 | | | | |
| Denna sida finns ej tillgänlig på 'Svenska'. Därför visas den engelska versionen.:
 HIFLEX Webshop implementation earns Print Plaza prizes in two CIPPI categories
The CIP4 Organisation presents its coveted annual innovation awards, the so-called CIPPI Awards, to honour the achievements of the most innovative companies in the international graphic arts industry in the fields of networking and process automation. HIFLEX users have been regulars on the list of CIPPI Award winners from the very beginning - and this fourth year was no different. |
Two of this year's CIPPI awards, which were announced during Drupa, went to online print service provider Print Plaza AG, whose business model is based on the HIFLEX Webshop. Print Plaza took first place in the categories "Most innovative use of process automation - Worldwide" and "Best process automation implementation - Europe". These prizes are marks of distinction for the first successful integration of a JDF implementation and a Web-to-Print application.
Through Print Plaza, HIFLEX also claimed two more of the highly respected CIP4 Innovation Awards and has in the meantime already collected twelve of these sought-after trophies. |
|
|
 |
The CIP4 International Print Production Innovation (CIPPI) Awards 2008 were
announced at Drupa. The photo shows Ingo Nowak (left), Koller+Nowak, and Albert Contzen (right),
Mediengruppe Universal, with the coveted trophy. Print Plaza triumphed in two categories, namely
"Most innovative use of process automation - Worldwide" and "Best process automation
implementation - Europe", with its implementation of the HIFLEX Webshop. |
|
Print Plaza is more than just another marketplace for print services. Bringing together
five future-oriented offset printing houses, it promises a level of service, product variety and quality
unique among online providers. With access to a total of more than 80 printing units, Print Plaza is able
to offer a virtually all-encompassing print product portfolio, and one which no single company could
reasonably hope to match.
The Print Plaza production partners are Koller+Nowak (Dusseldorf), Druckhaus Berlin-Mitte (Berlin),
Mediengruppe Universal (Munich), Kraft Druck und Verlag (Ettlingen) and Tanghe Printing (Komen, Belgium).
All five companies work most efficiently, are networked via JDF/JMF and deliver high-quality prints in
compliance with industry standard ISO 12647-2. This also allows for problem-free production, despite
the broad diversity of production equipment with presses from different manufacturers for formats
from 45 x 50 cm (= 17.72 x 19.69 inches) up to large format 120 x 162 cm (= 47.27 x 63.78 inches)
and corresponding finishing solutions.
Customers of Print Plaza thus profit from an incredible bandwidth of products and product variations
based on high format flexibility, an appealing selection of papers, and comprehensive finishing and
refinement possibilities. Currently, printplaza.com offers more than 300,000 different product combinations. |
 |
The print buyer selects the required product on printplaza.com and places an
order. The order is allocated to one of the five printing houses for production. This automated distribution
of jobs is based on criteria such as product type, run length and/or postcode of the delivery address, and
is managed by a decision table in the background. The designated printer receives the order and JDF job
data. The JDF data can easily be integrated into his MIS systems via the "JDF import" function
and are then available for the internal production processes.
From this moment on, the "Internet job" is handled in both the administration and production
processes in the same way as any other job - on the basis of the supplied job data, customer data
(in this case always "Print Plaza") and delivery specifications. Such information is similarly
contained in the JDF data communicated to the production systems. |
|
The market segment of online print shops is growing fast with new vendors and systems -
though the applications themselves often leave much to be desired in terms of user-friendliness. Print Plaza,
therefore, aimed not only at being available 24 hrs / 7 days a week and, in doing so, at trimming down the
costs for sales and administration while simultaneously winning new markets with minimal expenditure. An
equally important target was to create a Web-to-Print application which is self-explanatory and easy to use
for the customer. "Printing made easy" was best realised with a fully integrated and automated system
making use of JDF technology. After all, the production partners apply various workflows and machinery
from Heidelberg, KBA, Kodak, Komori, manroland and MBO, and this all needs to function together in a
coherent production workflow. The companies all presented ideal conditions for the project, however,
through their use of a HIFLEX MIS for internal order processing.
An "open" Web-to-Print solution such as the HIFLEX Webshop is accessible by everybody.
Registration is only required when an order is placed. To this end, HIFLEX has developed a new
system which complements the existing modules of a "closed" solution available since 2002
with a number of brand new features. The focus was here placed on ultimately flexible product
configuration and unrestricted JDF connectivity, while providing all the tools necessary for
successful online marketing. |
printplaza.com went online in May 2007. Initially only in German, the site
meanwhile offers also the English, French and Dutch languages. The underlying platform is the HIFLEX
Webshop. "In order to implement a best-in-class solution, we analysed several Web shop systems
in advance of our new development, and we are very pleased with the result," says Stefan Reichhart,
managing director of HIFLEX. The HIFLEX Webshop can be used independently of the HIFLEX's MIS offering.
"Our shop system is thus a useful tool for any printer seeking to enter the online business world."
One of the special things about the HIFLEX Webshop is its structure. All the elements of a print
product are separated into their basic constituents, which are configured as tables in a database.
"If, for instance, the price of a particular paper changes, then this only has to be updated once
in the system and is then automatically available for all products." This procedure is also
beneficial in that a relatively small number of items can be combined to generate and calculate
thousands of printing products. |
 |
|
The print product is defined and the corresponding costs are already calculated
in the course of the product configuration. Only workable combinations are offered. The screenshot
illustrates (for the example of a poster) the different formats, page counts, paper types and required
post-press steps. As soon as the product is configured, a bar is displayed to show the prices for
different run lengths. Individual quantities can also be calculated on-the-fly. |
|
JDF provides the basis for a kind of "virtual company". With the
help of JDF, an information and communication infrastructure has been established which eliminates
former disadvantages such as the loss of time and other hurdles presented by spatial distance.
When an order is placed, the job is automatically allocated to one of the five partner printing
houses according to a pre-defined decision table. This automated distribution of jobs is based
on criteria such as product type, run length and/or postcode of the delivery address. The designated
printer receives the order together with the relevant JDF job data (via e-mail or FTP upload). The
data flows into his MIS system and is thus available for internal production scheduling. From this
moment on, the "Internet job" is handled in both the administration and production processes
in the same way as any other job - on the basis of the supplied job data, customer data (in this
case always "Print Plaza") and delivery specifications. Such information is similarly
contained in the JDF data communicated to the production systems.
Print Plaza proves that JDF data generated via the Internet and a Web-to-Print application can also
be made available to and processed within integrated administration systems such as HIFLEX MIS.
"It is the first time that JDF technology has met up with Web-to-Print in a single implementation,"
as HIFLEX managing director Stefan Reichhart comments.
CIPPI review panel judge Patrick Cahuet of 1Prime|Concept described Print Plaza as a "fantastic
Web-to-print project! Far beyond the competition." During the award presentation at Drupa, he
introduced the project by saying: "This is the future of the printing industry." And Stefan
Reichhart concludes: "The awards attest to our technology leadership in the field of JDF connectivity
and Web-to-Print. At the same time, they prove that our business automation solutions bring greater
efficiency and profitability." |
With the claim "Printing made easy", Print Plaza themselves
raised the standard another notch in terms of usability. In order to attain this target, HIFLEX
implemented a new and easy-to-handle product configurator, which defines and simultaneously estimates
the cost of a printing product. Even the most complex orders are reduced to a few clicks of the mouse.
A print product can be quickly assembled from its individual properties (such as format, number of
pages, colour, paper, finishing and refinement). During the configuration process, unworkable
combinations are excluded by way of a plausibility check, and any inherently necessary processing
steps (e.g. scoring with 200 gsm stocks) are added. Products based on multiple components, such as
brochures and magazines, are processed accordingly: the cover and content are defined separately.
Print Plaza is similarly customer-oriented when it comes to order quantities. Even though print
runs from 100 up to 100,000 copies (and more) are pre-defined, any individual run length can also
be calculated in real time. The ability to specify individual formats for certain product groups
is also special to Print Plaza.
High process reliability
After product configuration, the customer can open and print an automatically generated PDF
quotation (price, delivery costs, VAT and total price) with details of the dispatch date and
the total weight of the consignment. The PDF also includes a fact sheet with the configured
product specification, a product preview, product design plan and information on data specifications
such as CMYK colour scheme, resolution, end format and cutting marks. Moreover, the customer is
informed as to when the print data must be supplied, and when the product will be dispatched.
 |
The automatically generated PDF quotation includes product specifications and prices
(delivery costs and VAT are displayed separately) and informs the print buyer regarding
the dispatch date and the time by which product approval is required. Moreover, a fact
sheet provides information on print product definitions, offers a product preview and
explains the most important technical specifications. |
As soon as calculation is finished and the order is placed, the customer receives confirmation
via an automatically generated e-mail. This e-mail also contains a link for uploading of the
printing data. The portal also permits print data to be uploaded directly within the ordering
process, without having to leave the portal.
Unique to printplaza.com is the integrated preflight check. The print data are
checked immediately (preflight), and the customer receives immediate notification as to
whether the data are suitable for further processing. This instant data check for PDFs
guarantees reliable order processing and achieves a high degree of certainty for the print
buyer, not least also with regard to delivery dates.
 |
|
Upload and Preflight |
If "Softproof" was selected when the order was placed, the print shop system will
also organise this approval step on a digital basis (online proof).
All these possibilities, together with the corresponding technical terms, are explained comprehensively
and in a manner also readily understandable to inexperienced users in the FAQ section. Additionally,
tips and set-up details for various programs are provided. |
|
All five partner companies use the HIFLEX MIS system, have realised extensive
JDF connectivity over the past years, and can therefore point to ultimate transparency, flexibility
and productivity. Moreover, all five have already been honoured (repeatedly in some cases) with CIPPI
Awards for their individual networking projects.
Köller+Nowak - located in Düsseldorf, full-service commercial printer with 10 employees.
Pre-press has featured a CtP platesetter controlled by Kodak's Prinergy workflow since 2003, networked
since April 2005; FM screening is used as standard. In the press department, a five-colour Heidelberg SM 52
and a four-colour Heidelberg SM 74 produce high-quality products. Finishing includes cutting, folding
and saddle-stitching.
Druckhaus Berlin-Mitte - sheetfed printing company with three production locations and
approximately 100 employees. The company's production centres on general commercial printing,
direct mail, posters, books and magazines. Printing is managed on two MAN Roland 700 presses,
one MAN Roland 900, a Heidelberg Speedmaster and two KBA Rapidas in medium and large format.
The JDF implementation today comprises the HIFLEX MIS, a Kodak Prinergy pre-press workflow,
and the KBA and manroland printing presses, as well as integration with bookbinding.
Mediengruppe Universal - sheetfed offset printer in Munich with around 50 employees and a portfolio covering
business reports, magazines, books, promos and calendars. The pre-press technology comprises two Kodak CtP
platesetters and the Prinergy PDF workflow. The press room houses a Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74-5 (52 x 74 cm / 29")
plus two B1 (74 x 105 cm / 41½") KBA Rapida 105 presses. Post-press capabilities include die-cutting, cutting and
folding.
Kraft Druck - situated in the area of Karlsruhe, as a high-end commercial printer serving customers
with top quality standards. The product portfolio comprises weekly and monthly publications, posters and
premium commercial products. Pre-press features a Kodak Prinergy PDF workflow and a fully automatic Lotum
800 Quantum thermal platesetter delivering the plates for three MAN Roland 700 sheetfed offset presses.
Post-press includes amongst others three MBO folding machines.
Tanghe Printing - Belgian printing house counting 28 employees and producing for customers from
Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The extensive portfolio of commercial printing products
is managed on Komori presses (4c and 5c plus coating) in B1 (41½") format, while pre-press is equipped
with Kodak's PDF Prinergy workflow. Alongside manifold finishing capabilities, the company offers
special UV coatings. |
|
|
Example of production flow (here: Mediengruppe Universal)
 |
(1) JDF job ticket from Print Plaza is loaded into the HIFLEX MIS.
(2) Upon order entry in the HIFLEX Order Book, the job is automatically available in HIFLEX Scheduling.
(3) Upon order entry in the HIFLEX Order Book, the relevant organisational and technical JDF job data are transferred to Kodak Prinergy via JDF.
(4) Transfer of time and material costs (marked as included, chargeable separately, error, etc.) from Prinergy to HIFLEX.
(5) Transfer of PPF colour profiles (CIP3 data) from Prinergy to HIFLEX, where they are interpreted and (later) forwarded to the presses together with the JDF job ticket.
(6) As soon as the job is ready to print, JDF job data are sent to the KBA Logotronic Professional system at the press via JDF.
(7) Logotronic provides HIFLEX with JMF feedback from production. |
|
Print Plaza offers the reliable production and quick delivery of "inexpensive"
print products with excellent paper and image quality. The possibility to enter custom formats and run lengths
into the product configuration for immediate online calculation is globally unique.
Production is assigned to one of five mid-sized print companies in Germany and Belgium. To ensure fast
and reliable order processing, Print Plaza AG works with a consistently networked and automated data
workflow, including JDF job tickets.
Printplaza.com can be used in the German, English, French and Dutch languages, and is based
on Web shop technology produced by HIFLEX GmbH in Aachen, Germany. www.printplaza.com |
|
| |
