Should you be looking at cloud-based workflows and at becoming a lights out operation? Printfactory founder and CEO Erik Strik argues the point
Imagine the ability to run a total lights-out operation, 24/7.
This is where cloud-based workflow automation can take
large-format printing but, while technology has moved on
significantly, mindsets invariably have not. Perhaps yours is
one of the majority of large-format PSPs that still relies on
traditional workflows.
Automating or partially automating workflows has long
been known to significantly boost efficiency, productivity and
profitability. Yet the development of cloud-based software
and services marks a significant step-change in how print
businesses can leverage the benefits of automation and
transition to even smarter ways of working.
So how can OEMs, technology vendors and the reseller
community better support the wide-format inkjet sector in
embracing a different way of doing things?
Simply put, typical workflows for LFP are inefficient and
expensive. You know it. Relying on canned colour profiles,
multiple Rips with differing colour and a mix of pre-press tools,
and colour management platforms – occasionally even ICC
profiling using a photo spectrometer – comes at a significant
cost, representing lost and essentially unbillable time.
With a traditional workflow, an average of 35% of time
per job is spent getting ‘print ready’ and 20% on colour
management, all while the machine is laid idle with pre-press
eating away at potential profit and reducing overall capacity.
Then of course, if a job does not print perfectly due to
device calibration errors or inaccurate colour profiles and whathave-you,
you must go through the troubleshooting process
and reprint, adding more unbillable time to the job cycle as
well as wasting valuable ink and media.
Furthermore, without a joined up network of software and
hardware, it becomes extremely difficult for operators to
receive reliable data to assist in identifying where wastage
and production bottlenecks occur.
Through the power of the cloud, automation can address
these workflow dead zones, slashing time taken in pre-press,
doubling throughput while using the same resource. Easy to say,
but how exactly does the cloud support this?
The power of the cloud is such that it offers print organisations
full control over all facets of the production process through a
single interface, regardless of location. As well as synchronising
monitoring and management of every printer across all sites, it is
set up and maintained entirely by the software provider and can
back-up profiles and settings from every device on the network,
ensuring recovery of vital data should any network disruption occur.
As cloud-based technology is set up and maintained entirely
by the software provider, it also removes the need for an internal
IT department within a PSP, providing peace of mind that the
technology driving their business is consistently up-to-date.
Software-as-a-service (SAAS)
Thought about SaaS? As trust in the security of the cloud grows, an
increasing number of companies are beginning to employ cloudbased
software-as-a-service (SaaS) delivery models to implement
automated workflows. This ‘on-demand’ software model is built on
providing fully accessible services via a web browser through monthly
payments, removing the need for costly upfront investment.
The model provides powerful scalability and reliability, enabling
companies of any size to leverage features from single to multiple
sites. It also means that the software can be automatically patched
and updated via the cloud, rather than requiring an operator to
maintain the software or install any updates.
Connecting the dots between MIS, ERP and RIPS
Where there has been limited uptake of cloud-based automation
solutions, print set-ups tend to ‘cherry pick’ the work streams they
entrust to the cloud. They may invest in management information
systems (MIS) or enterprise resource planning (ERP)
modules – automating procedures for estimating, booking in
and production – but as these don’t always sit seamlessly
alongside workflow technology, they can actually cause
greater inefficiencies and disjointed file processing and
delivery.
As the most sophisticated systems now offer powerful
linking tools to the cloud, MIS, ERPs and Rips can now
be integrated into the workflow system with JDF or XML,
which then enables the software to provide end to end file
processing and delivery of production data to the MIS or
ERP to ensure maximum efficiency from MIS to print.
Data-driven insights from cloud-based reporting
The cloud also delivers powerful device and job reporting
capabilities through a browser-based dashboard that can be
accessed from anywhere in the world. As the latest workflow
software enables data from connected devices to be
delivered to the cloud, businesses can monitor any aspect
of the production process across their device network in
real time.
As the cloud is fully-scalable, it can collect data from any
number of devices. Drawing from this pool of data offers
businesses informed insights on every aspect of their
operations. As well as enabling operators to track and trace
the status of any job instantly, cloud-based dashboards
can offer cost calculations and reporting of ink and media
usage, enabling companies to manage their consumables
usage more accurately than ever before.
Dynamic Nesting
Going a step further, dynamic nesting enables companies to
create dynamically scaling nesting workflows, providing true
automation through cloud-based processing of jobs with
local delivery to Rips and printers for maximum efficiency.
Working backwards from the delivery deadline, the
function allows PSPs to plan job allocation using just-in-time
scheduling techniques. As jobs are submitted to the cloud,
they are automatically categorised by output criteria, such
as media optimisation and/or deadline.
The system works by committing jobs to buckets
allocated with these different criteria, which can then
be combined into nesting groups according to output
conditions. Each bucket draws on a wide pool of network
data delivered to the cloud to dynamically test multiple
combinations and find the most efficient outcomes. Once it
does, it then delivers the jobs to the Rip to output.
With job scheduling and nesting managed centrally in the
cloud, the Rip is then free to process an unlimited number
of jobs on demand driving multiple printers while delivering
consistent colour output across devices (this is dependent
on the capabilities of the supporting network and combined
hardware). Last minute scheduling changes can also be
dealt with efficiently, as the jobs are re-queued in the cloud
instantly and only delivered to the Rip for processing at the
point of output, ensuring more efficient ripping and less
reprocessing.
A huge benefit is that jobs no longer need to be
committed to a specific output device until the very last
minute, so if a device goes offline, the nest of jobs can be instantly
diverted to another machine. If priorities change, the technology
can accommodate the scheduling of more urgent runs to print
quicker, or if orders are cancelled these can be easily removed
from the nesting schedule and replaced with a different job.
As the power of the cloud frees up expensive local storage and
processing, the technology can efficiently manage the workload no
matter how many jobs need to be printed – allowing the potential
for full, lights out automation.
Trends dictating the extent and pace of change
As a data-driven activity, print is prime for cloud-based automation.
The McKinsey Global Institute’s ‘A Future That Works’ report,
published in January 2016, identifies the five most important
factors influencing the pace and extent of adopting automation as:
- Technical feasibility
- Cost of developing and deploying solutions
- Labour market dynamics
- Economic benefits
- Regulatory and social acceptance
When considering automation via a cloud-based approach,
we can agree that at least four of these conditions have been
satisfied. Automation software has already been invented,
integrated and adopted by the large-format print sector, and the
LFP sector also understands that automating helps to cut costs by
reducing time spent per job, human error as well as ink and media wastage.
The growth of cloud-computing giants such as Amazon Web
Services (AWS), Microsoft and Google has also supported
the boom of cloud-based solutions across sectors. Each of
these platforms provide consumers and businesses alike with
accessible, scalable and importantly, inexpensive, means to offer
software via the cloud. Furthermore, government investment in
data centres and introduction of a ‘Cloud First’ policy to drive
adoption of cloud-based technology in the public sector indicates
regulatory and political acceptance of the cloud.
In terms of labour market dynamics, the McKinsey Global
Institute predicts that rather than human capability being displaced
by technology, man and machine will need to work side-by-side to
realise the true productivity potential of automation. Additionally,
researchers have theorised that automation will help offset the
impact of a declining share of the working-age population in many
countries including the UK.
With most of these factors checked off, we come to the final
hurdle: social acceptance.
While print technologies have moved on at a rapid rate, both the
workflow process itself and mindsets towards it have remained
pretty much unchanged for years. Committing to the cloud is
committing to the unknown for most large-format PSPs and for
many the intangibility of it is disconcerting. The perceived cost
and complexity of replacing legacy systems – not to mention the
potential disruption in transitioning – are obvious challenges that
keep print companies from switching from a manual to a cloudbased,
automated approach.
The wide-format print world is undeniably complex, and the
reality is that with change comes some degree of uncertainty.
The only way the industry can support the transition to cloud-based
automated workflows is through education, and a meeting of
minds with a desire for change with the right platform to enable
change.
