Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

chris_r

Well-known member
good day,

i am curious to hear anyones thoughts on how they have integrated Prinergy and InSite with outside customers, as well as with customer service or sales people within their organization. my place is currently exploring all different ways of getting the CSR's involved with creating and reviewing jobs through InSite, and we are trying to set up Template jobs allowing for customers to upload files straight into the workflow. we are having some success with it, but i am still not sure if i like all of this access being granted to others outside the department. i have some pretty big ideas on expanding our abilities, but for them to work, it relies on others outside of the department having access to some extent to Prinergy through InSite.

does anyone have any thoughts on this? what kind of priveledges do you give your internal and external customers? anything that you regret doing or wish you could do that would make InSite work better?

thanks for any input,

cr
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

This is a huge issue in our plant. Csr's feel threatened with InSite. They use it but they have to be forced to use it. I have come up with all sorts of training materials for our CSR's and customers, but the customers are much much smarter in the system then our CSR's. I struggle setting up our CSR's as staff users and only do it once they prove themselves. We do not let customers create new jobs...we must do that in our department. We do let them upload and auto process, but the autoprocessing is triggered by naming convention so the customer understands what they are sending and if they are 1 color or 4 color etc.
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

We have been using Insite for a few years now but only seriously for just over 18 months. In that 18 months, some CSRs have become so accustommed to it, they cannot function properly without it. Some of of our customers couldn't do business with us without it. We have all their internal structures mapped out in the user rights and our CSRs create the Prinergy job and assign a customer user to view the job so they alone receive all the customer emails. Once the file is ready, CSR is notified and they request approval on Insite. All emails return to them with approvals or corrections. Much bettter than using an ever expanding email inbox as a definitive job history
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

i also would never dream of allowing a customer access to create a job. what i have tried to do is set up a roadmap for them, where the upload to designated folders, triggering upload processing. what we want to achieve is for our CSR's to create the jobs (template jobs), and the customer deposit files directly into them. what are the advantages and disadvantages of using InSite Upload Processing or Prinergy Template Jobs? i am still trying to determine which route seems the best bet for us. i am having a hard time seeing the advantages or disadvantages of either.

cr
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

We just got setup with Insite and Prinergy a couple months ago. Right now we have six customers using Insite. We have a list of customers we are going to switch over but it is going slower than I would like. The CSRs have to be pushed a little. They don't seem threaten by it though. Ones that have started using it really like it actually. I train them before we switch their customer over. It makes things easier for everyone. I have auto-processing setup on a customer by customer basis. If I know a specific customer always sends in untrapped PDFs with a spot, I have their files set to auto process with our process template that leaves spot colors and traps. I also have guides on our website that give the customers step-by-step instructions on how to use Insite as well as how to make a Prinergy PDF.

Chris_r I think I actually work at you old place... Berlin. Is that right?
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

brad,

wow...small world. i indeed worked there for nearly 8 years. great experience, and i miss the old gang. in any case, good to meet you. actually i am very interested in what you have to offer, because our shops are similar in that we are new to prinergy, and are trying to get things rolling.

our customers too have been slowly jumping on board. we have a few that have been very enthusiastic, and one that flat out refused to use insite. we have been focusing on one job at a time, trying to get them up and going, and then move on to another candidate.

are you using upload processing, or template jobs?

btw, tell bob s. the sox suck and so does rex grossman.

good to meet you,

cr
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

We are using template jobs that I have applied some RBA to as well as a hot folder to refine automatically. I also have a preflight profile applied to the process template. The PDF is moved into the Web Downloads folder so the customer can DL and view the full preflight report.

I'll be sure to tell Bob that the Sox suck, but I won't be ripping Rex... yet.
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

spent a good deal of time speaking with Kodak sunday morning and afternoon (i was at work, im not so bad that i actually do this stuff in my free time), and discussed some cool workflow ideas regarding template jobs and rules-based automation in conjunction with InSite. is it just me, or are the boundaries almost limitless when it comes to RBA? right when you think you have things streamlined, you learn something else.

we are getting to where several of our jobs are practically done by the time prepress even sees the job...with hardly any intervention at all.

cr
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

I was wondering at what point you guys have the customer approve the job through Insite? Right away or after it has been check by preflight or quality control? I am noticing that we can't output any sort of imposed files unless they have been approved. So either the process stops there until the customer can approve or we just set the files at approved ourselves.
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

brad,

currently, the way we have been doing it, is that we preflight and refine the pages, and do an internal prepress doublecheck, before making the pages available to the customer for approval. once the pages are made available, we continue with the job, creating the templates, making the impositions, checking the vps proofs and so forth. when a job is ok to plate, we make a spinjet of every form before releasing it to plate. we do not make any imposed spinjets until the customer has granted approval on the pages, therefore the platemakers dont even get the job bag until all has been approved and spinjets pulled. we have never had an occasion where we have attempted to make plates on forms with unapproved pages, becasue they never make it that far until all of the other steps have been completed.

hope that helps, or sheds some light on what you were asking,

cr

btw...grossman does suck! yee haa!
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

oh, and one other thing,

we have not had to approve pages ourselves, although i have noticed the option there to do it in a pinch. the customers we have been using it with have been very good about prompt approvals on pages, they realize the time crunch they are up against. some of the other customers we use that havent been approached about insite, that may be more of an issue. we have been pretty choosy about who to approach with this, becasue we want it to work well with customers who are willing first, so we can use them as an example as we start approaching other, more "difficult" clients.

cr
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

Thanks Chris. That does help. BTW... what is a spinjet? Are you talking about signatures?

Rex is going to light up KC for 300 yards on Sunday. Are you a Packers fan or something?
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

brad,

when i mention spinjet, i refer to the backed up imposed proof we pull on all of our press forms. it is almost exactly like your HP plotter.

no, im not a packers fan...im a new york giants fan. shipbaugh and i have had several eli manning vs. rex grossman debates in the past.

grossman might get 300 yards if they decide to play a double-header sunday!

cr
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

I have learned to take it on a customer by customer basis. I have had some customers take it and run. I have others that are just using it as FTP however we still post pages for approval. We have weened a few off hard proofs that way. My CSR's have embraced it fairly well but not as aggressively as I would like. We will be posting ALL jobs on Insite very soon no matter how they came in. This will allow CSR's to download they're own approval PDF's and even view and ok from there if they so choose. I hope they will also push it to the customers that way. VERY powerful tool when it is used like it was intended.

My only nemisis is that a many times customers have JRE disabled or their IT has totally removed it and they can't install w/o IT. I have a couple of customers this would be huge for but can't get the IT's to move. Oh well....
I wish someday Insite would run w/o the use of Java on the users OS.
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

> {quote:title=pworlledge wrote:}{quote}
> My only nemisis is that a many times customers have JRE disabled or their IT has totally removed it and they can't install w/o IT. I have a couple of customers this would be huge for but can't get the IT's to move. Oh well....
> I wish someday Insite would run w/o the use of Java on the users OS.

Oh yeah...i get that ALL the time. it is a big deal for some of these people to have Java installed. i have had some complaints from 1 or 2 customers about how long it takes to render pages, but most of them have no issues with the speed at all. we have one customer in particular that are at a dead standstill because of java and "IT" issues. all you can do is roll your eyes and try to help, but they dont see the benefit as apparently as we can, so they dont have the motivation to move ahead with it.

cr

Edited by: chris_r on Sep 14, 2007 10:34 AM
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

Troubleshooting Java issues with clients (altough a pain) is still easier than if we had to have them load a client in their machine to use InSite. We would become full time software helpdesk troubleshooters. Synapse Prepare became a nightmare for us because it seemed anytime a user had a computer or network issue, it had to be caused by "our" software that "we made" them install. Of course, we had to help them troubleshoot every issue.

Lonn-
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

I can't disagree there. I don't install software on customers computers!!! The Java is the lessor of the evils. But it still is a pain.
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

AMEN!!!

I never want to be the cause of any issues. Java should be mainstream enough that if theres an issue, its not mine. Heaven knows that I have enough issues between my 4 walls to take care of let alone any issues on the customers site...YUCK! Leave me out of that one. That is the reason we did not talk up Prepare. Give the customers a good PPD and some screen shots and you are off to the races.

tc
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

plus, just mentioning to a customer that they need to install any kind of client on their workstations is enough to turn a lot of them off right away. EVERYONE uses a browser, so it is a lot easier to get them on board right away. i was just talking about this on another thread...i used to use the rampage workflow, and their equivelant to InSite is Rampage Remote. very similar interface, but it was a client that needed to be installed, and it was always a pain in the ass talking the customer through even that simple install.

most of the java questions we get are simple...they just dont have it turn on in their browser preferences. i havent really had any issues harder than that, yet.

cr

Edited by: chris_r on Sep 19, 2007 7:54 AM
 
Re: Integrating Prinergy InSite within your operation

We jumped on the Prepare bandwagon as soon as Creo released it, going to multiple customer locations for installs. The software is VERY dependent on a clean running OS, which ended up frustrating customers because it would work initially but then something would always cause it to not work anymore. So... repeat visits.

Not entirely a bad thing - visiting them onsite, helping them resolve Prepare issues or any other software problem is an opportunity to remain visible to them. My job has changed dramatically over the last few years, a good portion of my time is working directly with clients and their issues, now I use WebEx Remote Support and they love it.

Probably half of our customers finally ditched Prepare out of frustration, the rest still use it. Some adapted instantly to InSite and some still prefer to submit their jobs on a disc. *shrugs* You can lead a horse to water...
 

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