Imaging and colour management – latest technological developments

Imaging and colour management: latest technological developments
By Christopher Angione, BDEE writer

Viable eastern European industries must take to heart the technological trends found within the latest developments in imaging and colour management. Specifically, they should focus on those trends related to the integration of data-management capabilities with production hardware systems.

These advances will assist eastern European businesses that are suffering a shortfall in the availability of trained personnel. These companies must position themselves to take advantage of the trends that may have a favourable impact on profitability.

By the year 2050, the countries that current macroeconomic reports call the ‘E7’ economies – China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey – will have outstripped the current G7 economies – the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Canada – by between 25 percent (when using market exchange rates to compare GDP) to as much as 75 percent (when comparing purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates). This is according to Price Waterhouse Cooper’s report, “The World in 2050,” by the firm’s head of macroeconomics, John Hawksworth.

Today, aggressive technological developments now constitute a laundry list of advances that, if taken advantage of, can bring an economic boom of outrageous proportions to progressive organisations. But, if ignored, these developments may create a catastrophic economic downturn.

Production equipment under the old technology scenario

We need to acknowledge that no company in the world can operate according to a system where everyone reports to the same office at the same time, and all are privy to all of the same information in real time. Modern businesses have already taken advantage of the quick dispersal of ideas and information with the use of email, voicemail, information portals, scanning, state-of-the-art conference bridging, graphic imaging and presentations, private intranet, the internet, and through network protocols.

We have imaging systems that can scan, log, and archive documents at lightning speed. We have copying capabilities that will duplicate, collate, and package materials instantly at the touch of a button. We use data-management software to secure proprietary data with the speed, sophistication and thoroughness that rival the Swiss banking system. We use colour management platforms in offices to help generate blazingly rich and vivid graphics that can outshine our wildest dreams. Individually, all these current technologies are surprisingly effective. Yet, in the grand scheme, they are but individual contributors to the core workflow. Our efforts can become lost in this conglomeration of distinct operations, if the integration of these processes is not achieved, or is less than functionally efficient.

In effect, viewed individually, these current technologies are like a great jigsaw puzzle floating here and there over our workspaces, and we are left scrambling to organise them into a force that will drive complete business systems.

Physical barriers often separate businesses, whether it is a series of cubicles in a headquarters office, or the many miles that stretch between satellite locations. Regardless of the reasons why businesses have functions, protocols and hierarchies that are separated by physical barriers or distances, the separation is not conducive to the most efficient production environment. It can lead to a great deal of miscommunication and misinterpretation.

Benefits of the new technologies

The great shift in the model for the modern office comes from the melding of data and information management with production hardware and software systems. New software is being introduced into the market that will integrate data-centre automation and colour management capabilities so that production can be guided by all the necessary managerial authorisation sign-offs and checks and balances, all accomplished in real time.

We are now entering a world where document imaging and storage supports the immediate dissemination of instantly updated data and information that can be incorporated into all aspects of a company’s workflow. Real-time reporting and tracking can now be included as part of the total business services system, thereby pinpointing the most effective processes available to support the core objectives of any company, and generate the most favourable ROI.

Compatibility with a myriad of operating systems and third-party software can be found to incorporate existing technologies into a company’s business model, and reap the benefits of a centralised data-management and production platform. We can envision the coordination of in-house and external departments through the use of data-management capabilities that feature the advantages of a centralised platform and network-data migration.

Exponential business growth can be reached through the advantage of eliminating redundancies and extraneous processes from development to final production, resulting in far greater speeds of execution, reduced workforce labour costs and other efficiencies. Additional advantages may include improved risk-management analysis, higher levels of data encryption, and better document backup and archiving.

A major issue facing these technologies

According to a Forrester Research report, The Best Kept Secret in Document Management: “When enterprises evaluate document management (DM) products, far too many overlook a product with a powerful combination of document management and team collaboration capabilities. It is a product that also facilitates enterprisewide adoption, excels at ease of use for both users and administrators, and provides excellent desktop integration.”

Yet as Thomas E. Jackson, Director of Information Technologies of Biosan Laboratories Inc. says: “People are often resistant to adopt new technologies. Many employees feel that they are being replaced by technology. Emphasis needs to be made on educating employees on how this technology will improve their productivity, and therefore improving the bottom line for the company. If they are not sold on it, they won’t embrace it. While making technology decisions everyone is asked how it will benefit them. It’s amazing how much you can learn by talking to the people in the trenches. They’ll tell you what they really need, they feel more valued when you ask them for their input, and ultimately they will contribute valuable information, helping you make that final decision. Having them on side assures the success of the technology.

“We also look at our own magic formula on ROI. We don’t implement anything unless we see a return on it in 2.5 years. However sometimes it can be difficult formulate your ROI with your workforce unless you have the data to support it. Sometimes obtaining the data can be difficult if you don’t know all the variables.”

Technology acquisition decisions

Ultimately, making an acquisition decision will optimise a buyer’s return through greater production efficiency. There are numerous financial variables to explore. The debate rages between platform types. Are you leaning toward products with the best hardware integration, but facing the drawback of highly proprietary components, or are you opting for a more generic blend of best-of-breed components, which might have the draw back of trying to create a homogenous blending.

It is essential to recognise that your organisation needs information and education that is easy to access and to understand. You and your organisation need help in making your own decisions, rather than having your decisions made for you. You should find a technology-capabilities provider that gives you the greatest access to this information, and will help you formulate your strategy without adding another technology headache to your already huge number of administrative concerns. You should always look to explore a more hands-on approach to you strategy.

It is hard to know what is enough until you know what is too much. Since your business is unique to your clients and your organisation, the technology-capability package you select must reflect these differences as well as conforming to your industry’s norms. Is the technology-capability plan you are chasing too expansive or too limiting? You need to gather the facts necessary to know exactly what fits within the unique conditions of your organisation as it serves your client base.

Costs are, undoubtedly, a major concern for any organisation. But, here again, there is no set of standard costs that can be applied to each company. Your business is reflected in your client base. Research what capabilities will suit them to the fullest, and disregard those that do not. Why pay to have capabilities that do not reflect your objectives and drive profits to your bottom line? In short, you must address the needs of your clients within the framework of your budget.

Therefore, a technology-capability provider must perform a detailed analysis of your business, and clearly identify the most valuable capabilities for your organisation that will enable you to move it to the next level. Beware of production-system plans offered with a pre-packaged set of capabilities. A standard, pre-packaged set of capabilities may be one that has worked for some company. But you are not just some company, and such a package could be a big mistake for you.

An old, but true, cliché

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It’s a cliché that makes it so easy to blindly leap into the new technology arena. There are so many technologies that promise greater productivity and ROI, but do your business metrics support the leap? Does the cost to purchase and maintain the bells and whistles of new technology dilute the profit margin obtained by acquiring and serving clients? Break everything down to simple economics. Are you thinking solely about short-term economising or long-term growth? What does your business plan and projections have to say about the improvements you can afford?

Gross profit stumbling blocks

There are many questions to consider when entering into a decision to adopt new technologies:

• What will it cost to retrofit my organisation to take advantage of these systems?
• Can I sufficiently operate into the future under my current practices?
• How will not adopting new technological advances impact my bottom line?
• Am I going to automate my employees into extinction?

These are the major questions that must be addressed if you are to reach a new level of economic success. While such questions are not for the faint of heart, they are indicative of the basic realities that face all business executives.

An overview for emerging technologies

In the old or traditional business scenario, you have people, guided by production methods, and using machines to serve client needs. Workers perform production tasks according to each individual’s capability to achieve a business schedule. Managers coordinate workers efforts with the assistance of certain dedicated information services. Many workers are organised into task forces charged with completing their piece of the production programme that is fitted together into a final production goal or objective.

Enabled by the emerging technology scenarios, you have many people working on tasks in collaboration, in real time, with an integrated exchange of information. This central information platform born of new integrated software coordinates all efforts to build the final product in a fraction of the former time and overall expense.

Sounds great doesn’t it? But this is an overly simplified explanation of events. Obviously, there is much more in the way of knowledge to gather and master before taking the plunge.

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