SOFTSPOT: MIS System Powers Profits

Printers moving to computer-integrated manufacturing report difficulty in finding a management information system (MIS) that can both link all devices in a workflow and connect the production side of operations to the business side.
Hiflex's software solution, specifically developed for print, is installed on 10,000 workstations, with a worldwide installed base of roughly 300 systems, mainly in Europe, says the company. Hiflex, founded in Germany, claims to be the number one MIS provider in Europe and the only provider to offer JDF (job definition format) data structure from the ground up.
A unique feature of Hiflex is that the individual nodes of its software can be brought together so signatures can be positioned on gang runs, split through cutting and later merged back together in the saddlestitcher or perfect binder. The system can track all that activity.
“The Hiflex MIS system allows printers to flatten their infrastructure and remove a significant amount of manual labor and cost in the process,” says Gary Marron, president of Hiflex North America, noting Hiflex can integrate with every major vendor's JDF-enabled products.

The company invests 40% of its annual gross sales revenue in research and development of new products, he says. Systems are designed exclusively by Hiflex's development team; the firm does not use third-party “add on” software solutions or JDF interfaces.
Hiflex is installed in more than 20 major solution provider's R&D and demo facilities, such as Agfa, Kodak, Screen, Heidelberg, Horizon, KBA, MAN Roland, MBO, Muller Martini and more.
JDF and workflow integration cannot simply be purchased, notes Marron. A company has to lay the foundation by planning, developing and organizationally preparing. Success depends on whether the business software can map complex estimates in an operation with technical accuracy.
Chicago printer adds 2nd press to mix
A handful North American printers use the system. One of these is commercial shop All Out Inc., Woodridge, IL, which uses Hiflex MIS. Its Hiflex system connects bi-directionally to workflow modules, which are linked to production operating systems from KBA and Kodak that use JDF. All Out purchased the Hiflex system to support its lean manufacturing initiative. All Out's production systems include a 5-color, 56´´ KBA Rapida 142 with Logotronic Professional and Kodak Prinergy PDF workflow driving a Magnus VLF platesetter and a NexPress digital press.
“We are planning to grow the business very aggressively, and the Hiflex system will allow us to accomplish this with much fewer staff than our competitors,” says president J.B. Capuano. The growth plan apparently is working. Capuano says All Out has just signed for another 56´´ Rapida 6-color with full interdeck UV curing.
Company operations VP Gordon Gizowski says, when comparing major MIS systems on the market, he found many of the available systems were limited in JDF connectivity. JDF is an industry standard designed to simplify information exchange between different graphic arts applications, systems and devicesA JDF file describes the intent of a print job and the steps or processes required to produce it—including job description, file delivery, imposition, ink key set up, printing, converting and delivery. It bridges the gap between production and MIS.
JDF uses the Adobe digital job ticket that is completed, read and then modified by production systems of different vendors, starting with MIS and then by other systems—prepress, press and postpress.
Gizowski says the Hiflex system's ability to create live, fully editable layouts in the original estimate, and transfer these downstream to prepress, press and postpress, removes a lot of manual steps that are both inefficient and a frequent source of errors in the production process.
Efficient and more accurate
The estimate is the basis for the job ticket, scheduling, historic costing and the JDF-based control of the production machines. Layouts created in Hiflex's estimating module are instantly converted into production plans and are sent downstream to Preps and Prinergy software, he says, where jobs and impositions are automatically created based on those layouts. The process eliminates the role of the production planner and saves prepress operators having to re-key imposition specifications.
When the job is in prepress, all status changes (at the job and page level) are sent back to Hiflex using JMF (job messaging format). Machines are continuously sending JMF data related to the production status, where they are displayed in the Hiflex scheduling application.
A key benefit is that materials consumed are automatically booked against the job, including: material name, quantity, operator, job component and reason. As a result, costs can be recorded accurately, and any material consumption beyond the estimated quantity can be immediately investigated. If these are chargeable alterations, they will be flagged as such and billed to the customer.

The Hiflex scheduler (shown) serves as a JDF controller for presses and postpress equipment. Once the schedule is set for a job, JDF job tickets—containing all administrative details (customer, job number, description) and technical details (paper, inks, work style, run length, makeready allowance, etc.)—are transferred to the press, so there's no re-keying of existing data. Once the ink-key settings are delivered from prepress, makeready can start.
While All Out's press is running, KBA's Logotronic Professional sends real-time JMF messages to the Hiflex system. Anyone in the plant can see the status of the press: job number, sheet number, good sheets, waste, job progress in percent and more.
Hiflex claims sheetfed printers using its Automated Production Planning System can automatically determine the most efficient way to product products 80% of the time. That rate increases to 90% for web-offset printers.

“Another feature we liked about the Hiflex package was their unique, flat-rate, licensing mechanism,” says Capuano. “As we grow, we will not have to buy additional licenses to deploy additional seats of their software.” Because no additional licensing fees are required, the firm won't be faced with complex ROI calculations to justify expenditures when adding JDF-enabled devices. “Instead of playing with Excel spreadsheets for two days, to figure out if it's worth investing further in JDF, we can actually test the JDF connectivity and measure the actual results,” he adds.
The core focus of most printers is cost reduction, particularly the reduction of labor. “All Out will serve as a model for the future,” says Marron. “Not only will they have an extremely lean manufacturing process, but the tools that we have provided them will allow them to eliminate many common errors and capture many sources of lost revenue ... [that] have significant impact on bottom-line profit.”