For the March issue of the PRINTING United Journal, I interviewed multiple experts for an article about the value of integrated automated workflows for printing businesses. One expert interviewed was Marc Raad, President and CEO of Significans Automation. Because there wasn’t room in the article for all of the insights he provided, I am publishing the interview as a Q&A here.
Q: Tell me more about Significans Automation. When was it founded and what is its mission?
MR: Founded in 2018, we are a dedicated team of workflow software and integration specialists with a combined 100+ years of hand-on, print-shop-floor experience. Integration of all of a printer’s essential workflow processes is our mission. It’s what we do best. It’s in our DNA. As a vendor-neutral integration partner, we always prioritize solutions rather than push specific workflow software products.
Our team includes a President, VP of Operations, VP of Technology, Director of Workflow Development, Business Analyst, Director of Special Projects, multiple Workflow Specialists, and Customer Growth Manager. We have vast knowledge of the foundational workflow platforms on the market, including AI technology, along with their strengths and weakness. This allows us to ‘mix & match’ to deploy specific, highly customized solutions that are the best possible fit for each client’s unique production environment and future business goals.
We also provide employee training with a view to making each client more independent when it comes dealing with workflow issues. That being said, we continually partner with them to ensure ongoing success and are always a phone call away. Our training covers a wide variety of key areas including prepress, coding (scripting), customer service training, development services, and many more.
“We helped a web-to-print signage specialist reduce over 3,000 hours of job-processing work down to a mere 6 hours.”
We are Integration™ is much more than our trademark. It’s our sincere promise of continued support for our valued customers, our potential clients, and the collective success of the North American printing community that we proudly serve. It’s also our pledge to uphold the often-forgotten values of collaboration, customization, and one-on-one customer service excellence while delivering timely, trustworthy services that commercial printers can actually afford.
Q: Has the demand for automated workflows evolved as you originally expected?
MR: The answer is categorically YES. Print service providers and packaging converters keep buying more software. So now it’s an issue of getting the word out regarding the enormous benefits of workflow automation and integration of all production-critical processes.
These include proven results such as:
- a 30% – 300% increase in yearly printing capacity
- several hours of labor reduced to a few minutes
- job preparation times reduced from 8 hours to 5 minutes,
- prepress productivity increased from 10 to over 50 jobs a day
- labor costs cut by over 50% and so on.
These real results from real printers of all sizes across North America permeate the case studies section of our website, and we’re privileged to be part of their success.
I can think of no better example of the well-documented and unprecedented benefits of customized workflow automation than one of our most recent U.S. clients.
We helped this web-to-print signage specialist reduce over 3,000 hours of job-processing work down to a mere 6 hours (yes, 6 hours)! Only customized workflow automation solutions can yield astounding results like this.
The demand for automation has also had a remarkable snowballing effect. Once the word gets out and printers throughout the industry see the benefits, they jump on board. Part of the allure is that ROI is usually realized in weeks or months, rather than in years.
Plus, full in-shop workflow automation doesn’t need to be an all-at-once proposition. Quite often, business owners choose to automate individual departments, quickly realize the cost savings and other efficiencies, then move on to other areas of their company that cry out for improvements. Several of our clients have said that customized workflow automation has truly “transformed” their business.
Q: Roughly what percentage of your work involves helping bigger companies that have a mixture of offset and inkjet presses, including wide-format devices?
MR: I don’t have an exact percentage. What I can tell you is that many of our customers, to create new revenue streams, have expanded into other markets by diversifying their services.
For example, offset companies have invested in wide-format printing and promotional items. Some traditional businesses are now printing digital labels and stickers, decals, textiles, and fine-art photographs. Some commercial businesses are offering folding-carton options because their equipment can accommodate thicker media. Some prime label-printing businesses have invested in manufacturing flexible packaging. Corrugated companies are entering into digital, variable-data printing, and wide-format displays.
The percentage of our customers diversifying is increasing every year. In many cases, we assist with this diversification by customizing their workflows, thus enabling prepress to take on the new capabilities easier and faster.
I would say that at least 85% of our customers have expanded by diversifying. Frankly, it’s happening across the board with both small and big businesses. Only about 5% – 8% of our customers have not entered into digital print because their customers have encouraged them to continue to print longer runs using more cost-efficient offset.
Q: What are some of the most common problems that occur with custom integrations? How can the challenges be overcome?
There can be several, depending on the immediate and long-term integration goals of the business. Needless to say, seamless integration with all of a printer’s current workflow systems has always been the major challenge.
This necessary path to integration can be complex, time-consuming and fraught with errors. Systems that are not compatible can lead to data ‘silos,’ redundant processes, human errors, slow turnaround times, and ultimately erode profits and leave customers very unhappy. Plus, there’s the work environment to consider. Some staffers may resist change, fearing loss of their jobs, or may become uncomfortable working with the new software.
Many print shops lack the in-house technical expertise to create workflow automation solutions. This may lead to systems that are difficult and expensive to maintain, are prone to errors, and ultimately fail to meet the short-term and long-term needs of the business. Plus, the initial costs of developing custom workflow automation can be significant. Investments in skilled labor or hardware may strain existing budgets.
Scalability can also become a problem as a printer’s workflow automation needs evolve. A system that worked well in the past may become inadequate as the business expands, leading to production disruptions. Finally, once customized workflow automation is deployed, it requires ongoing maintenance, support and updating, to ensure optimal performance.
All of these challenges can be overcome by partnering with a vendor-neutral workflow software integration specialist that is familiar with the intricacies of all the systems on the market today – including older software – and how they communicate with each other. This allows integration specialists to ‘mix & match” workflow software that is tailored to the unique production environment of that particular printer.
Q: Can any well-trained IT software professional do custom integrations for graphic arts businesses? Or is a thorough background in printing and graphics arts a must?
If a well-trained IT software professional understands all internal production processes in a particular shop, as well as the immediate and long-term goals of the business, they may be capable of handling some integrations to a certain scope.
We’ve been privileged indeed to work with some of the best IT teams in the North American printing industry, collaborating to create customized integrations that took their business to bold new levels of efficiency and profitability never realized before.
However, most in-house IT teams have limited software and departmental knowledge of the hundreds of workflow software systems on the market today, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to connect them seamlessly to achieve their end-to-end integration goals. Yes, a thorough background in printing processes helps.
But at the end of the day, it all comes down to choosing the right workflow software for the best possible integration to fit the application requirements, the skillsets and aptitudes of the environment and budgets to suit the most optimal and optimized integration.
To accomplish this, you must know the processes and foundational solutions available in the market that can be programmed to address the unique attributes of the organization.
Also consider that any print shop, regardless of size or specialty (offset, digital, packaging, labels, wide format, textile, etc.) could be using multiple combinations of workflow and related software. These might include web-to-print for its online storefront, Prepress, CRM (Customer Relationship Management), ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), ECM (Electronic Content Management), BPM (Business Process Modeling), Shipping, AI (Artificial Intelligence), Robotics, and so on. Not to mention all the assorted DFEs (Digital Front Ends) for the shop’s presses and finishing equipment that need to be connected.
It’s a daunting task. Only an experienced integration partner with dual expertise in print processes and advanced programming and configuration can guarantee that these disparate systems will communicate effectively and seamlessly.
Q: If a print-service provider is considering bringing in an outside consultant to help with software integration, what can they do to prepare?
MR: First and foremost, clearly define your objectives and what you want to achieve.
Be specific. Write them down. What’s keeping you up at night? Where are the bottlenecks in your operation? Prepress? Press? Finishing? Shipping?
Seek opinions from management and employees alike regarding possible improvements.
Next, formulate a detailed plan that outlines possible integration scenarios. What are your issues right now? Where do you want to be after the integration is complete?
Finally, don’t rush to integrate every single aspect of your business.
Many printers automate certain areas of their business gradually, realize the efficiencies and ROI, then move on to the next trouble spot. This preparation is traditionally followed by an initial assessment from an experienced workflow software and systems integration consultant.
Q: What kinds of questions should print business leaders ask when evaluating IT companies to perform software integrations?
MR: Several come to mind. For example, what is the long-term vision for the company? What production and business problems need to be solved immediately? What type of workflow software would offer the best possible service to my customers? Will the software be easy to use for employees on a daily basis? Most importantly, will it actually reduce overall operating costs?
Now while all these questions are relevant, at the end of the day, the absolute best question for any print shop owners to ask is: “How successful has this company been in helping other printing companies achieve full, end-to-end integration of all their essential processes?”
“Print shops don’t need a complete overhaul. Automation can occur in planned stages.”
Nothing speaks louder than real case studies from real printers that reflect the performance – and unprecedented results – of a highly customized workflow software deployment.
Q: What are some of the current myths and misconceptions about the difficulties of setting up end-to-end automated workflows in print shops that use a mix of analog and digital devices?
MR: We go beyond an ecosystem that is generally promoted by a software vendor. We do this to promote best-in-class solutions and to try and maximize the intended investment.
Not surprisingly, there are many common misconceptions about deploying end-to-end automated workflows in print shops with a mix of offset and digital presses, wide-format devices, finishing equipment and so on. After all, it’s a major investment and many business owners are reluctant to proceed without guarantees of success.
Here are some typical concerns we’ve heard from these mixed-technology businesses:
- “It’s probably too expensive.”
- “I have older software and don’t want to do a complete overhaul of our systems.”
- “My employees will be reluctant to change.”
- “I can’t afford to buy any new hardware.”
- “I’ve got enough on my plate without managing new software systems.”
Here are the re-assuring facts:
- Customized workflow automation is affordable, and ROI is extremely fast.
- Print shops don’t need a complete overhaul. Automation can occur in planned stages. As benefits are realized, they move on to automate other departments.
- Once employees understand how easily automation makes their daily chores, they’ll embrace it and become more invested in the shop’s ongoing success.
- There’s no need for more equipment. The whole purpose of workflow automation is to get much more from the hardware and staff you already have.
- Our software deployments free up your time; they don’t add to it. Your staff will likely need just a few mouse clicks to process jobs that would previously have taken several hours.
- Therefore, the myths surrounding the setting up of automated workflows in print shops that use a mix of offset and digital presses, wide-format devices and finishing equipment are just that – myths.
For more information, visit the Significans Automation website: https://significans.com/
Visit the Significans case studies page to see the types of results that different types of printing businesses have achieved: https://significans.com/case-studies/