish, and GMG RapidCheck, verification software that takes just a few mouse click to check compliance with printing process standards.
In the media sector, the successful GMG media offering is being expanded to include three new papers. The individual products are a new 140 gram matt paper, a 250 gram gloss paper, and a new 76 gram newsprint paper.
"Since Drupa 2004 marked the start of four years of continuous growth, we have very high hopes for this year's Drupa, too. We expect that our new and advanced products will enable us to attract new customers for GMG products, especially from the printing sector, in addition to our existing clientele. GMG will be exhibiting on a 260 m2 booth at Drupa (Hall 8b, Booth A11), where the GMG staff and our authorized retail partners will be more than willing to help and advice visitors," says Robert Weihing, CEO of GMG.
That's the view of a new report called 25 Ways to Amaze Your Customers Without Flying a Banner Over the City, Sponsoring a Hot Air Balloon or Doing Anything That Requires a Chicken Suit; which was published this week by Worldwide Online Printing.
Publication of the guide follows news that Worldwide was again Australia's fastest-growing design and print group for the fourth year in a row, according to BRW Magazine's national franchising study. Many of the ideas featured in the guide are based on tried and tested practices drawn from the 12,000 business customers of Worldwide's 88-strong national network of print communication Centres.
"Regular customers are often less price sensitive, more likely to buy additional products, and are inclined to recommend you to other customers - and it generally takes 40% less time an money to keep them happy", reports the guide, which also warns of the changes to the rules brought about by the information age.
"It's no longer enough to have the catchiest jingle, the glossiest brochure or the best-looking product. Instead of using just one supplier for a product or service, customers can use multiple suppliers in different countries, and select them based on factors ranging from their price point to a product review they read on someone's blog", it suggests. "The pressure's on."
Launched to celebrate Worldwide's new website, the guide carries a cover price of $19.95 but is available free of charge for a limited period from www.worldwide.com.au
Focusing on fatigue management, handling and storing chemicals, creating emergency procedures manual handling and machine guarding, the Guide is designed to help businesses reduce the incidence of workplace injury by increasing staff awareness of health, safety and best practice.
It delivers information on these pertinent industry concerns in an eye-catching wall chart format, designed for display in staff areas, offices and near printing machinery, where it can be accessed on a daily basis.
This latest edition of the Guide compliments the national Guarding of Machinery in Manufacturing campaign being conducted by the Heads of Workplace Safety Authority (HWSA) to raise awareness of the importance of machine guarding.
In NSW alone there are over 1,100 workplace injuries each year due to inadequately guarded machinery.
Produced by Pro-Visual Publishing, in consultation with the Safety Institute of Australia the Guide is updated annually and sent free of charge to over 5,000 printing and packaging companies throughout Australia each March.
Additional copies are available and all charts are produced and distributed thanks to sponsorship. For further information please call Pro-Visual Publishing on (02) 8272 2611 or email enquiries@provisual.com.au.