DSF 3.0, which was unveiled in March at the On Demand Expo in Boston, has been completely re-engineered and redesigned since its last major upgrade in 2005 and includes a host of new features and options.
EFI product marketing director Chuck Gehman said: “DSF 3.0 makes accessible the higher-value production features that a print shop can do by helping to funnel orders to the lower cost-per-page, feature-rich products that the print shop can provide. It will really help commercial printers to drive sales growth.”
The front end of DSF 3.0 is a business-to-consumer e-commerce website, which has been designed to allow buyers to specify how they want a product printed, without needing in-depth technical know-how.
EFI senior vice president of professional printing applications Marc Olin said: “The print process continues to grow more complex, so making it easier and more accessible for document owners and print buyers helps to deliver more volume to service providers.”
In addition to a new, customisable user interface, DSF 3.0 features a real-time product preview that allows buyers to see an on-screen graphical representation of the product that they are ordering.
EFI has also added XMPie’s variable data software as an option alongside the FusionPro engine it has used in the past. “It’s the only product to offer more than one variable data option,” said Gehman.
DSF 3.0, which costs from £5,047 ($10,000), will begin shipping in the US this month, with the UK and Europe to follow on 1 July.
Also on show at EFI’s London event at the Sanderson Hotel were the latest versions of its Fiery RIP and Micropress workflow products, in addition to a new PDF-based workflow, Fiery Central.
UK managing director Danny Morris described EFI as a “much bigger company than people realise”.
He added that EFI has a relatively low profile in Europe, due to its indirect sales model, which means it operates through partners such as Canon, with which it will launch Fiery Central later this month.
EFI
Founded 1989
Headquarters Foster City, California
European Headquarters Amsterdam
Offices worldwide 23
Acquisitions in the past five years seven including Vutek and Jetrion
Employees 1,800
Turnover £284m ($564m)
Products include Auto-Count, Digital StoreFront (DSF 3.0), PrintFlow, Prograph
EFI introduces latest version of web-to-print at London event
EFI gave the latest version of its Digital StoreFront (DSF 3.0) web-to-print software its UK debut at a showcase event in London last week.
