We have an atypical situation here at Printing Industries of America in regards to our print production equipment-all of it has been generously donated, and we often receive requests for feedback from vendors. One recent tool that we’ve been testing and providing feedback about is SpencerMetrics iDPA.
Introduced in February of this year, SpencerMetrics iDPA (the acronym stands for “increase Digital Press Availability”) measures the efficiency and productivity of digital presses. Our Lead Digital Production Specialist, Bryan Llewellyn, has been using this tool to track all internal production done on our Xerox iGen4.
Bryan uses the iPad that came with the system to monitor and record activity such as job setup, RIPing, repair time, consumable replacements, paper jams, and, of course, time spent actually producing sellable print. When the press is going through the startup sequence, Bryan taps the corresponding button on the iPad. He does the same when it’s RIPing, when it’s jammed and when it’s printing. According to the Bryan, the system is “easy to use because it’s right there at the press and because the interface is straightforward and clear.”