The Magic of Order Entry and Onboarding in Your Workflow!
Continuing our adventure through the wilds of workflow, the next stop is that messy process of codifying the order and getting it on board so that it can move almost seamlessly through your production workflow. We look at this process as part of Job Entry and Management when we are working on our forecasts. It […]
The Magic of Composition in Your Workflow!
The promise for this next series was to go back to basics, so this edition is all about the magical role of the creative development tools in your workflow. It is an important topic. If the file that will pass through the workflow is not developed so that it can print reliably, everyone in the […]
Becoming a Smart Workflow Wizard!
Sometimes it is good to go back to the basics, so let’s start with defining workflow in 2018. It’s a tall order because how you define workflow depends on where you come from in the print world, the jobs you’ve done, and the things you need to manage. Let’s divide the world of workflow in […]
Casting Workflow Spells for a Magical and Profitable 2018
The last of the decorations are neatly in their boxes and the new calendars have been organized to get the new year started. What are you doing to make sure that you work will flow in 2018? What should you do first? What are the trends? What are the quick fixes to start the year? […]
Practical Workflow Magic to End 2017 and 5 Ways for More Success in 2018
What a year of workflow wizardry! We started the year advising everyone to take a close look at their production shop floor to determine where the bottlenecks were holding up the natural flow of work. Many of you did just that and shared stories of finding things that could be better. For many of you […]
Alexa is a Workflow Wizard and Wisdom From IPEX
A while back I wrote a blog on how it wasn’t yet possible to walk up to an Echo Dot or Alexa tower and ask where your print job was. In the blink of an wizard’s eye the RSA folks showed their demo of Alexa reading information passed to her in a news brief format, […]
Workflow Wisdom From Print 17
There are only a few tradeshows that attracts not only printers and print buyers, but an entire range of hardware and software providers. This year the organizers for Print 17 attracted new and existing exhibitors and in the neighborhood of 20,000 attendees to browse the show floor, meet with their current suppliers, identify potential new […]
How Many Printers Does It Take to Print a Light Bulb?
Q: How many Printers does it take to print a light bulb? A: You don’t know, you don’t print light bulbs… right? Because anyone can print a light bulb. You don’t want to be in the light bulb business. If you are, then you compete with everyone – including online discount light bulb printing factories. […]
Understanding The Magic Inside Your Digital Front End
If you own a digital print device, somewhere in your life is a Digital Front End. The Digital Front End (DFE) is the workflow touchpoint that accepts a print file, commonly a PDF or PostScript file in today’s print environment, and turns that file into a format that the print engine (toner or inkjet) can […]
The Day the Workflow Stood Still
The print hardware often gets the blame when there is a shop slowdown. Misfeeds, wrong stock loaded, paper transport issues, and even finishing equipment glitches can pose some challenges. But when the workflow has a problem the challenges can be greater because sometimes no one notices until nothing is flowing. You never want your workflow […]
Alexa! Where’s My Print Job?
When you think about workflow (and I know you do!), how much do you think about automation? The two should go hand-in-hand. But what is a reasonable amount of automation? Should you be waiting until there are Alexa and Echo devices throughout your shop so that you can ask them the status of jobs? Despite […]
The Way for Smaller Printers to Make Workflow, Work
A question came up over in the Print Production Professionals Group on LinkedIn that came down to this: there is a lot of guidance for larger companies and corporate printers when it comes to workflow, but what are smaller printers supposed to do? What workflow automation solutions are in the market that are right-sized for a […]
