Adopting and sustaining a smooth workflow is crucial for any business. Commercial printers in particular are challenged by an increasing demand for short runs and custom jobs – and simply investing in extra hardware just doesn’t cut it anymore. Unless workflows are optimized, the following bottlenecks will occur and lead any printing business to chaos.
1. There is no proper ordering system
Automating customer queries and job orders by putting a proper ordering system, such as CONNECT ALL in place – or by integrating Switch into a web-to-print system – speeds up services and reduces errors tremendously. Last-minute changes are no longer an issue, while templates make it easier to control brand management. Next to making print on demand possible and keeping bottlenecks at bay, an efficient ordering system also offers clients a chance to view the finished job in advance, as most web-to-print systems show PDF previews. In short, an ordering system is a win-win for everyone involved in the printing process.
2. Poky prepress processes
Human decision-making and manual interventions in the prepress stage slow down the prepress process considerably, costing a printing business big time when there are actually a great deal of alternatives at hand. Print automation software makes prepress much more cost-effective, relieving operators from preflighting, cropping, making grommet holes, and enabling them to reallocate their time to the more creative parts of the printing game.
3. Conflicting variable data jobs
Personalized print is trending, so customers are increasingly implementing variable data into jobs. Consequently, printers are experiencing an increased need for automated data management. Without automation, executing all those variable jobs takes hours or even days instead of minutes.
4. Jobs that go MIA
These days, a well-informed customer is a happy customer. Keeping your customers informed throughout the entire printing process is easier said than done, though, if you don’t have a central dashboard that keeps track of jobs from the moment an order is placed and sends customers automatic job status notifications. Watch out for the new features coming in Switch 2018!
