Yehuda Messinger is the Executive Vice President, Graphic Arts Division at RealTimeImage (RTI). He joined RTI at the beginning of 2000 after a tenure with the former Scitex Corporation.

RealTimeImage's online proofing technologies are the world's most accurate and rapid; and offer full collaborative capabilities. Based on RealTimeImage's breakthrough image streaming technology (Pixels-on-Demand), gigabytes of high-resolution files can be viewed in seconds, even over a dial-up connection.

As a result, RealTimeProof-based solutions dramatically reduce the costs and time required for conventional proofing by enabling all workflow partners to collaborate securely, in real time, on original, full-resolution production images.

Founded in 1996, RealTimeImage is headquartered in San Bruno, California with worldwide operations located throughout Europe and Asia. For more information visit www.RealTimeImage.com.

QUESTION: Last fall the company announced a partnership with Heidelberg and a product called HDPROOF how’s that relationship going?

Messinger: Our relationship with Heidelberg is going very well on both the developmental and business sides. Heidelberg and RealTimeImage have put a lot of effort into building a solid long-term relationship. HDPROOF, Heidelberg's online-proof offering to the industry powered by RealTimeImage, was successfully launched and we continue to support that effort. Both sides are committed to bringing the highest quality and most reliable and cost-effective online proofing technology and significant productivity gains to printers worldwide. Heidelberg is a great company and we look forward to a long-term collaborative relationship.


QUESTION: In February, the company announced another partnership, this time with Database Publishing Consultants. How does the DPCI partnership benefit your customers?

Messinger: Database Publishing Consultants Inc. (DPCI) is one of several recognized systems integration companies we’re working with worldwide. By joining forces with these partners, we increase our presence in targeted markets, especially for our client-server software applications. Additionally it allows us to integrate our online proofing services and products into existing workflows such as data asset management workflows. DPCI is offering a suite of workflow and DAM solutions to its customers, and currently is working on empowering these solutions by integrating RealTimeProof into them. We’re happy to work on the East Coast with DPCI we feel its going to be a very mutually beneficial partnership.


QUESTION: KPG has acquired the color proofing business of Imation. What is the status of the virtual proofing product you were working on with Imation before the KPG purchase?

Messinger: Things are moving along. We have recently entered the beta phase of solution testing. As your readers probably know, MatchprintVirtual Proofing offers a unique way to accurately display CMYK on-screen, thus allowing graphic arts professionals to proof their contract proofing online using RealTimeProof and Imation/KPG‚s proprietary color technologies.


QUESTION: The latest version of the Classic product, version 4.0. What are the most important features in this release?

Messinger: The most important features released as part of Classic 4.0 are thumbnail previews and color-separations view on the Client side, and Win2k support on the server side. Note that the new thumbnails feature brings even faster, easier navigation for users.

Our clients were happy to see these developments. By adding more functionality to Classic 4.0 – in fact it is functionality they specifically asked for – it’s easier for our clients’ end-users to adopt online proofing technology.


QUESTION: Another new product is Real Time Proof Partner. Give us a brief rundown on the product and how it works.

Messinger: RealTimeProof Partner is the "integrate-able" version of RealTimeProof Classic, our standalone client-server app. meaning, RealTimeProof Partner allows existing applications like Data Asset Management to utilize our powerful imaging and proofing engine and make online proofing part of the workflow. Solutions like the Xinet’s WebNative, WAVE’s MediaBank, Canto’s Cumulus and others can now have the ability to utilize our technology as part of their solution, thereby giving their customers the added value of collaborating on assets in full resolution using any Internet connection.


QUESTION: Recently the company announced a professional services management program. Is this program really a person that facilitates getting everybody on the RTI system within a company or is it more?

Messinger: Our Professional Services Management Program offers a system and process in which end-users can go through the first steps of implementing online proofing, with the close guidance of their vendors, our customers, who were trained by us to conduct this deployment. Once the end-users start using RealTimeProof, they immediately see the value of the system and continue doing so, especially since it’s so easy to operate RealTimeProof.

Our main goal is to identify the right workflow in which our products and workflows can fit together. The key is building a systemized process in which our clients’ end-users are using the RealTimeProof technology most effectively.

We offer professional services as a package and we’ve been getting excellent response from customers and prospects.


QUESTION: In the past, the company has announced a number of agreements allowing other companies to license your proofing technology. What industries outside the graphic arts are most interested in the technology and why?

Messinger: Apart from the graphic arts division we also run a healthcare imaging division that uses the same core image streaming technology to allow sharing of x-ray, MRI and other studies over the Internet losslessly and rapidly. We in fact have FDA approval on our Medical products. The healthcare division is growing and has done so continuously in the past several quarters. Like in graphic arts, our mission is to lead the market in terms of both quality and usability.

Our technology overall can serve as a powerful imaging platform for many workflows and vertical markets, however we try to focus ourselves currently on graphic arts and medical. We may potentially expand in the future into other areas such as the cellular and entertainment markets.


QUESTION: RealTimeImage has the reputation of being the high-end solution for remote proofing. Explain how you differ from other competitive products.

Messinger: We believe it is a good thing for other companies to enter the online proofing segment, as it helps the industry to implement newer, more efficient workflows overall.

RealTimeImage is differentiated by its high standards. For absolute full resolution accuracy and a complete online proofing workflow, we’re the only game in town. However, having several configurations in place, including the ASP, allow us to offer our high standards to many segments in our industry, including mid-size and even small companies, which can use our service with no upfront costs and based on their actual usage. Our products are proving themselves daily by many customers, and this proven performance is why companies like Heidelberg and KPG (Imation) have chosen to utilize our technology for their solutions.


QUESTION: We have spoken with several software executives in the industry and many say the sluggish economy has slowed spending. What strategies has the company developed to deal with the recession?

Messinger: A down economy is the time when you must be very clear about how you save cost and time for your customers, and how you can help generate more business for them. We have proved how customers who had been using RealTimeProof have saved significant money in production workflow and landed new business by featuring cutting edge technologies to prospects and end-users. This has been our approach from our initial entry into the market, but today resonates even more solidly as customers are more sensitive to enhanced productivity and savings.

Our solutions are having a significant impact on savings everyday by customers like Southern Graphics Systems, who has allowed their end users, very large consumer companies, to literally gain millions of dollars by reducing approval cycles and shortening time to market. This is our mandate in this economy. This is why we have been successful in showing continuous growth and why will continue to empower the leading online proofing solutions in our industry.