With EFI’s new EFI IQ™ cloud and mobile suite offerings, EFI printer users can monitor production and printer utilisation, including exact device-level consumable tracking data, to reduce downtime, reduce costs and maximise the value of their EFI printer investments.
The company announced the availability of the EFI IQ™ suite of cloud and mobile applications with supported EFI VUTEk®, wide format, and Nozomi inkjet printers.
According to an early user of the cloud service’s new inkjet offering, Dave Brewer, chief technology officer of California-based Image Options: ‘EFI IQ is a user-friendly tool that gives me better business intelligence to make better decisions.’
By monitoring their printer fleets in real time, EFI IQ™ users can reduce consumable spend, save on labour costs, improve margins, and more. ‘Print business leaders often want and benefit from having more-complete knowledge of their plant operations,’ said John Henze, vice president of sales and marketing, EFI Fiery.
‘With EFI IQ™, they can have their finger on the pulse of the business. This advanced cloud offering gives print business leaders a detailed, accurate understanding of production operations, which is key to knowing how a company can best meet its customers’ needs at any given point in time.’
Production downtime can quickly accumulate if an operator is away working on another task when a stoppage happens on a printer. With IQ, users can set alerts customised to notify individuals who need to be informed of production blocking events. IQ also provides a detailed report on usage, uptime, downtime, etc, delivering verified information managers can use to improve overall productivity.
Many production managers don’t have access to the level of data that allows them to make these comparisons. Or, they have to constantly ask operators and other sources for details to find indicators for possible improvements. With EFI IQ™, this information is at managers’ fingertips; they can compare performance in real time or customise reports that enable streamlined analysis of historical performance and trends.
Accessing information when away from the production floor often involves contacting a manager or operator who then must stop what he or she is doing to report back. With EFI Go, a remote management intelligence application in the EFI IQ suite, users can check overall production performance, jobs in progress, and many other indicators from any mobile device.
The IQ suite is the only management solution to have a direct connection to EFI printer data, and it gives business leaders powerful tools to handle their day-to-day production and administrative challenges. Plus, the suite’s EFI Go component helps to ensure that managers receive urgent updates wherever they are.
With the data insights and notifications EFI Go and the entire EFI IQ suite provide, ‘print business owners gain the Industry 4.0 advantage they need for more streamlined, efficient and profitable print business management,’ said Todd Zimmerman, vice president and general manager of Display Graphics, EFI Inkjet.
‘The integrations we developed between EFI IQ and our VUTEk and Wide Format inkjet printers elevate what our customers can achieve in operational efficiency and business strategy.’
GRAPHIX SUPPLY WORLD
+27 21 511 5340
marketing@gsw.co.za
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