Thomson-Shore had been a user of the Hagen OA print MIS since the 1980s, and stayed with that platform after EFI’s Printcafe acquisition a decade ago. Over the years, the Dexter, Mich.-based company had augmented its MIS by developing a number of internal tools meant to address specific aspects of the book printing market.
 
“When we learned about EFI IQuote, that was the turning point for us,” said Thomson-Shore President and CEO Kevin Spall. “We were convinced that the combination of the full Monarch suite and IQuote would replace many of the home-grown solutions we had and provide us with a much more efficient workflow.”
 
With the installation, Thomson-Shore has retired some of its existing solutions, including an estimating system that had not kept up with changes in the industry.
 
‘A very efficient workflow with one-key input’
 
“We thought it was critically important for our MIS workflow to be able to use estimating data downstream without re-keying anything,” said Spall. “This combination offered us a very efficient workflow with one-key input from IQuote to Monarch. Quite frankly, no one else can do this in a way that works for book printing. We did the due diligence.”
 
IQuote, a browser-based, JDF-compliant estimating system and a winner of a 2013 MUST SEE ’EMS award, goes beyond many existing estimating tools in the industry, as it can be configured to work with virtually any type of print production process.
 
“Thomson-Shore especially liked the open SQL database that is the heart of the Monarch suite,” said Marc Olin, interim CFO of EFI and senior vice president and general manager of the company’s Productivity Software business. “This customer has a number of disparate technologies, and Monarch’s ability to work with those systems creates a distinct advantage. Our work with Thomson-Shore in the transition to a new, more productive workflow will help this valued customer achieve continued growth.”
 
Spall noted that this latest software upgrade reflects the positive relationship he has had working with EFI to address critical print workflow needs.
 
“We have been very pleased with our EFI relationship,” said Spall. “While we have a half dozen IT folks on staff, software development is not our core competency. We needed a partner that could leverage its own expertise in this area, and EFI fits the bill perfectly.”
 
For more information about EFI, visit www.efi.com or contact 800-875-7117.