Heidelberg will market the product under the name Prinect web-to-print manager. The agreement grants Heidelberg exclusive rights to sell the product under both licensed and software-as-a-service (SaaS) business models, as well as to sell related products from the Pageflex product line.
Primarily sold in North America in the past, Pageflex Storefront will undergo global marketing development to enable distribution worldwide. Heidelberg says that Prinect web-to-print manager will bring its customers a fully functional electronic storefront that provides better brand control, business growth opportunities, and the ability to streamline internal processes. The product joins the Prinect line of workflow automation solutions, and the company will aim it mainly at commercial sheet-fed offset printers.
Marcel Kiessling, member of the Heidelberg management board responsible for Heidelberg services, says, “The Prinect web-to-print manager expands our Prinect print shop workflow in what is one of the most important growth segments for the print media industry and it caters to the growing demands from our customers to use the internet for improved customer interaction and retention. In Pageflex, we have found a partner that already has a high-quality portfolio of web-to-print solutions with a proven track record worldwide. By integrating this portfolio into the Prinect system, our customers will benefit two-fold: from the W2P expertise of our partner Pageflex on one hand and the comprehensive automation and process transparency of the Prinect production workflow on the other.”
The two companies are collaborating on a highly-integrated, bi-directional connection to give the Prinect web-to-print manager module direct access to the central database of the Heidelberg Prinect workflow system. This will include utilising the Prinect preflight engine, ganging, and soft proofing capabilities for orders placed from the storefront online catalogue.
This is the first OEM deal for the Pageflex Storefront product. Pinhas Romik, general manager of Pageflex, says, “We are honoured that Heidelberg selected Pageflex Storefront for the basis of Prinect Web-to-Print Manager. We are excited by this opportunity to extend our market reach into new global markets and into offset and hybrid print shops. Heidelberg is a trusted partner of hundreds of thousands of printing companies worldwide. And we look forward to supporting Heidelberg as they help their customers evolve to offering Internet-based ordering.”
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