Australian company Dashing Group is the first business in the Asia-Pacific region to adopt HP’s cloud based operating system, HP PrintOS Print Beat across its large format, industrial and Indigo digital print platforms.
Dashing is operating the system at its Sydney production facility in Lane Cove West, working across four HP Latex production printers, two HP Scitex industrial devices and three HP Indigo sheetfed and digital presses.
Paul Wilcockson, COO at Dashing says, “Using one platform to help us automate our print production and manage any number of jobs from submission to delivery has allowed us to not only keep up with demand, but offer a level of service no other print service provider can. The PrintOS app is an extremely useful tool that allows us to stay up to date wherever we are in Australia or throughout the world.”
Dashing says the standout feature of HP’s PrintOS system is the ability to generate real-time data on press performance through PrintOS Print Beat, one of 13 applications which offers both historical and near-real-time data on volume, utilisation and maintenance to track printer and site performance.
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The PrintOS Print Beat dashboard can also be displayed onscreen, beside each printer, to give operators a near-live feed on how each device is performing and how it is tracking against current targets and past performance. According to Wilcockson, this benchmarking feature has introduced the unexpected benefit of friendly competition in the print room.
Wilcockson says, “When you travel as often as we do, it is important that we are able to monitor the fleet’s performance and efficiency from any location. On multiple occasions, PrintOS Print Beat has allowed me to access real-time data from halfway across the world, so it is reassuring to know we can monitor our print production from anywhere, at any time.”
“It is good to measure volumes. We have displays above each machine which shows how they are working, with all the different efficiencies and we are able to change volumes and adapt to that. The staff use it and they are able to see those different factors and adjust things to work with the efficiencies.
“It has increased our efficiency. We do not use all the elements of PrintOS but the parts of it we do use have allowed us to increased our capacity."
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With sites across Sydney and Melbourne, Dashing says PrintOS Print Beat has allowed the company to promote better, faster decision-making, work flow planning and resource allocation. HP says flexibility has also been key to the system, with PrintOS Print Beat being available through a web browser and mobile app.
Jeremy Brew, Application Specialist, Large Format, HP South Pacific says, “Since its launch at drupa in 2016, print service providers of all sizes have begun connecting to PrintOS to simplify production and get the most out of their HP presses and printers. Australian businesses have been among the earliest adopters as they look to continue improving operations while protecting their margins. Dashing Group is leading this movement, and we expect its success will encourage many others around the world to follow suit.”
Wilcockson says, “This year is Dashing’s 30th year of operation. The business is owned by Russell Kavnat and Chad Jankelowitz. The business mostly prints both small and large format print servicing in retail, banking, food and beverage industries amongst along with many others.”
Dashing Group was established in 1989 and currently has 140 staff. Among printing, Dashing also offers services in design, print production and technology.
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