My Top 12 List

Letterman has his Top 10 List, and I have my Top 12 List. Why 12? Because on January 29, 2013, I celebrated my twelfth year with BPI Media Group. In these 12 years, I have been blessed and learned so much from colleagues, mentors, employers and customers. So, here's my Top 12 awesome things about BPI:

1. The people. From the owners to the drivers, they are some of the hardest-working people I've ever met.

2. The commitment. When a job is promised by a certain date, I can take that to the bank.

3. The teamwork. From prepress to shipping, all departments work together on every project.

4. The atmosphere. When you walk in the front door, you're greeted with a smile, and when you walk through the plant, folks wave to greet you. You can't beat BPI's version of southern hospitality.

5. The quality. Not once in twelve years have I ever had to worry about delivering a quality product to our customers.

6. The customer service. It is THE BEST. If you have a question, they provide answers--detailed answers--in a hurry--and with a smile.

7. The growth. BPI has evolved over the years, and management is committed to make our company grow by continuing to offer value-added solutions that our customers need.

8. The technology. BPI stays ahead of the curve on industry trends and technology all the way from prepress's Insite by Prinergy to our storefront web-to-print solution.

9. The proactive approach. Our team keeps customers and the sales team involved on every project's status, so you get no surprises.

10. The efficiency. Automated systems and a streamlined workflow make BPI's processes run in sync.

11. The adaptability. The folks at BPI adapt and learn as the industry, technology and postal regulations change.

12. The vision. It's not just about where BPI has been or what we've accomplished but more so where we're headed, and we want you to join us as we grow.

Thanks for 12 amazing years, BPI (Alan and Steve), and here's to at least a dozen more!

Until next time...Elizabeth

Need a Little Insite?

If you are one of the many, super-busy people in this world, you need your print project printed yesterday, and you don't have time to wait hours or days for a proof. If you missed BPI Media Group's webinar last week presented by BPI University, don't fret. You can watch in two short segments (about 25 minutes total)an Introduction to Insite presented by Jan Spears, BPI's prepress director.

Introduction to Insite: Part 1

Introduction to Insite: Part 2

First, let me tell you a little about this proofing system and what makes it so great. Trust me, you'll want to join this bandwagon and speed up your proofing time like many other users have done.

What is Prinergy and Kodak Insite?

• Prinergy—Kodak workflow with full automation with soft proofing.
• Insite is a part of Prinergy where customers can be set up with a custom ftp site. Once their files are uploaded, Insite will perform tasks based on rules-based automation. Rules-based automation is set up for each customer based on their needs and type of product to print.

Why should I use Insite?

• Increase automation and efficiency of the proofing system.
• Take advantage of the state-of-the-art online tools in the system.
• Utilize the reliable, color-accurate soft proofing.
• Allow multiple proofers in your company to review the document before it goes to print.
• Allow for notations to be made on the proof for other reviewers to see.
• Enable the uploading of replacement pages on the fly.
• Be able to proof your document within a matter of minutes after it's uploaded.
• See quickly any file problems that the preflight manager may find (i.e., inadequate bleed, rgb images, low-res images, font issues, etc.)
• View your proof in a "page-turn" format just as if you were turning the pages of a hard-copy proof with smart-review.

If you want to read more about Insite, click here. If you want to sign up for BPI University's next webinar or watch previous webinar's you may have missed, click here.

Until next time...Elizabeth

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Proof, Review & Approve!

For those of you who've read my blog before, you've heard me rave about Kodak Insite. Today, I'd like to tell you a little more about this proofing system and how it can be so helpful, time saving and a cost effective way to proof. Keep reading because you'll be able to sign up for our webinar about Insite at the bottom of this post. Don't miss it! Click here to watch a short video about Insite.

Just last week, one of BPI Media Group's customers in the midwest used this proofing system for the first time. This customer needed to upload a 12 GB file (that's a BIG file), and our standard ftp site didn't have space for this file. This opened the door for me to talk with them about Insite. By uploading their files to Insite, they were able to load the large file (for their 200+ page full-color catalog) in a short time and start proofing it virtually within the hour. Upon reviewing the proof internally among a couple of key staff members, they caught three pages with errors on them that they had not previously noticed. In just a few minutes, they reviewed the proof, replaced the pages with changes and approved the proof online. This particular customer then needed a hard-copy proof, so with the press of a button or two, the online proof was sent to the proof machine to output a hard-copy proof. By taking advantage of Insite's Smart Review, the customer saved the additional cost of a new proof had they not caught these small mistakes until the hard-copy proof. For a budget-conscious company, this was a huge advantage.

Here's a list of some more key features of Insite that help make this an efficient way to proof, not only for our customers, but also for our prepress technicians:

• 24/7 soft proofing in page-turn software
• Preflights files for missing fonts, inadequate bleed, RGB photos, etc and reports back to client
• Rules-based automation for less production time
• PDF workflow
• Personal password login
• History view feature
• Email notification of proof availability, approval, comments, etc.

Just a couple more examples of how using Insite for proofing has saved time and/or money for BPI's customers:

We print a football program with a custom cover and 8 custom interior pages for each home game during the college's football season. The designer uploads files in the wee hours of the morning on Monday, and by the time the office opens at 8 am, the files have already been approved. The designer is able to upload, proof and approve the custom pages at his convenience. Once prepress gets to the office, they send the job to plate, then it's off to press!

For a magazine we print quarterly, the end-customer as well as the designer need to review the proof for content/graphic layout. They use Insite to make notes or comments to one another to check things in this final stage before printing. These notes appear for our prepress techs to see as well, so we can check to make sure all the corrections noted were made.

BPI Media Group will be conducting a free webinar on our Insite product for prepress automation. If you would like to learn more about this product and how it can decrease production time and save money in the proofing stage of projects, click here, and we'll send you an invite to the FREE webinar. The webinar will be next Tuesday, October 18th @ 10 am CST/11 am EST.

We'd love for you to join this webinar and see how this proofing system can help you! Until next time...Elizabeth