Software - MIS

The term MIS—management information systems—gets thrown around so much that the significance of its impact gets taken for granted. Company management and all employees making management decisions (and in well-managed companies, these decisions are made at the lowest possible organizational level) depend on accurate, real-time information to make good decisions that enhance the bottom line. So, you would think systems that provide the information for management decisions would get top billing, or at least some priority. However, this is not always the case. Companies that are in the MIS business for the printing arena sometimes struggle to win the battles for investment

User groups are a beneficial endeavor put to good use in a multitude of industries. The intent of these associations is to generate peer-to-peer interactions at the user (customer) level around a common technology or product. User group activities typically include the active participation of the company that supplies the technology or product. Chicago-based Radius Solutions, a provider of management information systems for the printing and packaging industries, recently held an “enhanced version” of its annual user conference. According to David Taylor, president of the company, he and an associate bought the company from its venture capital ownership about 18 months ago and immediately began

Advanced Vision Tech. AVT offers job quality data management tools for controlling production quality. Write 804, Visit www.avt-inc.com CRC Information Systems The System is a graphic-arts-specific business management system offering everything from estimating to e-commerce. Write 805, www.crcinfosys.com DiMS! organizing print By allowing printers to harness information on a centralized, Web-enabled database, DiMS! provides the ability to link internal information systems, track production data, and integrate operations with key clients and suppliers. Write 806, Visit www.dims.net EFI Offers document management tools from creation to print. Write 807, Visit www.efi.com J HEIDELBERG Prinance is the core of an integrated software

Seems like computers are taking over everything. Whether you’re at home or work, on the manufacturing floor, an airplane, or up in space, computers are the tools of choice. They control, they communicate, they play chess; and they do it all—fast, reliably, and well. Just ask Hal, the computer-character in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey. When I hear the term computer, though, a picture of the hardware immediately comes to mind. But it’s clear: software is what makes a computer the powerful, tool that it is. Computer hardware is like the human body, with many fascinating and well-designed systems. But just

Remember when the Internet was getting its commercial feet wet back in the early ‘90s; it was referred to as the Information Superhighway. Well, there’s probably not too much debate that it hasn’t lived up to this billing. The amount of information at our fingertips (literally) is simply flabbergasting (just checked www.meriamwebster.com to make sure this word was right). Well, the superhighway has spawned a world of highways and byways, and if your company isn’t on one of them, you’d better be looking over your shoulder so your horse and buggy doesn’t get run over. Today, the nimble use of information can

It’s invisible to unsuspecting consumers. It doesn’t have a smell, taste or sound, but it can grab their eye while scanning the teeming grocery store shelves. It can add a certain “pop” to the packaging which can help make almost any merchandise fly off the shelves. “It” is ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) curing and, according to many experts, package printers can grow their businesses in the converting market if they add this technology to their arsenal. “For the most part, UV and EB are ideal for all manufacturing processes that require faster production speeds to add to their bottom line or enhance