Got the Hook Up?

Using the speed and accessibility of the Internet, digital data transmission lessens the foibles of file transfer.

by Diane L. Moore, Contributing Editor

The days when package printers could depend on slow modems, out-dated computers, and sometimes less-than-reliable FTP sites to send and receive customer files are over. And the very idea of sending ZIP and JAZZ cartridges back and forth from printer to customer? No longer an option. In today's high speed world, sending files via the Internet has become the norm—no longer the exception.

In just the past three years, printers have seen the decline in ISDN, T1, and T100 connections—replaced by DSL and Internet-based service providers. Also, we've seen the rise of the e-commerce print procurement model that promises subscriber printers the ease of Internet file transmission combined with print procurement, job tracking, billing, etc. But that's for another article.

True, as telephone companies install lines with greater bandwidth, printers are taking advantage of this new frontier in record numbers. One option still remains the do-it-yourself Web site with FTP capabilities and the requisite software and hardware care, feeding, and upgrades. This was the option many printers were comfortable with for years. However, with today's technological advances, does hosting one's own site make sense in the market today?

New millennium, new options

As more printers re-think the idea of digital data transmission, many realize the necessity of the speed an Internet-based product delivers. Thousands are turning to the e-commerce print procurement model as a way to get into fast digital data transmission quickly, while others are choosing to go the route of using one of the leading Internet-based services to help them achieve their goals quickly.

WAM!NET network service is based on a pay-as-you-go model with monthly service charges that include all 24/7 technical support, any installation requirements, any customer points of premise (C-POP or the Purple Box) hardware needed, and a monthly megabyte allowance for package delivery. Prices range from $60 to $4,000 a month for the Service, depending on the speed of delivery required.

The company's Layered Media Services includes three levels of network services. WAM!NET enables customers to collaborate online and share large digital files, shortening production cycles and reducing costs.

WAM!NET® Direct! is the company's fastest, most secure network service, supporting both still and motion-based media. ISDN Tracked Service provides customers with secure connectivity to the private network via an ISDN dial-up connection, while Internet Gateway Services allows industry partners to exchange, and track, data files over the Internet.

The company's storage services include outsourced, subscription-based storage accessible via a privately managed, IP-based network, or an Internet connection through the company Web site. Also available is WorkSpace, an online, accessible disk drive for works in progress, and WAM!BASE® Archive Service, a centralized, off-site management and storage service for completed projects.

Hosted workflow applications embedded in the suite include electronic job tickets; the InfoCenter, a service that allows customers to manage distribution online; and WAM!PROOF® Remote Proofing Service, a facility enabling clients and their creative teams to output and review hard copy proofs from any PostScript printing device.

Making the connection

Vio is an Application Service Provider (ASP) with a suite of advanced online workflow applications that utilizes a high-speed network for rapid and secure file transfer. These applications are accessible through various connectivity options, ranging from the Internet and a user's own Internet Service Provider (ISP), to high-speed Vio ISDN and DGN connections.

Vio's charges are based on a scalable approach to usage fees. The ASP services eliminate the need to install on-premises custom or proprietary hardware, software, and systems.

Vio currently offers the following workflow applications:

•Remote Print (ICC-color managed remote printing)

•RenderProof (allowing collaborative soft proofing in real time)

•M-cast (an online, scalable media asset management service from Vio and AGT)

•Quickcut (quality assurance software that eliminates design and production errors)

•"Send to Me" (a new automatic job ticketing Applet that allows the user to receive files from any customer—even non-Vio users)

As an integral part of its core file transfer service, Vio also provides six job management applications: automatic job tracking, job trafficking, e-mail notification, job prioritization, file retrieval, and drag-and-drop "Hot Icons" with automated naming and job ticketing.

Whether printers choose a do-it-yourself approach, an experienced Internet-based service, or membership in an e-commerce print procurement community, the future of digital data transmission looks brighter thanks to improved communication capabilities and high-speed access. According to Forrester Research, industry online storage requirements will grow at a compound annual rate of 78.8 percent between 1999 and 2003. That alone is enough to make many a printer consider Internet-based services for data transmission and storage facilities.