Spring is in the air,
the season of new beginnings.
Read on for fresh
inspiration on extending print room services.
Also below:
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Evolving with your Web-to Print system?
It is widely acknowledged that changing work practises are having an impact on the services offered by in-plant print rooms. To stay relevant and profitable many print operations are revisiting and extending their portfolio of services.
A Web-to-Print system helps manage production efficiently. However, it can also support a wider range of services - all of which can add further value to your business. Here are 5 suggestions on areas in which in-plant print rooms can extend their offering:
Catalogues
A recent study by APCOM (The Association of Print and Communication Managers) showed that between 2014 and 2016 there had been a 24% increase in the number of members offering archive/storage as a service. Storage can provide added value beyond simply keeping a copy of the document and can help avoid wasteful local reproduction. Skyline Storefront Catalogues can be 'shared' for useful and commonly used templates/forms, or 'private' for personalised or sensitive documents. Storefront Catalogues can also be a source of inspiration; raising awareness of the type of documents/materials that the print room can handle.
Dispatch
Web-to-Print makes it easy for the print room to extend their services beyond print. Many operations are now looking to develop their job tickets to include distribution either via post or email. Skyline can be integrated with internal databases meaning sensitive data such as emails can be handled securely by the print room. For example, some Universities are choosing to use their print room to email personalised course notes direct to students.
Business Planning
A Web-to-Print system is a wealth of information; measuring and reporting on many details. Data can support print room development plans, help understand workflow, analyse trends and manage staffing levels. The print room can also supply internal departments with insightful business metrics on demand and usage.
Training
Print Room employees are experts in their field. Increasingly this knowledge is emerging from the 'basement'. The print room has a role to play in educating colleagues on the opportunities and considerations when ordering print, the advantages and benefits of ordering via a Web-to-Print System and even on areas such as branding and document design. We have seen examples of regular print room newsletters, open days in the print room and training & induction sessions.
Brokerage
Another notable figure in the APCOM study was a 77% increase in the number of members acting as brokers for their organisation. It may not always be cost effective or practical for the print room to produce more unusual print requests. Rather than leaving the problem to the client, the print room can still add value by using their expertise to source and brief external providers. It might even be appropriate to charge a fee for this service - delivering a win-win-win solution!
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Customer News
The Scottish Qualifications Authority recently took advantage of ePrint's Professional Services when, following the installation of their Skyline system, they chose to invest in a 2-day training course delivered by a member of ePrint.
Within a week, the SQA team had installed a new theme and a suite of fully costed products. In fact, they were so proficient with the Skyline system, they chose to extend the normal Skyline parameters to include forms to allow users to submit a despatch request that specified fields for different quantities to different addresses, inclusion of stock items, 3rd party items and locally printed items.
This is a great example of the accessibility and flexibility of the Skyline system. Skyline is easy to adopt which allows you to have your Storefront up and running in days - as demonstrated by the SQA team. However, this ease of use does not mean Skyline is basic as it can be developed, extended and integrated to meet your specific organisation's needs.
For more information on
Service Plus our range of supplementary professional services for our customers, including consultancy and training contact us on
[email protected] or call 01438 726 732.
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Events for the Spring & Summer
ePrint will be sponsoring and attending the ACUP (Association of College and University Printers) annual conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 2-4 2017. If you are a higher education or K-12 in-plant, we hope to see you there. The conference offers key-note presentations, workshops, networking and a vendor fair, where ePrint will be showcasing the latest Skyline developments.
Following hotly on the heels of ACUP, will be the Xerox GIS Production Training Event Partner Fair. To be held at the Gil Hatch Center, Webster, on April 5 and where we are looking forward to catching up with our Xerox Partners and sharing industry news and ideas.
As we enter the Summer months, we are delighted to sponsor the ACMPE (Association of Creative & Print Managers in Education) Conference from the 4-7 June. This year we are heading to the banks of the River Clyde and the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel, Glasgow, for 'Creating the Right Impression'.
2017's theme is about appealing to hearts and minds - changing perceptions, raising profiles and generating income. Not just the perceptions of the customers you serve directly (academic & support staff, students and external clients), but also helping to influence how educational institutions are perceived by the world.
What a great choice of topic and we like to think Skyline might be able to help with this objective!
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Starter for 10: Windows Updates
Many times,
when talking to customers
, the software terms we use often need more explanation than the 'print' part of Web-to-Print.
Latest in our new 'starter for 10' series -
Windows Updates.
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When ePrint carries out a service call on the Skyline Servers one of the first things we check is that Windows Updates have been carried out.
Windows Updates
are important because they contain security updates, bug fixes and new features, all of which can affect the performance of your Skyline system.
While in-house IT departments generally take care of this work, it's not always the case that these are carried out regularly. Neglecting to regularly run updates, can mean a backlog that
takes time to clear and requires multiple restarts of the server. In turn this can slow down your PDF conversion as the server works hard to perform large numbers of
updates.
W
e now monitor Server updates as part of
Skyline Service Plus
.
Correct and appropriate management of the server, like any engine, keeps the system running optimally.
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For more information on Windows Updates or any other questions about Skyline installation and/or operation, please do contact us.
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And finally......
Throughout March we have been running a series of short webinars on using Skyline Publish to create and share documents within an organisation.
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The webinar will be held on Friday 31 March at 4 pm (GMT) and will be just 15 minutes in duration to fit in with busy diaries.
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