Tailored Solutions

Package printers have their hands full. While their focus is directed toward meeting the needs of their customers, they must accomplish this by spending their money wisely and increasing profits in their own operations. In the past few years, business production software has come to the rescue of package printers faced with the increasing need to run a lean business, while maintaining high-quality standards. Display Pack of Grand Rapids, Mich., was among those looking for a better way to streamline processes and exchange information. Its custom-developed business management system lacked strong estimation and business integration, and the means to provide financial information. Display Pack

Harper names new president; founders nominated for education awards CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Harper Corporation announced that Margaret Harper Kluttz accepted the position of president effective July 1, 2006. Daughter of founders Ron and Katherine Harper, Kluttz has served the company for 34 years, as production manager, administration manager, customer service manager, vice president of administration, and executive vice president. “We have a tremendous management group and an energetic, well-trained workforce,” said Kluttz. “Harper has spent an enormous amount of time, effort, and dollars on the training and education of our entire team, especially in the past few years. We feel confident and well prepared to

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

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

With package printers on the hot seat for nimble customer responsiveness at the lowest possible cost, accurate real-time information is a must. WHEN IT COMES to cutting costs and investing in the future, package printers have always had plenty of options on how to spend their money. The list just keeps getting longer, and the opportunities more tantalizing. In recent years, business and production software has been climbing to the top of the list and increasingly winning the fight for the limited capital resources. The reasons for this vary, but ultimately, it boils down to the growing need to run highly efficient and

Packaging companies reap the benefits from software designed to better manage their business/production processes from start to finish. MOST OF TODAY'S successful packaging converters and printers have one thing in common: a modern business/production software solution. These software applications support companies with one plant or several, making it easy to manage current business and production processes from quotes through shipping, all the while increasing efficiency and adding dollars to the bottomline. To get a better understanding of what today's business/production software can do for packaging companies, packagePRINTING recently spoke to several converters and printers about their success with some of the most popular

ELISHA TROPPER, PRESIDENT of Prestige Label Co., Inc., must have been real busy over the last three years. Under his direction, the company's plant in Burgaw, N.C. has been completely retooled—from front to back. The three-year, $3 million capital program had three key objectives: upgrade capabilities, infrastructure, and capacity. When the Tropper-family-owned Central Financial Group purchased the company, the plant consisted of six flexo presses and two slitter/rewinders. In addition, the plant produced flexo plates using a 25-year-old DuPont platemaking technology that consisted of step-and-repeat machines with cameras and films developed in pans. Tropper and VP of Plant Operations Tim Keegan planned and

Business management software suites offer all the bells and whistles; the hard part is deciding where to begin. WHETHER YOUR PROBLEM is scheduling, book keeping, inventory, e-commerce, or all the above, business and production management software could be the answer. Not sure which suite is right for you? packagePRINTING went right to the source for a rundown of some of today's popular solutions. pP: What is your newest software package? What advantages does it provide users Esad Suskic, Pandora product marketing manager, ScenicSoft: Pandora is a native PDF-based prepress production tool for packaging and label layouts. It was created for packaging printers looking for

Today's production software works toward optimum process efficiency both converter and customer can monitor. by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor THE ROAR OF the crowd for e-commerce capability will eventually grow too loud for package print firms to ignore; in preparation, business/production software suppliers have been charged with seamlessly integrating shop-floor data with on-line customer service. The notion of e-commerce and its implications for business has become increasingly familiar to package printers over the last few years. "Today, we are finding printers are much more knowledgeable about the Internet and software in general," states Glen Forbes, VP/sales, Western Region, CRC Information Systems. He

In business and production software, there's no such thing as old reliables. Suppliers tally tell-tale signs an upgrade is in order. by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor Lack of integration A singular, self-contained management tool is the key element of today's efficiency-plus software packages. printCafe's Flexo Products Group Manager Clay Horsley explains a high percentage of printers currently use a mish-mash of spreadsheet estimating, database job entry, and pen and paper to handle job costing/tracking. Capitalizing on the virtues of integrated software, printCafe's redesigned Flexo Quotation System feeds data directly to all modules, including Job Planning, Scheduling, Purchasing, Shipping, and Invoicing. Inefficient data collection John