PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: MIS Extends Its Influence

Some day, we may look back on 2007 as the year print management information systems (MIS) took center stage. During Graph Expo's pre-show Executive Outlook Conference, MIS systems were deemed the foremost technology required to assure survival in today's ultra-competitive print marketplace. Now that tools to streamline and automate nearly every individual production process are readily available, it seems that the printing industry is ready to concentrate on systems that can link these islands of automation into a cohesive whole.

Toronto-based Avanti Systems creates and configures Print MIS systems for commercial, digital and in-plant centers, concentrating on sheetfed workflows. Building on 23 years of experience handling business and production data, Avanti offers software modules to manage everything from core functions such as estimating, quotation letters and order entry to specialized tasks such as mailing, fulfillment and inventory control.

Avanti software supports queries from popular report writers (e.g. Crystal Reports) and is built on Microsoft's XML-savvy .NET technology, making it easy to route financial data to a variety of external accounting packages. Connectivity is further enhanced by an eAccess Web-to-print module, linking printer e-commerce services directly to production and management data. Job status, change requests and inventory tracking are detailed in real time—a capability that has become essential as the volume of print ordered online continues to grow.

Version 9.0 of Avanti's Print MIS system debuted at this spring's On Demand show, where it claimed “Best of Show” in the MIS category as well as awards for its customer relations management (CRM) module and JDF framework. Documenting its own framework for Job Description Format (JDF) integrations has made it easier for Avanti to communicate with a number of external applications, including Komori K-Station press consoles, Xerox FreeFlow document management system and Kodak PREPS imposition software.

During Graph Expo, Avanti announced JDF connectivity with Creo color servers from Kodak's Print On-Demand Solutions Group. This enables the automatic transfer of job ticket data to a hot folder on the Creo RIP. Still under development is true two-way communication via the Job Messaging Format (JMF) protocol. This will allow Avanti's Print MIS system to automatically collect press run data for job tracking and billing purposes.

“It's up to the vendors to work together, to make the plug-and-play as seamless as possible,” says Patrick Bolan, Avanti CEO. “The reality, however, is that vendors all have slightly different implementations of the JDF specification, so Avanti developed a JDF framework that provides a basis for 85% of the integration process.”

While the initial effort for a particular integration can be substantial, Avanti's business model has been to spread these development costs over multiple installations, keeping the cost lower for each adaptation. “We'll work closely with a particular manufacturer to understand the nuances of their JDF implementation, and once it's up and running for the first customer, it becomes plug and play,” says Bolan. “That's allowed us to bring JDF integration to the medium-size printers at an affordable price.”