Increasing automation through new features and third-party connections 

MELVILLE, N.Y. – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced PRISMAdirect V1.3, a new release of its scalable order and workflow management solution. PRISMAdirect V1.3 is designed to help simplify and streamline order intake from different sources and save valuable production management time. Since its launch in November 2015, PRISMAdirect has proven to help print providers optimize processes and reduce costs. In addition, its smooth integration with uniFLOW, Canon's industry-leading print and scan management solution, helps organizations manage both their office print and in-plant print production workflows in one integrated system.  

"As our print services volumes continued to grow, it became critical for us to streamline our order submission and prepress processes," said Kris Tanner, Manager Solution Support Group/Print on Demand Schneider Electric. "Since implementing PRISMAdirect and PRISMAprepare, we have realized significant savings in our order processing and file preparation. At the same time, we have been able to better promote our range of services to customers."

Building on this success, PRISMAdirect V1.3 delivers new capabilities to better serve the commercial print market and offers new entry level configurations for smaller print centers.

The key benefits of PRISMAdirect Order and Workflow Management V1.3 include: 

• Mobile-friendly interface - Both the PRISMAdirect Webshop option and the order processing dashboard are now optimized with responsive designs for compatible mobile devices. Enabling warehouse staff or print operators to conveniently access their order dashboard on a tablet while on the move and allowing print buyers to access online storefronts via their preferred device: workstation, compatible tablet or smartphone.

• Shipping integration - PRISMAdirect now offers an optional connector¹  to shipping provider services including, FedEx^®, UPS^®, DHL^® and the USPS^®. Print buyers can access the shipping options that their print service provider offers and track their shipment. The service provider benefits from direct output of the shipping label, easy monitoring of the order status and better control of costs by selecting the most cost-efficient shipping option.

• Flexible sales tax calculation – Adding to the available fixed tax settings from previous versions, PRISMAdirect V1.3 allows for optional connectivity²  to Avalara sales tax calculation services for direct quotations including sales tax. 

• Customizable roles and responsibilities – With the new version, system administrators can define user roles more precisely, split administration, financial and operational related tasks and assign jobs to defined roles to better match PRISMAdirect users’ actual operations.

• More insight – For those users seeking continuous workflow improvement, PRISMAdirect V1.3 logs more usage data of the software, which can be extracted in customized reports created via the optional SAP^® Crystal Reports^® software - for better informed business decisions.

• Improved configuration - PRISMAdirect V1.3 offers enhanced configuration flexibility that allows for tailor-made solutions for commercial printers and in-plant print centers of all sizes. From a new base configuration focusing on the order and production management dashboard and supporting output to a limited number of printers, customers can build onto their configuration based on their current needs or as their needs change. Extended functionality options include unlimited printers support, up to ten concurrent dashboard users, the PRISMAsync Webshop or connectivity to compatible third party web-to-print solutions, and a wealth of other options.

“The professional printing industry is in a state of transformation, which requires us to continually adapt and evolve to meet customers’ evolving needs,” said Toyotsugu Kuwamura, executive vice president and general manager, Business Imaging Solutions Group, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “With these latest updates to PRISMAdirect, we have made it easy for customers to build one integrated production workflow, allowing them to save valuable time and resources.”

PRISMAdirect is an integral part of PRISMA Suite, Canon’s integrated suite of workflow essentials for production print environments. Designed to drive optimal efficiency from job submission to completion, the PRISMA Suite encompasses a complete production printing workflow portfolio including web-to-print, order management, document make-ready, production print servers, production management and automation. 

Availability
PRISMAdirect V1.3 is scheduled to be available on September 26, 2016. Pricing may vary based on configuration.