Web-to-Print at OnDemand

With the exhibition hall doors now open after the keynote speakers had finished, a larger than expected crowd made its way onto the floor. Many of the big names in hardware were there; Canon, Xerox, Konica, Oce, InfoPrint, Presstek, Fuji etc. (HP did not show Indigo presses and Kodak pulled out). Much of what I had come to see could be found on the smaller booths where all that was required to do a demonstration was a laptop, a chair and someone who knew what they were talking about!

The first stand I came to was Pageflex and, as it turns out, they had several new plays to announce: Pageflex Studio ID is a desktop plugin for Adobe InDesign CS4 more here Pageflex Storefront can now be integrated with Adobe InDesign CS4 Server Pageflex Storefront is now integrated with DirectSmile Online. PrimeGroup in the UK has been pioneering this integration. Lastly, Pageflex has released a charting application, with the creative name of 'Pageflex Chart' more here Quite predictably, these days, Pageflex won 2 'Best in Show' awards for web-to-print and document creation. Another application from Pageflex that is extremely useful is an iPhone App called 'WhatTheFont' It's in the App Store and if you are in the Print game it's a must have!

Just down the aisle the only British W2P vendor exhibiting, RedTie, is making a big splash across the pond and announced a new office in New York together with a gaggle of very experienced people to take the RedTie message across the continent. RedTie has also launched its Managed Services facility to help first time users (or very busy existing users) to deploy sites with a minimum of time and fuss, thereby eliminating the first timer's 'angst'.

NowDocs announced several new features. With the launch of NowDocs v7.0, the GUI has had a major overhaul and it has integrated XMPie for variable templates, VDP and cross-media campaigns. I didn't see an announcement anywhere but UPS (in the US) was demonstrating a NowDocs driven W2P solution aimed at small businesses.

EFI showed v4.0 of DigitalStoreFront hooked up to a large format printer in a completely integrated end-to-end workflow. This new version has an improved GUI, better approval processes, inventory control and background upload for large format artwork. The European Hosting centre in Sweden is now on stream.

XMPie showed a greatly improved uStore with its new release. Personal Effect 4.6 also won 'Best in Show' Much emphasis was rightly placed on multi-channel marketing and the theatre show (similar to the one at Drupa) was very professional.

OPS (Online Print Solutions) showed an enhanced GUI and a full suite of applications showing the depth and breadth of the offering.

Press-Sense iWay did not have a stand but it's new v5.0 release was evident on the Xerox, InfoPrint, Oce and PressTek stands. This release also shows an improved GUI and catalog facility. HP's SmartStream Director is based on iWay.

Reports on Printable Technologies, GMC, PrinterPresence will come soon.

There will be more to follow but already a common theme here is that much emphasis has been on improving the Graphic User Interface and, indeed, the whole user experience. At Last!

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