The new Customer Service module is an extension to the Optimise e-commerce solution launched by Optimus last year. It provides customer service reps with a single point of enquiry for all job-related queries, and is also available in a browser-based version for use on the Web directly by customers themselves. The Optimise system uses the JDF protocols officially adopted as the standard for e-commerce at Drupa by the CIP3 committee, but managing director of Optimus International Henny van Esch said that it was possible that Optimise might in time support rival PCX protocols as supported by the PrintCafe group, either in preference or as an addition to the JDF version: "It depends on which standard takes off, he said.
Billed as "the worlds first true universal direct machine interface", the UDMI module is a two-way information feed for all equipment with an integral digital interface; non-digital machines are catered for by a "non-invasive" sensor system known as Sentinel, with job ticketing information being fed to a screen mounted on the machine and information on time, quantities and material consumption being fed back. UDMI also interfaces to pre-press workflow systems: currently, only Agfas Apogee is supported, but van Esch indicated that other systems would become supported as and when customers requested.
Story by Karen Charlesworth
