September 10, 2001 -- Facilities utilizing MAN Roland’s PECOM system to control and monitor their print production now can add automated management and accounting functions to their agendas, the result of a technology and marketing alliance between MAN Roland and printCafe. The agreement is having an immediate impact at Print 01. The MAN Roland exhibit is demonstrating how printCafe’s Logic management information system (MIS) operates with several MAN Roland presses. In addition, the printCafe pavilion is featuring an operating MAN Roland PECOM console that is digitally receiving job parameters from Logic and feeding back production data to the program. “This new alliance with printCafe will empower our customers who use PECOM to automate virtually every function involved in running their businesses,” said Yves Rogivue in announcing the agreement. “By linking PECOM to Logic they will be able to streamline their inventory control, more productively bid on jobs, and more accurately invoice their clients. Plus, they’ll get the tactical data they need to make informed strategic decisions because PECOM and Logic will keep them in touch with their plant’s productivity every working day.” PECOM stands for Process Electronic Control, Organization and Management. As the name indicates, the system goes beyond control of press operations to organize the pressroom’s workflow, while connecting the management function to the pulse of the printing plant. The PEM (Process Electronic Management) function sits at the top of the PECOM pyramid. It can link every production factor of every MAN Roland system in a printer’s pressroom to a management information system (MIS) such as Logic. That automates and improves the accuracy of such time-consuming functions as estimating, scheduling, inventory control and accounting functions, while providing management with a more accurate assessment of plant productivity. “printCafe Logic has proven that the process of print production can be managed toward higher profitability,” said Mark Olin, President, Co-CEO and Director of printCafe. “Logic provides end-to-end integration in a turnkey solution with a powerful set of data collection tools, and now it perfectly integrates with MAN Roland’s PECOM system.” Logic is one of several leading MIS systems offered by printCafe. Others include Hagen, PrintSmith, Prograph and PSI. “The interface connecting Logic to PECOM is the first of many,” said Kevin Oakes, Director of Business Development for MAN Roland. “We will be rolling out interfaces to other printCafe MIS solutions in the coming months, so PECOM users will have a range of options. Completing the programming for the first interface opens the door for the additional systems. So we’ll be launching them soon, as they become available.” The joint appearance at Print 01 of printCafe’s Logic suite of management solutions and MAN Roland’s PECOM system will be the first of many joint marketing ventures. “The agreement gives us the opportunity to share the spotlight at trade shows and in demo rooms worldwide,” Oakes explains. “And the alliance also provides our customers with a opportunity to learn more about printCafe’s ecommerce capabilities.”