EFI is shipping an upgraded version of its Prograph publication planning software. EFI Prograph offers comprehensive planning capabilities – including versioning, complex imposition and distribution tools – that allow printers to make more informed business decisions, simplify production and increase profits.

The enhancements in version 6 were made to streamline the software for users while still enabling them to compare manufacturing processes to available equipment and resources, giving them the ability to prepare for discrepancies or contingencies long before they occur. Prograph now has a simplified architecture that makes installations and upgrades easier and faster; a more intuitive user interface; and a brand new Press Optimizer feature that provides computer-aided press planning.

Version 6 of Prograph also enables integration with Hagen 8.5. “The integration between the two systems is unprecedented and really breaks new ground for our Hagen customers. Prograph acts as a production planning module for the Hagen user who needs some additional horsepower for planning books, catalogues, magazines and directories,” said Jeff Palser, EFI Prograph product manager. Hagen 8.5 is scheduled to ship in the second quarter of this year.

The new features join the drag-and-drop functionality of Prograph, which means users can easily create and update complex product specifications for jobs such as multi-version magazines and catalogs, retail inserts and books. Enhanced tools are also available for planning multifaceted shipping and distribution needs of finished products.

Perry Judd’s, a full-service graphic communications provider based in Waterloo, Wisc., has been a Prograph user since 1996. Dave Schonhoff, manufacturing project manager comments: “The new interface is a welcome change to an already great application. The user intuitively knows how to get around the new application. One excellent new feature is the ability to drag files, such as e-mail messages, e-faxes and Excel spreadsheets, and attach them to a job in the system. This is extremely helpful when more than one person is working on a project.” Schonhoff is also pleased with the new streamlined architecture, since “system maintenance is much easier and cleaner.”