PRISMA Helps Get the Job Done
Software for all seasons
By Noel Ward, Editor@Large
It was not that many years ago that “The Cloud” was a new thing not everyone was excited about. Never mind that most of us were already using the cloud without realizing it. Now it’s hard to imagine not having it, largely because it lets us do things we could not do otherwise. Furthermore, without the cloud we’d be constantly upgrading and updating software on computers and phones. Manually. Now many things happen automatically behind the scenes. Moreover, the cloud supports everything from your phone to graphic design to ensuring the digital press you just invested in runs properly and profitably.
One of the best examples of this “always on” technology is Canon’s PRISMA Home portal and its associated applications, all enabled by Microsoft’s Azure cloud. The applications help ensure jobs run from pre-press through printing and provide the business insight to help optimize the supported printers and large format devices. It starts with PRISMA Home, the entry point for accessing and managing several applications for color and device management and data analytics. Together, these can help you get the most out of all your Canon print devices.
What impresses me every time I look at PRISMA cloud-applications is that it’s well thought out. In touch with our portable computing age, you can access the applications and information on smartphones, tablets and computers. This lets you check on jobs and press performance whether or not you are in the office. Such remote monitoring applications will alert you when you need to take actions to keep a press or large format printer running.
I’ve seen enough of PRISMA to overcome my built-in skepticism about it as a workflow management and reporting system. What stands out to me is that it works as advertised without a lot of specialized knowledge, something that is not true for all workflow options. Okay, people using PRISMA in your shop need to learn how to use it. The PRISMA Home platform provides various resources for getting started as well as some educational guides. Learning this stuff is not a huge leap and is not unlike other technology these days. After all, some knowledge is needed for using the apps on your phone and the sound system in your car. I use a fair bit of software but am not enough of a geek to grasp everything intuitively. What I’ve liked about PRISMA Home applications is that even I can find what I need and get results even if I have a brain cramp and forget some detail or action. This can be important in a busy production environment where not everyone is fully trained. Too often I have been frustrated (or baffled) when using workflow programs, or even seeing demos, because one can reach a certain point and go no further. Sure, you can find answers and workarounds online but with PRISMA Home applications the next step is usually logical.
It is also great to see that Canon has been expanding the PRISMA offerings to support their broader range of production, inkjet and large format devices. I was especially interested in one of my favorites, Canon’s Colorado large format printer. Sure enough, the PRISMAlytics Dashboard supports all the Canon production presses whether they are driven by PRISMAsync or Fiery, plus the Canon sheetfed and web inkjet presses and the imagePROGRAF large format printers. In one view you can see performance and utilization reports on all devices and drill down for additional details.
This can be especially important for commercial printers taking on new types of jobs such as large format, direct mail, labels, packaging, or books, for example. There are a load of features and benefits that I won’t go into here but you can find them on PRISMA workflow solutions. This is one cloud-based workflow solution that’s worth a look.
Software for all seasons
By Noel Ward, Editor@Large
It was not that many years ago that “The Cloud” was a new thing not everyone was excited about. Never mind that most of us were already using the cloud without realizing it. Now it’s hard to imagine not having it, largely because it lets us do things we could not do otherwise. Furthermore, without the cloud we’d be constantly upgrading and updating software on computers and phones. Manually. Now many things happen automatically behind the scenes. Moreover, the cloud supports everything from your phone to graphic design to ensuring the digital press you just invested in runs properly and profitably.
One of the best examples of this “always on” technology is Canon’s PRISMA Home portal and its associated applications, all enabled by Microsoft’s Azure cloud. The applications help ensure jobs run from pre-press through printing and provide the business insight to help optimize the supported printers and large format devices. It starts with PRISMA Home, the entry point for accessing and managing several applications for color and device management and data analytics. Together, these can help you get the most out of all your Canon print devices.
What impresses me every time I look at PRISMA cloud-applications is that it’s well thought out. In touch with our portable computing age, you can access the applications and information on smartphones, tablets and computers. This lets you check on jobs and press performance whether or not you are in the office. Such remote monitoring applications will alert you when you need to take actions to keep a press or large format printer running.
I’ve seen enough of PRISMA to overcome my built-in skepticism about it as a workflow management and reporting system. What stands out to me is that it works as advertised without a lot of specialized knowledge, something that is not true for all workflow options. Okay, people using PRISMA in your shop need to learn how to use it. The PRISMA Home platform provides various resources for getting started as well as some educational guides. Learning this stuff is not a huge leap and is not unlike other technology these days. After all, some knowledge is needed for using the apps on your phone and the sound system in your car. I use a fair bit of software but am not enough of a geek to grasp everything intuitively. What I’ve liked about PRISMA Home applications is that even I can find what I need and get results even if I have a brain cramp and forget some detail or action. This can be important in a busy production environment where not everyone is fully trained. Too often I have been frustrated (or baffled) when using workflow programs, or even seeing demos, because one can reach a certain point and go no further. Sure, you can find answers and workarounds online but with PRISMA Home applications the next step is usually logical.
It is also great to see that Canon has been expanding the PRISMA offerings to support their broader range of production, inkjet and large format devices. I was especially interested in one of my favorites, Canon’s Colorado large format printer. Sure enough, the PRISMAlytics Dashboard supports all the Canon production presses whether they are driven by PRISMAsync or Fiery, plus the Canon sheetfed and web inkjet presses and the imagePROGRAF large format printers. In one view you can see performance and utilization reports on all devices and drill down for additional details.
This can be especially important for commercial printers taking on new types of jobs such as large format, direct mail, labels, packaging, or books, for example. There are a load of features and benefits that I won’t go into here but you can find them on PRISMA workflow solutions. This is one cloud-based workflow solution that’s worth a look.
