EskoArtwork announces WebCenter 10

EskoArtwork has released WebCenter 10, the latest version of its online collaboration and approval tool for the packaging and print supply chain.

‘Initial feedback and reactions from beta customers indicate that WebCenter 10 will add to the application’s reputation as an effective online approval tool for the packaging and print market,’ commented Jijo Dominic, the product manager for WebCenter.  ‘From the beginning, we worked closely with our customers to ensure that the new release met their expectations,’ he added.

WebCenter serves a wide range of industry companies such as packaging converters, commercial printers, pre-press service bureaus, global consumer product companies and highly regulated pharmaceutical companies.

With the packaging & print supply chain always under pressure to develop new value-add services, WebCenter 10 now addresses additional market needs. The user interface, staged approval support, project management tools and tighter integration with the Automation Engine all make WebCenter the choice for online collaboration and approval in the packaging and printing industry.

WebCenter helps manage and automate approval cycles. It comes with a fast and accurate online viewing tool with unique viewing and compare features focused on the needs of the packaging and print industry.  WebCenter users report lead-time reduction of up to 25%, by replacing the majority of hard copy proof iterations with online reviewing and approval cycles.  Fewer hardcopy proofs is more eco-friendly too.

The collaboration tools, the briefing module and task management in WebCenter 10 make it a powerful life cycle management tool.  WebCenter is the linchpin that connects, controls and streamlines the complexitiesof the packaging development lifecycle.  WebCenter centralizes all project related data, and optimizes communication between all packaging and print buyers, designers and printer/converters.

Its document management capabilities turn WebCenter into a centralized and secure web-based warehouse for all project related digital assets, including technical drawings, artwork, text, logos, images and other packaging elements. WebCenter keeps track of versions of every one of these documents in a logical and structured way.

The powerful metadata-based search tools in WebCenter make it easy to find projects and documents, from a label with a specific barcode to a package design using a specific ink, a structural design for a specific kind of board, or a design brief from a certain customer.

The user interface of WebCenter 10 has been redesigned to be more appealing and above all easier to learn and use. This includes an easy to configure user interface, user-specific workspaces and viewer preferences. The interface redesign of the WebCenter Viewer focuses on faster deployment of the approval tool, supported by a range of additional annotation tools.

The new approval module allows customers to design and automate multilevel approval cycles with support for both parallel and sequential parts in one approval cycle. WebCenter 10 gets users the best trade-off between speed and staged control.

WebCenter 10 has a stronger, bi-directional connection with the Automation Engine to extend workflow automation outside the walls of the printshop. In fact, Automation Engine can simultaneously execute a job, while building a project in WebCenter, using the new ‘Create WebCenter Project’ task. In the other direction, when WebCenter is used as the online briefing tool, it can create a job folder in Automation Engine. Sales account managers, customer service representatives or even customers can now place requests directly to the design or prepress department using the WebCenter interface. The connections facilitate sharing of data, transferring files and exchanging status information between two systems.

DCP UK is a creative packaging design agency specializing in developing unique designs, from creation to final print, for an array of customers including Harrods, Tesco, Asda, Kellogg’s, Rowntree, Del Monte and Dreamworks Animation. As a regular user of WebCenter, Dave Hicks, owner of DPC UK, was a perfect beta tester for the version 10 release. He explained: ‘We have used WebCenter intensively since installation, and our clients use and rely on it day-to-day.’

The main benefits are the integration with the other software, the ability to simplify and customize a page, so that clients can see as little or as much as they want to, and the general increase in clarity.  ‘Ultimately, there should be time savings in terms of the interaction with the automation software from EskoArtwork and the customization of customer projects which, to a large degree, is taking some of the onus off us,’ he added.