Leading pre-developed Web site solution for commercial print adds Adobe PDF job submission.

PrinterPresence, a pre-developed Web site and e-commerce solution, was originally developed for some of the industry’s largest franchise print operations. PrinterPresence is a complete solution that includes frequently updated content, easy-to-use file transfer, and online ordering, all at a fraction of the cost of building and maintaining an in-house Web site. Having established the value of their solutions for large corporations, PrinterPresence set out to bring innovation to smaller sized companies where the need was as strong, but the challenge was greater.

PrinterPresence aimed to provide the broad commercial print market with a no-compromise, cost-effective e-commerce solution for a higher level of service and convenience. There were three goals: to increase the range of services to existing customers, to provide scalable services to more modest size businesses, and to maintain high standards. After extensive investigation and thorough analysis, it became apparent that the solution was Adobe® PDF JobReady™ software and its integrator, Datalogics.

Overhead blues
Commercial printers live or die on the customer service they provide. Small and mid-sized printers, in particular, need to utilize new tools to reach new customers and provide greater convenience to existing ones.

PrinterPresence was well aware of the fact that much of the overhead in commercial print is caused by fixing the inevitable problems in the originating files. This process slows turnaround significantly and involves numerous approval cycles.

On the other hand, Adobe PDF makes it possible to eliminate hard-copy proofing for many types of jobs. PrinterPresence reasoned that print buyers who felt confident in the abilities of their print providers would accept secure digital proofs in exchange for faster turnaround and gains in overall efficiency.

PrinterPresence understood that delivering improved customer service would have to include the following features: the ability for print buyers to create bulletproof, no-hassle PDF files, the ability to soft-proof jobs before submission, and the ability to communicate with print providers through electronic job tickets right from the desktop. The goal was to provide customer service on every customer’s desktop.

Workflow efficiencies
After extensive investigation, PrinterPresence selected Datalogics and Adobe PDF JobReady as the best fit for their needs. They recognized the value in a solution from the company that invented PostScript ® and PDF technology. Adobe offered the highest level of product functionality across operating systems and applications, and the Adobe brand and name recognition would help increase customer adoption. As a partner, Datalogics provided rapid deployment, solid integration expertise, and responsive technical support.

“Electronic file preparation continues to be a challenge between print buyers and print companies. With the integration of PDF JobReady, we nearly eliminate errors caused by improper file preparation. Because the proofing is controlled on the print buyer’s end, print companies greatly improve their workflow efficiencies” said Tawnya Starr, PrinterPresence President. “Not only was JobReady the perfect complement to the features of PrinterPresence, but who better to partner with than the inventors of PostScript and PDF. It has made a clear difference to us and our clients.”

The addition of the Adobe PDF JobReady module has received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from PrinterPresence users. “Adobe PDF JobReady is an awesome tool,” reports Don Cortez, of First Impression Printing and Graphic in Howell, Michigan. “My customers think I am some type of genius. The utility has worked incredibly well on a variety of computer programs.”

His colleague, Jim Ajamy, a graphic designer, adds, “We have a very long standing customer who has historically furnished their art for print in the form of Microsoft Publisher files. This type of customer is ideal for Adobe PDF JobReady. Upon receipt of their next order, I leapt at the opportunity to promote this tool. Lo and behold everything worked perfect. No back and forth job movement with costly changes to adjust the file so our system would read it right. The file was ready to go the first time out.”

Bill Ganger, of Northwest Printing in Columbus, Ohio agrees, “We have a customer who regularly gets reports from her customers all over the world. When we installed PDF JobReady she broke out in a great big smile and said, ‘This is so great and will be so helpful with my job.’ It’s great for our business. We’ve received 500 page reports from her with no issues at all. We’re happy to have PrinterPresence as our partner.”

Bottom line savings and workflow efficiency
PrinterPresence has realized tremendous benefits from the addition of Adobe PDF JobReady. “From a sales standpoint, our partnership with Adobe and Datalogics has had a tremendous impact,” reports Starr. “Demonstrating Adobe PDF Job Ready as a utility is our strongest sales tool. Our response rate since the integration of PDF JobReady has been unprecedented. That’s a testament to Datalogics’ ability to deliver on our requirements and Adobe’s prowess in developing products with the highest standards of functionality and ease of use.”

PrinterPresence customers have been rewarded with bottom-line savings and substantial improvements in workflow efficiency. With Adobe PDF JobReady, PrinterPresence helps eliminate up to 90% of customer file problems for printers, while simplifying the ordering experience for print customers. The PDF JobReady utility is downloaded from the PrinterPresence Web site and installed on the desktop with one-step ease. When a job is ready for print submission, PDF JobReady works like any networked printer.

PrinterPresence customers have also realized tremendous savings in the area of digital proofing. The Adobe PDF JobReady module has eliminated the need to output and deliver expensive color proofs. Industry analysts estimate that the average cost for a hard-copy proof is $5. In addition, PDF JobReady eliminates other clumsy and labor-intensive proofing methods such as faxes and e-mail attachments. “Online proofing has also been very popular; our customers love that they don’t have to wait for a proof to be delivered or picked up,” reports Ed McEachern of Huron Valley Printing & Imaging in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

For PrinterPresence, the addition of Adobe PDF JobReady has accomplished exactly what was intended: to provide a Web site product for small and mid-sized printers that would enable them to offer new services, utilize idle capacity, and secure an expanded customer base beyond their immediate reach.

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