Phoenix Lithographing Corporation

Domain Technology Group, Inc. Helps “Phoenix Litho” Rise from the Ashes with Highly Efficient Print Management Solution
Phoenix Lithographing Corporation (http://www.phoenixlitho.com), located in Philadelphia, PA, rose out of the ashes of a former company whose roots date back to the 70s. The company reopened in late 2002, relying largely on a “pen & paper”-based system that was overmatched by the sheer volume of jobs that was coming in. According to Robert Weir, Phoenix Litho’s prepress manager, “We restarted this business without the benefit of a fully integrated business system to manage our front office and print management. That meant lots of paperwork and manual procedures for key parts of our business such as purchase orders, freighting and billing. Needless to say, without integration and automation of these processes, they were quite labor-intensive and inefficient.”

Domain Technology Group and EFI/Printcafe Team up to Deliver a Winning Business Solution
“We started receiving jobs that were overwhelming our manual systems. Since we were in the process of upgrading all of our prepress equipment anyway, it was a perfect time to modernize our technological infrastructure,” said Weir. “We started to research software systems that were specially designed for the print industry. We were already familiar with the Printcafe printer management solution called PSI. Our CEO, Barry Green, was very familiar with PSI and with so many companies using it, we knew that this was an industry-standard solution that was reliable and proven.”

After reviewing quotes from numerous companies to perform the PSI infrastructure installation, management selected the Domain Technology Group (http://www.domain-group.com) based outside of Philadelphia. Domain had been implementing and improving network infrastructure for printers for over five years, so their vast experience gave them the advantage over the competition. “Because of all the print management solutions we have implemented, we know the idiosyncrasies of the systems and how to optimize performance for the PSI software,” claimed David Kramer, Domain’s president. “Moreover, we have developed strong relationships with EFI/Printcafe’s salespeople and implementation team. We get calls from the local EFI/Printcafe reps whenever there is a prospect in the area looking for a complete print management solution or an existing user looking to upgrade. This spirit of partnership with EFI/Printcafe has been instrumental in growing our business.”

Phoenix needed a system that could accommodate their print management software, e-mail and Microsoft Office suite. “We visited with Barry Green and he asked us to design and help implement a complete printer management solution,” said Kramer,” “Barry wanted to leverage their existing equipment, especially the twenty plus Winterm thin client devices and older workstations that he hoped could tie into the main server. After a series of initial meetings and completion of a thorough needs analysis, we designed a system and presented him with a proposal.”

Management committed to the implementation plan, which included installation of four servers to support the Printcafe PSI print management software as well as an integrated accounting application. A Citrix server enables all of the older thin client devices and workstations to access the system and allows the new Macintosh workstations to display a typical Windows desktop. This server also provides remote access to the system for employees at their New York plant and remote sales offices via the Internet, including all proper system precautions (e.g., firewalls, virus, spam, etc.). An active directory server handles the file, print and security functions, a Microsoft Exchange server takes care of e-mail and a Microsoft SQL server provides database management capability.

“We worked hand in hand with EFI/Printcafe consultants to implement and optimize the environment for all the new software applications,” said Kramer. “Once that phase was completed, we handed the project over to EFI/Printcafe’s implementation team to install the PSI software and provide training to the staff. Domain provides ongoing support and expansion of the IT infrastructure whenever it’s needed.”

PSI’s Estimating module has been the cornerstone of the new system. Customers send in their job specifications by e-mail, fax or by hand and that data is entered into the PSI Estimating module. Based on this information, a quote is automatically generated from the system and then e-mailed or faxed back to the customer. Inside the quote are all the press and labor charges for each job. With the Estimating module on board, Phoenix Litho is able to generate quotes 80% faster than with their old Excel-based spreadsheet system. Phoenix is currently implementing PSI’s Job Cost/Data Collection module, which allows their staff to compute the costs and net profit margin of any job that goes through the plant. Phoenix also has plans to install PSI’s Job Ticket module in the future.

Domain Works Through The Night to Ensure a Smooth-running System
Larry Goncea, MCSE, one of Domain’s network engineers, played a key role in the success of the implementation, which took only two days on-site to complete and was accomplished without a hiccup. Robert Weir spoke of Goncea’s contribution in glowing terms. “Larry is a total professional. He was on-hand while EFI/Printcafe installed the software to ensure that the process proceeded smoothly. Any time we have a problem, I call Larry and get an instant response. One time he came out and worked until 1:00 am to get the job done. He doesn’t leave until it’s fixed. He has the dedication to make the customer happy. We don’t have an IT professional on staff, so it’s very reassuring to know that Larry is there when we need him.”

David Kramer sums up Domain’s philosophy this way: “We provide cost-effective solutions for clients of all sizes and types. We do not treat our smaller clients any differently than our larger clients. We design infrastructures for speed, reliability and security and we deliver on the design. We will work around the clock, if necessary, to ensure that our clients are happy. I believe that our experience, professionalism and commitment are all key components to our ongoing success and customer loyalty.”

About Domain Technology Group, Inc.
Based outside of Philadelphia, PA, Domain Technology Group, Inc. (http://www.domain-group.com) is a highly experienced IT consulting company that designs, develops and implements financial applications such as accounting, distribution and manufacturing systems, and connected peripherals. Domain also provides consulting and design services for companies requiring assistance in determining appropriate architecture, infrastructure, connectivity and communications designs. The firm's mission is to provide and perfect the design, implementation, and support of advanced information systems with solutions that support eCommerce, eBusiness and eGovernment. Domain serves three sectors: government, public and not-for-profit. In the government sector, Domain’s projects range from servicing local government to state and federal government agencies. In the private sector, clients range from small businesses to businesses with revenues in excess of thirty billion dollars.

Domain works closely with their clients to perform extensive needs analyses and deliver executive-level presentations and reports. Based on these needs analyses, they design systems that precisely match their clients’ needs. Their designs include proper protection from virus infection, critical component redundancy, alternate media backup and restore capability, remote access capability and many other features needed to implement a state-of-the-art information system. Domain’s network implementations are designed to minimize administration time and maximize system up-time.

About Phoenix Lithographing Corporation
Phoenix Lithographing Corporation is a true single source provider of the highest-quality commercial printing and literature, and all types of fulfillment, from direct mail to promotional items. Phoenix offers one of the most technologically advanced facilities in the northeastern U.S., with sheet fed and web presses on-site, plus state-of-the-art direct-to-plate digital graphics capabilities. All manufacturing processes at Phoenix are governed by cGMP’s or certified good manufacturing processes. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.phoenixlitho.com.