The printing forecast: short and getting shorter

• Like most print providers, you're probably seeing a sharp increase in one-offs and short runs.

• The hands-on effort drives up your costs and makes it difficult to make money. There's an alternative.

• RICOH TotalFlow BatchBuilder simplifies and automates many steps of short-run digital production.

• Instead of manually handling individual jobs, your staff members can set up the "rules," let the software do the work and jump in when there's an exception. Stand back and watch as the daily job count soars.

Eliminate manual touches
RICOH TotalFlow BatchBuilder turns hands-on to hands-off because it organises incoming jobs into "like" batches based on criteria you set. Criteria can include document size, paper type, finishing style, and so on—over 100 variables.

Prevent duplication of effort
When MIS, W2P and prepress systems are siloed, you lose a lot of time, either re-entering data or duplicating tasks. Fortunately, RICOH TotalFlow BatchBuilder can talk to other systems via XML, JDF or PDF (via hot folders). Behind the scenes with the help of third party mapping software, it uses XML to map job ticket information for specific devices, automates scheduling and integrates upstream systems and downstream devices. 

Build scenarios and the jobs will flow
Instead of using operators' time to prioritise and oversee jobs, let RICOH TotalFlow BatchBuilder run with scenario scheduling. The software filters jobs based on criteria you define. After batches of "like" jobs are created, you can control how and when to route them based on your instructions. You can add jobs to any batch and delete jobs from any batch, but sorry, no long division.

Keep an eye on everything
Tracking down jobs on the shop floor takes a lot of time. With RICOH TotalFlow BatchBuilder, you gain a 360 degree view of your shop because all of the information you're working with flows through one point—the web-based GUI. You can log in from anywhere, submit jobs manually, if necessary, and view jobs based on specific job properties or fields you define. In addition, you can manage inventory levels by obtaining estimates of the time and media requirements for particular batches.