Q. What is Prism WIN? A. Prism WIN is a Management Information System (MIS) designed specifically for the printing and graphic arts industries. It is a modular package that allows customers to select module combinations to suit their specific business needs. At a later date, extra modules can be easily added to an existing installation. The Prism WIN MIS encompasses a full accounting suite, estimating and jobbing, job costing and tracking, inventory and purchasing, scheduling, sales management and sales ordering. In addition to the standard software there are also two browser based modules: eService Desk (online quote request and sales ordering) and Browser Time Manager (online production time and materials capture).

Q. Can Prism WIN track my production costs effectively? A. Yes. Prism WIN collects costs from Shop Floor production as well as Inventory and Purchase Ordering. Prism WIN’s fully integrated accounting means that when a transaction is processed and posted, values are immediately updated to the GL. Production costs and Work In Progress can then be viewed at anytime directly from General Ledger through Prism reporting functions.

Q. What type of print business suits Prism WIN? A. Prism WIN is a very flexible and highly customisable system that can be configured to meet the exact requirements of all types of printing including: sheet fed, roll, web, digital, flexo’, screen, label and packaging. It is also suitable for use by pre-press/design, bindery and print broker/management companies. There is also a system developed specifically for smaller businesses or boutique printers… Prism WIN SBE.

Q. Can I track jobs in progress in real time? A. Yes. Prism WIN offers two easy methods of checking the progress of jobs. The Production Management module’s Gannt chart details time worked and estimated time to complete, and is updated with a job’s progress in real time. Shop Floor Management’s Job Tracking and Plant View windows detail jobs currently being worked on by cost centre/machine, also in real time.

Q. Will I be able to publish Prism WIN information to an intranet that allows employees to track their productivity? A. Yes. Both Microsoft SQL and Oracle database platforms can be queried using SQL scripts and ODBC. The results can be published directly to an intranet web page, allowing your employees to track their progress in real time.

Q. How would I track my best customers/sales reps? A. Standard reports in Prism WIN allow you to view customer and sales representative performance in respect to the number of quotes/jobs, value of these quotes and jobs, payment history and budget/target values. Custom reports can also be written to show specific information as required.

Q. How does Prism WIN update transaction processing? A. Prism WIN is a “batch” processing system – transactions with similar attributes are grouped into batches that are then posted either manually or by a posting process. This batching method has the advantage of allowing operators to check batches and transactions before committing/posting them and updating the database. This catches any problem transaction before it updates all of the modules in the database, removing the need to reverse out transactions created in error.

Q. What methods are available to capture production time and cost for a job? A. Prism WIN offers several options for capturing time and cost… Keypads, Virtual Time Managers (VTM) and Press Counters are all currently available for use with our Shop Floor data collection system. For a Mac environment, a Browser Time Manager (BTM) module employs browser technology to capture time and cost information. Direct Machine Interfacing to press/prepress/postpress using JDF technologies is also currently in development and will be released in the future.

Q. Can my customers order stock or request quotes via the web/internet? A. Yes. Prism WIN’s e-Service Desk module allows your customers to log into and process stock and quote requests over the internet. The transactions update the Prism WIN database in real time and update the customer with order/quote information when the transaction is completed. You can also have samples of the stock displayed with its code on the inventory list screen, or use the Prism interface to “on-line proof” artwork for the quote. The e-Service Desk module also allows customers to check their account information (e.g. outstanding quotes/jobs, orders, invoice information or payment history) directly from the internet.

Q. What kinds of reporting are possible with Prism WIN? A. The many “standard” reports in Prism WIN cover information commonly requested by Prism WIN customers, but these reports can never cover all possible reporting requirements. So Prism WIN employs its own proprietary reporting language that allows reports to contain graphs and boxing, font, size and positioning control, colour and graphics. This means your employees can be trained to write reports or Prism can specify and complete report requests for you. With the database being open to ODBC reads, information can be sourced from the Prism WIN database and presented in programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Access, as well as other third party programs.

Q. Can I develop my own applications for Prism WIN? A. Yes. Prism WIN’s data structure and business rules are open to development through the use of Prism WIN Connect – our proprietary API. Applications can be written in standard programming languages (HTML, .NET, VB), and will pass information to Prism WIN via the API so that the standard Prism WIN business rules are adhered to. This ensures that only ‘sensible’ transactions can be created by these applications protecting the integrity of your data.

Q. Can I schedule work in Prism WIN? A. Yes. The Prism WIN Production Management module lets you schedule work by cost centre or resource with regard to a number of factors – least setup, like jobs, duplex towers, required date, earliest start, capacity planning, etc. You can fix the schedule for a determined period of time, while still being able to schedule and alter schedules into the future beyond the fixed period. The schedule can be displayed as a Gantt Chart, so you can see the schedule, connections and requirements at a glance.

Q. What platforms does Prism WIN run on? A. The application can be run on either the Oracle 9 or Microsoft SQL database. These are industry standard databases that ensure the ongoing security and integrity of your data. They also allow the use of third party tools such as Crystal Reports to aid in data mining and report writing. Prism WIN is a Windows-based program that will run on a variety of Windows operating systems including Windows 98, 2000, NT, XP, 2000 and 2003 Server. Prism WIN may also be installed in a “thin client” environment using Citrix or Windows Terminal Services. The Prism WIN database is also open to ODBC connectivity allowing it to be resourced from third party software such as Microsoft Word, Excel and Access.

Q. What about the existing data in my current MIS? Can I bring that across? A. It is possible for master data to be imported in to Prism WIN. If your current MIS product, or other electronic form (MS Access, Excel, etc), holds static information (customers, suppliers, sales contacts, inventory codes, etc) and this information can be exported, then Prism staff can help you translate the data for import in to Prism WIN. At ‘go live’ Prism can also import outstanding balances for customers and suppliers as well as create opening balance journals and comparison figures for previous year in General Ledger. WIP job headers are created so that costings from your legacy system are included with any new transactions created in Prism, thereby making the changeover seemless.