Being in the software distribution business has its definite advantages. Every cool new tool that comes across my desk, I get to try. And while a number of them wouldn’t benefit my daily workflow, a larger percentage of them would, and that’s where I count myself lucky. I remain in awe that so many QuarkXPress® and InDesign® users are unaware of the value these products bring. To see the look on a user’s face when he sees a product that will completely automate his daily mundane tasks, repetitive reformatting and even data entry still gives me a thrill. This industry brings something new to the table everyday. But making users aware of the possibilities remains a real challenge.
Back in the QuarkXPress® 3.0 days, when XTensions® were first introduced and tradeshows were the norm, users would line up 20-30 deep to see the latest and greatest. They couldn’t get their hands on the most current catalog of goodies fast enough, and every power user out there explored the options to expedite their production. Ah, the glory days. But since then, it seems more and more users are accepting the limitations that the main applications put on their specific tasks, and not even thinking about what could be out there that would change their daily routines forever. They don’t realize the enormous savings—of both time and money–and seem to just accept their fate.
With the economic struggles that some companies and freelancers are experiencing, now more than ever is the time to discover these tools. With the purchase of one, inexpensive XTension, we were able to put our data-entry staff on sales calls and visits. This meant that the XTension more than paid for itself with its first use and continues to save us money every day.
But here is where it gets even better. There are products out there to free up designers and allow them to take on more projects. Examples of just two of these goodies? Resize XT or ProScale for InDesign. Our design team came up with a killer ad for a publication only to find that we wanted to run it in a number of different spots. Of course, these other publications had different specs, leaving our design team stuck with tediously resizing the original ad to make it work. Enter Resize XT and ProScale. In 5 seconds, the ads were resized for these additional publications and our designers were on to the next assignment.
There are also tools for making charts and graphs, tables, automatic indexes and table of contents, automated catalog and directory production, books, ebooks, and so on. And all of them—without exception—will make you money from the get-go. Xcatalog/InCatalog are perfect examples of huge money-makers. Both the XTension and Plug-in are powerful bi-directional linking tools for creating transparent links between your QuarkXPress or InDesign documents and external data. With these links in place, you never have to enter or update your data in two places (documents and database), but can simply update one or the other from the most current version. You can use Xcatalog to update prices, graphics, or product information--even change versions or swap languages—automatically. If you have different pricing regions, use Xcatalog to swap the prices in for each region—automatically. Did you hear that? Automatically!
What’s more, there are tools to handle just about anything you do on a regular basis. Tools that can give you time-saving shortcuts for regular tasks, tools that can change viewing and previewing options, tools that help you manage graphics and rid you of endless hours in Photoshop. And preflighting? Not a problem. There are a plethora of great products that can save you money in ink and paper and printing errors. There are equally as many awesome products for Acrobat™, Photoshop®, Illustrator™, and other applications. PitStop Professional still gives me shivers as I watch it work. It gives me confidence in every PDF file produced, and a workflow without it seems unimaginable.
You surf the web, right? Why not take a few minutes to explore the opportunities. Both ThePowerXChange.com and XChange UK make it easy to search for key words that would pertain precisely to what you find yourself doing day in and day out. They employ a knowledgeable staff with over 75 years combined industry experience and offer free pre-sale support. You can call, say “I do this”, and they can give you options and provide demos for you to try the products on and see which is the best fit for your needs. Demos can also be downloaded from the sites. And a few minutes of effort on your part could translate to an end to those monotonous tasks or the beginning of being able to offer new services to your customers, confident you’ll be able to handle the increased workload.
I guess what I’m trying to tell you is that if you haven’t taken a few minutes to peruse the options, you are selling yourself and your business short. While it means an initial investment (products range from $30.00 and up), it also translates to immediate savings and those savings continue long after the initial purchase. You’ll find yourself with extra hours to expand your customer offerings, put your staff on more important and money-making projects, suffer far-less stress on deadlines, and even get home early now and then. And who couldn’t deal with that?
No comments:
Post a Comment