Reprographic
Systems
5
The Project
5.1 The Project Team
Though there were three members of the project team there was no clear
project leader. In Reprographic Systems, like many small organisations,
there was a requirement for everyone to pull together and simply get
the job done. The whole team was aware of deadlines and the tasks
allocated to them and were able to cover each others tasks during
busy periods. The team consisted of:
- Vincent
Keating – Managing Director
Vincent had over 25 years experience in the packaging sector
when he joined Reprographic Systems from Smurfitt Group in 1995.
Vincent’s primary role in the eBusiness project was liaison
with Enterprise Ireland and ensuring that roll-out of the system
stayed on track.
- Frank
Greene – Technical Manager
Frank was responsible for the ‘nuts and bolts’
of the project. His main responsibilities were to research the
various technical options for the project, both hardware and software.
Prior to receiving the Enterprise Ireland grant, Frank had spent
a lot of time examining the options both for the eProofing and
eWorking programs and was able to quickly and easily outline the
best way forward with each of the projects. Frank also oversaw
the implementation of the organisation’s first version of
the Barco Graphics software back in 1992.
-
Terry Breen – Systems Manager
Terry was responsible for the Barco Graphics system PC LAN
(Local Area Network) and the Macintosh LAN running in the studio.
He also worked with the management team on planning and designing
the organisation’s IT related investments.
5.2
Third Party Selection
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ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network)
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ISDN
is a set of international standards that allow for high speed
Internet access and file transfer over ordinary telephone lines.
ISDN lines can be installed by both ESAT/BT and Eircom. ISP
(Internet Service Provider)
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For Reprographic
Systems, the decision on third parties was straightforward and there
was no requirement to submit requests for tender. The organisation
had relationships with key vendors the most important of which, Barco
Graphics, had been in place since 1992.
Barco Graphics, the Belgian based software developer, had implemented
the original software for Reprographic Systems back in 1992 and was
now contracted to replace that with the newest version of their software.
Hardware was purchased from Deycom who built PCs to a set of specifications
that were supplied by Barco.
Most
of the support, both hardware and software, was handled
internally as it would have been almost impossible for
an external technical support company to work with the
PCs due to the complexity of the Barco software installed
on them. Eircom (www.eircom.ie)
was the main ISP (Internet Service Provider) and allowed
the organisation’s seven sites around Ireland to
gain access to email and the Internet . Eircom also
provided ISDN lines to the sites for transfer of large
files.
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ISP
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| An
ISP (Internet service provider) is a company that provides individuals
and other companies access to the Internet and other related
services such as Web site building and external email. The main
ISPs in Ireland currently are Eircom and ESAT/BT. |
5.3
eBusiness Solution
5.3.1 Business Dimension
The goal of the project was two-fold - to develop both an eProofing
system to allow clients much faster access to proofs and an eWorking
system to allow one of its key operators to relocate. The key drivers
of the project were as follows:
- To
allow clients to be able to proof documents more quickly without
the need to route everything via the printer.
- To
enable the company to approach potential clients outside of Ireland
and still be able to have them proof documents in almost real-time.
- To
be flexible in how the organisation worked with its staff –
allowing a key staff member to work remotely
Reprographic
Systems wanted to fundamentally change the way in which the proofing
process worked by reducing the number of hard copy proofs and moving
to soft copy proofs through use of Adobe Acrobat PDF documents.
As can be seen in Figure 5.3.1, this new process allowed Reprographic
Systems to go directly to the end client in many cases and thus
save the time that would have been taken transporting hard copy
proofs.
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Portable
Document Format
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| PDF
is a file format that captures all the elements
of a printed document as an electronic image that
you can view, navigate, print, or forward to someone
else. PDF files are created using software called
Adobe Acrobat. To view and use the files, you
need the free Acrobat Reader, which you can easily
download from the Adobe website (www.adobe.com).
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With
the new system of emailing a PDF proof to clients, it was possible
for the document to be emailed from colleague to colleague allowing
proofing to be completed in a matter of minutes – regardless
of where in the world these people were. Nowhere is this better
illustrated than through the relationship between Reprographic Systems
and one of its clients, a US-based pharmaceutical company. Design
files are sent from the US to Reprographic Systems in Dublin, to
be worked up into plates, and a PDF proof is emailed back to the
US for sign-off. On sign-off, the plates are manufactured and sent
to the client’s printing plant in Cork where its packaging
and cartons are printed.
The introduction of a standalone version of Barco Graphics Packedge
product (where the user doesn’t need to be connected to a company
network) meant that Reprographic Systems was in a position to seriously
consider the option of eWorking for one of its operators.
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