Version 5.4 Adds Support for Variable Data Printing, Ordering of Inventory Items, Direct Payment Capabilities and Submission of Documents Stored in the Cloud

MELVILLE, N.Y. – Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced the availability of Océ PRISMAaccess® 5.4, bringing support for a wider range of jobs and streamlined submission methods for print providers and their customers. This includes customizable online documents, variable data printing applications and the ordering of inventory items and catalogued print documents. In addition, clients can submit files through cloud delivery services and take advantage of new direct payment capabilities. 

According to research firm InfoTrends' 2013 U.S. Production Software Investment Outlook, in-plant operators are projecting a 77 percent growth in the volume of digital print produced by their facilities that is submitted through a Web portal between 2012 and 2014.¹

"Print service providers are working to implement dynamic online business communications supply chain solutions with complete print fulfillment features," said Barbara Pellow, group director, InfoTrends. "They want users to be able to easily order and manage any digital media, business documents, business cards, catalogs, training manuals, employee documentation and compliance information. They are also exploring how to provide tools with variable imprinting and customization."

PRISMAaccess 5.4 not only addresses the needs of in-house print operations, but also print service providers who want to make it easier for their customers to submit and monitor the status of a wider variety of jobs through an interface that is tightly integrated with the printer's workflow processes. The PRISMAaccess solution can also help production print providers process jobs faster, better control costs, and offer new services to their clients.

PRISMAaccess 5.4 supports the design, submission, composition and printing of documents that have variable content, such as personalized direct mail postcards and business cards that can be personalized online. Master document templates can be created in an integrated editor and saved as an orderable product. Clients can then provide the variable data when ordering the product they want to customize. A separate license for the VDP module is required to enable variable printing capabilities.

The new version of PRISMAaccess now facilitates the ordering of non-printed inventory items such as pens, notebooks, memory sticks and calculators.

To streamline the opening and sending of large print files, clients can now select and order reprints from a library of pre-approved documents such as existing training manuals and corporate brochures. As these documents can be quite large, PRISMAaccess 5.4 allows users to preview a portion of the document, without having to download it, to determine whether it is the correct document.

The new PRISMAaccess solution also introduces the ability for users to order documents stored in the cloud. With existing support for Dropbox™, users have the ability to easily order documents stored in one of today's most popular cloud applications.

Previous versions of PRISMAaccess offered extended accounting functions and customized reports to help allocate costs and create invoices. PRISMAaccess 5.4 now also includes the ability for users to pay for orders via PayPal™. When ordering a product for which the price is determined, the job submitter will be offered the option to pay for their order during the submission process.

"Far too many companies and users still rely on archaic methods of submitting print jobs to their production departments and print providers, such as using email or memory sticks to transfer the documents and using email to discuss job specifications, receive estimates and preview and approve jobs," said Sam Yoshida, vice president and general manager, Marketing, Business Imaging Solutions Group, Canon U.S.A. "With the introduction of PRISMAaccess 5.4, Canon is extending our support for electronic job submission helping our customers streamline workflow and embracing a more efficient and cost-effective way to manage production print jobs within their organizations."

PRISMAaccess is just one offering within the Océ PRISMA family of solutions that, together, streamline print production workflow from job submission through production. It is compatible with any PDF-based printer, such as Canon's imagePRESS and varioPRINT cut sheet digital presses.

PRISMAaccess 5.4 is currently available for immediate purchase and as a free upgrade from PRISMAaccess v5 for customers with existing software maintenance agreements. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.