EFI updates IQuote

The software is a browser-based, JDF-compliant system originally developed for the Latin American market by a company EFI acquired in 2012, Brazil-based Metrics Sistemas de Informação.

IQuote can be configured to work with offset, variable-data digital, book publishing, label and packaging, wide and superwide format inkjet printing and other processes. It also offers a simple-to-use but robust interface that makes it easy for personnel from different parts of a printing company to enter and obtain the information needed for quick and accurate quotes.

The system plans all stages of the manufacturing process automatically so that a complete cost picture can be determined, then it selects the optimal approach to present to the user.

Throughout the process of creating an estimate and interacting with the client, IQuote users can track their estimate's status using the software's intuitive workflow model. Tasks, approvals and reminders can be attached to each step of the process, and all user interactions are saved in an audit log for historical review.

The newest version of IQuote will be commercially available in early 2014.

Osmar Barbosa, vice-president and general manager at EFI Productivity Software Latin America, said: ‘What makes IQuote so different from other estimating software is the fact that the salesperson or estimator enters specifications for a job based on the elements and properties of the finished product – not on the technical processes required to complete it.

‘This distinction is important because it means that these users do not necessarily need to understand the technical production complexities of the job. At the same time, if desired, it is also possible to build product specifications that utilise specific technical processes.’

Marc Olin, EFI’s interim chief financial officer and senior vice-president and general manager of EFI Productivity Software, added: ‘The beauty of the system comes from IQuote's automation and simplicity – users select the product they want to produce and add some details about their customers' requirements, and then the system automatically explores all of the available ways to produce the job at the plant, selecting the most efficient.

‘IQuote offers a radical change from the way estimates work today, significantly reducing the time it takes to turn around an estimate and plan a job.’