GRAPH EXPO, Chicago, IL - Printcafe Software, Inc., the operating system for print, announced today version 3.3 of the PrintFlow dynamic scheduling application, which contains a new graphical user interface, new features, and tighter integration to the current versions of Printcafe's Logic SQL, PSI, and Hagen print management systems. PrintFlow allows printing companies to schedule, synchronize and optimize jobs throughout the manufacturing operation by automatically identifying the optimal path for each job based on the available resources, current workload and delivery schedules for all jobs. PrintFlow also provides printers the ability to evaluate the potential impact of any number of changes to the printing schedule, such as adding new jobs, accelerating a delivery request, temporarily losing a work center, or adding a shift. Version 3.3 of this GATF award-winning technology features significant improvements and enhancements. One key new feature is the creation of combination cost centers, allowing users to schedule jobs to run on multiple machines working in tandem. One potential application is a printing company with three 16-page presses that can be pooled together on the same job to create a 32-page or 48-page press. PrintFlow decides automatically when to couple cost centers in order to optimize production output. This new feature also meets the needs of printers with bindery lines where multiple machines must work together on one job, and label applications in which a job exits one press and feeds another instead of rewinding. In addition, version 3.3 offers improved performance and usability, with an emphasis on enhanced graphics and navigation aides. PrintFlow's interactive graphical representation of the schedule now includes customizable cost center layouts and tools for adding graphics. "PrintFlow is the only true scheduling package out there for our industry," said Pat Johnson, financial controller of Litho, Inc., a PSI and PrintFlow user. "By 'true' I mean that it does more than just load hours - it's dynamic and lets us schedule the entire shop. For the first time we can see the all of the consequences of a change, such as a late proof. Before, we knew of the consequences only when the job had reached the press. Now, we can see its effect on the entire shop, from plating through to shipping." "The ability of PrintFlow to reduce bottlenecks and increase throughput in a printing operation has already been proven by Printcafe customers over the past year," said Udi Arieli, director of product management at Printcafe. "These new features will enable users to achieve even better performance and increased visibility, thereby boosting production efficiency across their entire operation." "We were looking for an automated scheduling system that could interface with our Hagen system and be capable of scheduling the entire plant instead of just the pressroom," said Judi Hansen, Director of Information Technology at J. S. McCarthy, "With PrintFlow, we can now predict the effects that incoming jobs have on our schedule. It helps us to see immediately which other jobs will be late and what we have to do to make them on time, which also helps us to schedule overtime proactively as well. We've learned that if we optimize our schedule correctly, we can produce the job more efficiently and be more competitive in our market."