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Digital Trends from the Show #2
September 11, 2007

In the last blog we discussed some of the digital trends from the Graph Expo show but ran out of room to discuss some emerging issues. The issues were integration issues between the stand alone web to print solutions and the MIS systems and concerns about the new Microsoft XPS file format.

If you use a web to print solution that is based on a ASP (application service provider) or SaaS (software as a Service) then your not hosting the software on your server. As a result you can’t extract scheduling, inventory or shipping information from it and integrate it into your existing MIS scheduling, inventory, fulfillment or shipping modules.

In the simplest of terms not being able to combine scheduling, inventory, fulfillment or shipping data from the two systems defeats the purpose of using scheduling, inventory, fulfillment and shipping tools. For example, you may know that you have 7 hours of bindery time scheduled from your conventional offset print workflow and then discover you have additional work from your digital presses that you did not know about.

Using the philosophy of “is this a threat or an opportunity” - this may be a huge opportunity for the Software Integrators of the world. If someone creates a solution for one company, there may be dozens more who would  also pay to solve that problem. As the saying goes, "create a worthwhile solution to a customer problem and they will beat your doors down for it".

Another possible issue involves the new Microsoft 2007 Office Suite file format, output format and page description language know as XPS. According to Microsoft “The print architecture for the next version of the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system takes advantage of the new open XML Paper Specification (XPS, formerly codenamed “Metro”). The XPS Document format serves as a document format, a spool file format, and a page description language (PDL) for printers.” The new file format and PDL are the concerns.

Although new, there are already reports and complaints that it is neither backward compatible with older versions of Office suite programs, not cross platform compatible with the Macintosh and difficult to figure out how to print to high resolution devices. The save to PDF option is no available in the initial install but has to be downloaded and installed later. (This link will point you to the right link http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821397). There are some beta software programs to deal with these issues but people are saying sometimes they work and sometimes they do not. (For more information follow this link http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bbc16ebf-4823-4a12-afe1-5b40b2ad3725&DisplayLang=en#AffinityDownloads or Google "Windows Vista Product Guide".)

And the biggest question is how well will these files work with the existing high resolution PostScript RIPS and will everyone need to upgrade to the next generation of Global Graphics Rips Harlequin RIP – Version 8.0 which is the only RIP with native interpretation for XPS files.

I mentioned these concerns at the R & E Breakfast and was swamped at the conclusion. Some users  were happy to hear their issues made public and some of the manufacturers not so happy to have their issues made public. For example, one of the MIS manufacturers came up and offered his opinion of the presentation using some “colorful language”. That was immediately followed by some of the  XPS suppliers “inviting” me to visit the XPS land on the showroom flloor.

As you can imagine - these back to back events made me feel like I  was living a scene from the Sopranos. I was waiting for someone to say, “Hey - we don’t say bad things about integration issues or XPS files. You keep saying bad things and you will be swimming with the fishes at the bottom of the XPS Lake.”

But before my life is really in danger - I will do some more XPS investigation, try to get some more answers and write about them next time. As they say on Batman, same Bat time same Bat station.

Posted by Howie Fenton on September 11, 2007 | Comments (0)