The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, worldwide lockdowns, and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
In the pre-2020 decade in the printing industry, the focus was on utilizing capacities that were built in the first decade of this century. Fierce competition and price wars had resulted in margin erosion.
A decade ago, digital printing was still evolving. Tablets and digital devices had disrupted reading habits. Book and newspaper printing had collapsed. Commercial printers had to race to diversify into packaging and large format printing segments.
The focus shifted to automation. Innovations in manufacturing of print and post print equipment resulted in automation. But this only enhanced the throughput in a crowded market, resulting in eroding bottom lines.
InSoft Automation understood that optimization was of utmost importance. The company’s talented programmers built optimization algorithms that gave new direction to layout planning space, with some never before imagined features. The new methodology empowered printers to move to a single imposition, nesting and ganging software for an array of different printing techniques and applications.
Web2Print systems, Workflow Automation to streamline operations right from online orders to shipping was gaining rhythm.
Printed Easy is InSoft’s first client to build an industry 4.0 workflow in 2017. Andy Kent, Head of Workflow & Automation who was instrumental in building the workflow, says: “Imp software is the most powerful and dynamic imposition software I have ever used! Imp ensures that operators consistently produce impositions perfectly aligned with your in-house machines, eliminating human error. Fantastic development…it really has changed our business for the better.”
InSoft’s layout planning software has helped printers automate and optimize. Automation-enhanced productivity and optimization have ensured that companies can enhance their profit – Taking bottom-line to the top.
Elevating Sales for Topline Growth
Post 2020 automation comprehensively stabilized. Web2Print solutions provided seamless user experience from designing, uploading artworks, online payment, and shipping details.
Industry 4.0 standard enabled production and shipping of hundreds of short run jobs per day. Production Workflow solutions automated processes like normalising artworks, batching, imposition, ganging, nesting, scheduling, reporting, printing, finishing, packaging and shipping is new normal. Here InSoft’s ganging and imposition engine enabled unmanned layout planning.
Businesses that survived the 2020 global reset have become stronger. Margins have improved and productivity has been enhanced. Automation and optimization have become the norm. The environment has become stable again.
But businesses have to grow, they cannot be stagnant. They need to gear up for future growth. In this scenario, InSoft Automation has tapped into the perfect opportunity to help print businesses grow. Several users of its layout planning software have, in recent times, been pushing for building in post press operation within the software for computing precise costing of processes. This has led to the development of estimation software, driven by the company’s flagship layout planning engine in the background.
The estimation software has helped automate the generation of quotes for complex print products accurately and consistently. However, more than the automation, it is the optimization engine in the background that is responsible for helping clients generate these order winning quotes.
The estimation module by InSoft Automation empowered print businesses to take their topline higher with order winning quotes.