Users with varying production needs, from printers, publishers, retailers and brand owners shared common experiences and production challenges 

DALIM SOFTWARE, makers of highly efficient, scalable software solutions for the creation, production and management of cross-media content, recently concluded its annual 2015 US DUO Conference, from April 15-17 at the Loews Hotel in New Orleans. The successful conference attracted graphic arts professionals, brands, retailers, institutions and their respective marketing and communications supply chains from throughout the US. The event marked the appointment of Chad Gray, Senior Developer and Workflow Specialist at Carey Color Inc. as President of DUO, and Steve Daniel, Senior Manager Graphic Services at Valassis as Vice President. Marcus Spiegler, Preflight Operations Manager, AAAS, was recognized as outgoing President.

US DUO is the premier opportunity for DALIM SOFTWARE users, industry influencers and pioneers alike to learn about new technologies as they are being applied in a global context, and to understand how emerging work practices impact media and communication businesses. In addition, US DUO gives attendees the opportunity to learn about industry trends, the company's most recent developments, and business opportunities. 

“The DUO conference allows us to share best practices in automation to drive efficiencies,” said Steve Daniel. “At Valassis, we have successfully leveraged the DALIM platform and continue to look for ways to realize its benefits across our business. In my role as vice president of US DUO, I plan to extend the opportunity for user camaraderie beyond the conference and encourage sharing throughout the year.”  

As always, the meeting kicked off with a 2015 executive outlook by DALIM SOFTWARE CEO, Carol Werlé, offering facts and trends about the use of DALIM SOFTWARE solutions around the world and the direction of the industry as a whole.

Customers offered their perspectives on how they used DALIM SOFTWARE applications to increase production efficiencies and offer new services. Steve Daniel of Valassis gave a presentation about the influence of DALIM SOFTWARE tools in their workflow. Chris Dean, Premedia Manager at Hearst Magazines offered how, as a magazine publisher, Hearst is leveraging DALIM technology in their production. Many DALIM SOFTWARE customers are exploring new ways to create and produce content and engage with their customers—or are trying to offer new services and provide value for their own content that they produce and manage. Enrique Gonzales, Director of Analytics at AAAS Science, explained 'The Importance of Digital Analytics'. A digital trailblazer, Enrique J. Gonzales has spent the past 20 years working in digital for magazines, newspapers, broadcasters, and other off-line content producers. Informative panel discussions with DALIM SOFTWARE users offered insights about how to make—or save—money and find new business opportunities, and what a DAM means for a business.

Sponsors like Kevin Goeminne, CEO of CHILI Publish, and Matthew Carse, founder of Image Data Systems UK Ltd (IDS), gave guest presentations. CHILI Publisher, an online document editing solution, integrates seamlessly and transparently within DALIM ES. IDS has grown into the foremost image portal in Britain, providing a means for many of the world's most important photographic agencies to distribute quickly and efficiently rights protected imagery to their client base in the major newspaper and magazine chains in Britain and abroad. They use DALIM ES as the backbone of their system

US DUO is also a forum that reviews new features and enhancements that are coming in the near future and offers insight into the product roadmaps, longer term. DALIM SOFTWARE product managers offered a review of the new ES 4.5, TWIST 7.5 and DIALOGUE Engine features and enhancements. "Talks were very relevant and on topic. I was interested in new connectivity to databases and access to ES, and was excited to see that DALIM SOTWARE is building more asset management capabilities into ES," adds Chad Grey. 

“As the graphics industry shifts from solely print to include online and other media, it is interesting to learn how US DUO attendees utilize the flexibility of our solutions to solve their unique applications," remarks Carol Werlé, DALIM SOFTWARE CEO. "There is a wide range of users, from commercial print and packaging, to advertising workflows, and design and marketing service agencies, but they all have common stories that are shared during our user group meeting. We value these sessions, as it offers tremendous feedback for product development, and reinvigorates our development team for the year ahead."