62 email: editor@printmonthly.co.uk March / April 2025 - Issue 353 not lock you into a new set of restrictions with an expensive, inflexible new system.” On this note, he steers the conversation to Enfocus Switch, which he says is designed with one principle in mind – integration drives success. According to De Pauw, Enfocus Switch connects different production components into a cohesive, automated system, making life easier for all those who work with the solution. “Printers love it because it reduces manual intervention, increases accuracy, and improves turnaround times,” he explains, continuing: “The ability to customise workflows and integrate with third-party tools means it fits perfectly into any production environment, no matter how complex. And it’s modular, so it can grow and adapt alongside your business – that means it will never stop adding value, so the sky is the limit for printers.” Smooth Integration Elsewhere and Nate Duckworth is co-founder of Artworker, which, as its name may suggest, supports printers with artwork in prepress. Duckworth says when it comes to investment in new software, printers need to be able to test the waters and see if it is the right fit before fully committing. “It should be fast to get up and running – minimal training, quick to get value from, and flexible enough to grow alongside your business,” he says, adding: “Equally important is smooth integration with your other systems to avoid manual bottlenecks.” As for what print companies should be avoiding, Duckworth issues a warning against “walled gardens”, which he says in the business. If you’ve ever wished there were more hours in a day to clear a few extra jobs, quality automation software like Enfocus Switch is the next-best thing.” Going further with this advice, De Pauw recommends working with software that can adapt as your needs evolve. At the same time, he echoes the comments of Peire at Four Pees in urging PSPs to avoid software that operates in silos, saying tools that do not communicate effectively with the rest of your setup can then lead to inefficiencies, errors, and increased operational costs. “Beware of solutions that overpromise but lack flexibility, locking you into specific hardware or workflows,” he says, adding: “This can severely limit the opportunities your business is able to explore in future and stifle potentially profitable innovations. “Finally, steer clear of software providers that don’t offer long-term support or robust onboarding – it’s not just about the tool, but how effectively you can use it every day. Find a consultant near you to regularly touch base about implementation progress. You want software to remove limitations from your business, ▲ Atomyx from Four Pees delivers three products on one platform From this, Peire offers an insight into Atomyx, a cloud-based SaaS print production management platform that connects print service providers (PSPs) and their technology stacks with print buyers and online print platforms. “It empowers printers to profitably produce customised print jobs on a massive scale by leveraging cloud technology for unmatched scalability and connectivity, integrating disparate data sources into one central hub, and simplifying the production process,” Peire says. Atomyx offers three products on one platform. The first, Atomyx Manage, is a connectivity and production management dashboard facilitating efficient workflows within a PSP and between PSPs, print buyers, and online print platforms. Also included is Atomyx Prepare, which, built on callas pdfToolbox technology, is a pre-press/PDF processing API that takes artwork preparation into the cloud, allowing dynamic printability checks, colour conversions, and file preparations. Finally, Atomyx Layout is, as its name may suggest, a print layout API optimising media usage through automated layout planning for different printing technologies. Work Should Flow Effortlessly Another specialist provider in this market is Enfocus, which provides automation software to print businesses. Piet De Pauw, head of marketing at Enfocus, advises printers that are on the lookout for new solutions to prioritise software that seamlessly integrates with every aspect of their production. “Look for solutions with open architecture and compatibility across different tools and platforms, allowing data and work to flow effortlessly,” De Pauw says, adding: “The goal is to create a unified system where prepress, press, finishing, and even customer-facing tools work in harmony, optimising the whole print process from onboarding to completion. “This can unlock whole new opportunities for profitability across a business, both by turbocharging the amount of time it takes to complete a job and by freeing up skilled staff to add value elsewhere Beware of solutions that overpromise but lack flexibility, locking you into specific hardware or workflows WORKFLOW SOFTWARE
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