Software developer Caldera has released Nexio, a solution designed to connect the dots between a company’s various software applications, especially for wide format print houses.
The company says Nexio’s inter-operability means that businesses can connect their RIP, workflow, MIS, accounting, and other software packages to benefit from improvements to file automation and production reporting.
Serge Clauss, Caldera’s product sales manager, says, “Caldera’s roadmap focuses on software solutions that make a real difference when they’re installed. JDF has developed in many ways since it was invented in 1999. We believe it’s now time to give wide-format printers the chance to take full advantage of the business optimization it can offer.”
Caldera says it has designed Nexio to cater to two core needs by taking the Job Definition Format (JDF) protocol and extending it to the specific requirements of wide-format digital print environments. Nexio arrives as a product of Caldera’s Solutions Integration Department; established last year and dedicated to helping companies derive as much power from their production floor as possible by linking software processes and streamlining hardware control using data.
Caldera has designed Nexio to connect the dots between a company’s various software applications
Nexio enables the identification and tagging of a single job before moving into a file workflow, delivering it to a specific printer with certain parameters regarding, for example, quantity, resolution or media. This avoids manual intervention and the need to create several hot folders for each workflow type, thereby reducing operator time and the risk of human error. Nexio also enables bidirectional communication between the RIP and other software: an ERP, for example, or e-commerce facility, such as Caldera WebShop.
Caldera says this transmission of job information allows managers to introduce new elements, such as validation, log-saving or job ticketing, to improve reporting, device control and communication within their businesses. The company says these reports aid production performance analysis, helping to make wide-format businesses leaner, more environmentally aware and, ultimately, more profitable.
Nexio effectively runs in the background, with a module configured for each software application that needs to communicate with the RIP. Each module creates an instance within the Nexio JobTracker whereby available jobs can be viewed, sorted, processed and started or stopped, and error and confirmation messages controlled. As well as operating with all elements of the Caldera suite, it also works with all common workflow and RIP packages.
