Workflow Optimization: An Excellent Starting Point for Doing More with Less

In an uncertain economic climate, efficiency is more critical than ever for print providers. Workforce shortages and economic pressures demand that print operations find ways to do more with fewer resources, tighter budgets, and less time. For resellers of workflow automation solutions, such as those from Rochester Software Associates (RSA), this presents an opportunity to educate customers on how software can optimize workflows and drive productivity.

The Need for Smarter Workflow Optimization

Print providers are constantly asked to produce high-quality output faster and at lower costs, even as labor shortages make it difficult to maintain service levels. Manual processes, such as job onboarding, production scheduling, and finishing can become bottlenecks that slow turnaround times and decrease profitability.

Optimizing workflow is no longer optional; it’s essential. Automation, intelligent job routing, and seamless software and hardware integration are key to maximizing efficiency. Resellers play a key role in helping customers adopt solutions that streamline operations and eliminate inefficiencies.

The Role of RSA in Workflow Optimization

RSA’s software addresses workflow challenges, helping in-plants and commercial printers streamline operations and maximize efficiency. WebCRD automates Web to Print job submission, while QDirect intelligently routes jobs to optimize production. ReadyPrint, RSA’s prepress automation solution, helps prepare jobs for final processing by applying imposition, ticketing, and finishing instructions automatically. It ensures jobs are set up correctly for finishing equipment, reducing manual touchpoints and errors. These tools enable organizations to reduce manual intervention, increase automation, and improve overall output.

While these solutions have a proven track record across hundreds of RSA customers, the real value lies in how print providers implement them. Resellers can play a crucial role in helping customers understand how to integrate and optimize workflow software effectively, ensuring successful installs that let the customer take advantage of the full benefits of the solution set. In doing so, they can help ensure a long relationship with the customer going forward.

Where Workflow Automation Makes the Biggest Impact

Workflow software enables print providers to eliminate manual touchpoints, minimize errors, and increase throughput. Here are some areas and examples of where workflow optimization can have the greatest impact:

1. Automated Job Submission and Prepress

Manually processing job submissions and preparing files for production is time-consuming and prone to errors. Automating file submission, preflight, and imposition ensures jobs move seamlessly into production with minimal intervention. As a production manager at a healthcare retailer observed, “With WebCRD, customers can submit smaller jobs themselves, so our staff has more time to give tips on better ways to set up the larger, more complex jobs.”

2. Intelligent Job Routing and Scheduling

Assigning jobs to the right press at the right time based on job complexity, media type, and deadlines is crucial. Workflow software that integrates with MIS and production management tools automates job routing, ensuring balanced workloads and optimal press utilization. RSA’s WebCRD and QDirect support workflow automation capabilities, allowing print shops to meet tight deadlines while optimizing resource allocation.

For example, Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio, Texas, saved 226 hours per month on automated ticketing and shipping after implementing WebCRD. Turnaround times improved by 43%, with satisfaction rates reaching 99%. Additionally, the organization reduced outsourced jobs, keeping more work in-house.

3. End-to-End Process Automation

RSA’s ReadyPrint and QDirect streamline finishing preparation by automating imposition, job ticketing, and routing to ensure seamless integration with in-line and offline finishing equipment. By integrating workflow software with finishing equipment, print providers can ensure jobs are automatically prepared for final processing, reducing manual intervention. This speeds up production, improves accuracy, and reduces waste.

For example, the Print Center at Rocky Vista University in Parker, Colorado, leverages WebCRD, ImpactVDP, and ReadyPrint to automate workflows. Before ReadyPrint, tab creation required a cumbersome Word template, limiting customization and requiring manual adjustments. Now, tabs and blank pages are added automatically, allowing full-job previews before printing. This change eliminates manual sorting, reduces mistakes, and saves hours of prepress work.

4. Tracking and Reporting for Continuous Improvement

Tracking and reporting tools allow print shops to analyze job costs, identify bottlenecks, and refine processes. This transparency is crucial for in-plants looking to justify their value and commercial printers seeking to remain competitive. WebCRD’s and QDirect’s tracking and reporting tools support cost analysis and workflow optimization in any print shop.

The Center for Disability Services (CDS) in Albany, New York, processes 100 million annual impressions for government and financial clients. Using RSA’s QDirect, CDS has automated batching, routing, and accounting, reducing human intervention while ensuring security and tracking for sensitive transactional documents. Now, all job reporting is centralized, eliminating manual tracking.

Helping Customers Understand the Value

As a reseller, your role extends beyond just selling hardware and software. You are a trusted advisor who can help customers navigate their business challenges. When discussing workflow optimization, focus on the tangible benefits when speaking with customers and prospects:

• Increased Productivity: Automation reduces time spent on repetitive tasks, allowing staff to focus on higher-value work.
• Cost Savings: Optimized workflows minimize waste, improve press utilization, and reduce labor costs.
• Faster Turnaround: Automated processes move jobs through production more quickly, helping printers meet tight deadlines.
• Scalability: A well-optimized workflow can handle growing job volumes without requiring additional staff or equipment.

Reality Check

In an era when doing more with less is the print industry’s new reality, workflow automation is essential. By adopting intelligent job submission, automated scheduling, and end-to-end process optimization with RSA solutions, print providers can drive efficiency, reduce costs, and generate high-quality output with fewer resources.