What are you doing with Switch?

[prepressdork]

Hello Switch users,

Although I don't have it (yet?), I am intrigued by the potential Switch offers. I am curious what others are doing with Switch. What sorts of workflows are you building with it? What do they do?

Thanks so much,
pd

 

[kaiserwilhelm]

I have owned PowerSwitch since 2006 I believe.
We built a flow (with scripting) that does the following:

One job number with multiple zip files
Unzips
Puts INDD, Quark, etc into an Originals folder
Puts same files into an Art folder
Takes Links folders and starts putting eps, jpeg, etc into Art folder
If same date (and modification date), throws out duplicate
If different mod date, puts in all versions, but puts name of folder they came from in front. IE, Elephant at 3pm and Elephant.jpg at 401 pm. Makes first be called, Letter_Elephant, and then Reply_Elephant.
Puts all fonts into one folder

In the end, I can take 20 zip collected folders into my structure in about 4 minutes unattended.

 

[rich apollo]

pd, I'm not a user, per se, but I sell and support Switch. I have a flow like kaiser that takes in a folder of files and organizes them into the folder structure I like.

I have a flow that takes native files, or packages, (InDesign, Illustrator, Quark, Word) opens the file, creates a PDF, and preflights the PDF.

I have another that preflights a PDF and, if it passes, creates a certified version and a lo-rez proofing version to email.

I have a flow that works with SmartStream and automatically imposes a job based on the document size. I've seen some truly impressive flows for automatic imposition, including ganging.

If you work with variable data it can automate that, it can manipulate your database(s), it can read from your database(s).

It can watch email or FTP sites to automatically grab files when they are uploaded.

 

[abc]

You can find a lot of examples for inspiration here: Download Enfocus Switch flows - Crossroads

It's pretty amazing what a lot of customers do, especially when you start using the database module for pulling and pushing information from databases and using the data from them for processing.

There are also a lot of testimonials with real world implementations here: Testimonials

 

[montiv]

My answer would be what do I not use Switch for...

I would say 90% of our daily work goes through Switch, and we process millions of images per month on all types of output devices. I currently have 25+ flows running in production.
From FTP,LPR to printers,Pre-flight, Color corrections, Color replacement, Custom script driven flows.... I really could go on and on.
The integration with other applications, GUI driven design, and endless possibilities make Switch one of the best applications I have ever used.
Some of my flows are every detailed and are driven off of file names, and certain actions are required per client. Using Switch i was easily able to achieve that with no programming required.
I have provided support to other departments that had issues with over 50k PDF files and the business owners were very concerned about turn around time. I was able to turn that around in 24 hours.
Great application, the user boards and support from Enfocus and my reseller are great.

 

[pdf_doctor]

Switch is an invaluable tool, once used, you will wonder how you ever got by without it.

We use it for lots of applications, but are really just scratching the surface as to what all it can do.

We have flows that take XML files from our storefronts and creates JDF files for our Indigo presses and HP Production Center. We have flows that take PDf files for BCs and gangs them up, once a day, to make printing and finishing more efficient.

Combine with Switch Client, and you can begin to take advantage of automation, where you might have thought otherwise about.

 

[gigagigosu]

i'm using SWITCH for the last 7 years (LightSWITCH and FullSWITCH) as it allowed us to automate a lot of tasks.
Main functionality we were looking for was to pickup files (PDFs mostly) from over 20 remote locations, process them at main data center and deliver the files back to our internal clients. Also, we're using integration with PDF prefligting/fixing apps (Enfocus Pitstop Server and Alwan CMYK Ink Optimizer) as well as running shell scripts.

Of course such automation could have been achieved with different solutions but we chose SWITCH because of graphical interface, ease of use and price/features ratio.

 

[tribay]

I am a Switch Integrator and along with the good stuff mentioned above I have set up production systems that add orders to databases, receive information from shipping systems and send notifications to websites. Barcodes can be created by Switch as well as be read and trigger items in a Switch flow. Switch can be used to create lifts and barcodes for cutters, insert custom slip sheets into lifts and combine like jobs to reduce the number of PDFs being managed at the press. I most often incorporation production from web to deliver.