The Refresh Orlando Heirs

Make-or-Break Factors in Success and Profitability

For quick printers, estimating can prove to be a major factor in the success or failure of their business.

When a customer requests a bid on a job, they need a fast turnaround, and the best price. For a printer, there are two important issues; first of course is the price and second the profit. If they price a job too high they might miss out on getting the job, and if they price it too low, this starts cutting into their potential profits.

Estimating software is a tool that helps eliminate this margin for error and make every printer’s job easier. This ease is why estimating software is becoming an integral part for many companies in the printing and graphics industry. But what type of estimating software should a printer look for? With so many different companies selling estimating software it can become difficult to find a solution that is the right one.

For this reason Cyrious Software has taken on the role of business software consultants rather then focusing strictly on selling. When looking for a business management and estimating solution, the ability of a company to consult and guide you to the correct solution, be it theirs or someone else’s, should be a major deciding factor. If a software company isn’t willing to work to find a solution that specifically fits their business, it might be wise to find a different company to do business with.

Estimating software can range from a simple estimating calculator package, to a complete powerful, integrated estimating, job tracking & business management system, like Cyrious Software. The difficulty is figuring out which system is right for your business.

How Much & For What

Companies should look at the money spent on estimating/business management software, as an investment and not an expense. Most complete software systems range from about $2,000 all the way up to $14,000 depending on the number of licenses, modules and different customizations. This somewhat large investment makes it vital for printers to find a system that they can not only use to increase profits and save time, but also one they have the ability to continue to grow with.

Many printers are looking for a system that not only has the ability to estimate, job track, and do invoicing but also has the ability to export to accounting packages, create reports, manage their customer base, and expand their business through target marketing. Because not all estimating software packages have this complete business management functionality, printers and similar businesses need to make sure the estimating software they choose has the functionality they need (i.e. Customer Management Tools, Marketing Tools, Shipping & Credit Card Integration) The last thing a company needs is to buy additional software after the initial investment.

Another aspect to consider when searching for a software package is the accuracy it provides. Accuracy is one of the most important features to look for in estimating software. The price of using inaccurate information can add up and become extremely detrimental to a business. Accuracy in estimating software depends on the ability to customize the software to fit the printers pricing. With Cyrious Software, your pricing & cost structure is customized and built into the software making it virtually impossible to have inaccurate estimates.

Integration Is Key

Another factor to consider is how easily estimating software will let one go from estimate, to order, to invoice, and beyond. Without estimating/business management software, printers spend a lot time re-entering/re-writing customer or product information. Even with estimating software if you don’t have the right system you could be left re-keying a lot of important information. This can be a major waste of time. That is why Cyrious Software has created their application to encompass this integration. This means the first time you enter company or order information you never have to enter it in again, unless of course you need to make an update or edit.

The “beyond” part is where Cyrious Software distinguishes itself from many of its competitors. Imagine having the power of an entire marketing research firm at your fingertips. Cyrious gives you that power. Once you have company information and order history in the Cyrious Software system, you can create queries that will allow you to separate customers into different segments, and provide you with an easy method to begin to target different markets. Once these segments are grouped, you can automatically e-mail, fax or print marketing materials to them. Whether it is a follow up letter, thank you note, or special offer, businesses can use the software to help strengthen relationships with current/new customers and/or develop a stronger marketing strategy.

About The Author

Danny Tangredi

For more information on Cyrious Software’s Estimating & Business Management Solutions go to www.cyrious.net or call 1-800-552-1418.

CD duplication is the process of copying data from one CD to another through the process of burning especially in large commercial quantities.

Though many people use the term CD duplication and replication interchangeably, there are gross differences between the two. Though both processes transfer information onto CDs, duplication is the process of burning what we call pits onto a CD surface and normally undertaken by CD Duplication Companies. The device which does the burning is called a CD burner can be inexpensively found on home PCs.

CD replication on the other hand obtains an imprint from a master CD and stamps the data in binary form on the CD. In CD Duplication, the duplicate is of the same or inferior quality as the original. No attempt is made to change the quality or constitution of the data transferred. CD Duplication is also cheap to do and therefore the favorite of computer enthusiasts who don’t have the large budget to do replication. It is also cheaper to do for low volume work say burning 10 to 20 CDs.

But replication is an attempt to produce a high end version of an original CD and therefore involves more sophisticated technology and machinery, and that’s why we find this method mostly with CD Duplication Companies. Because of the high capital layout, it is an expensive option and therefore suits people who need to do quality or professional copies in large volumes say 100,000 to 1 million copies. Sometimes, the sheer need for quality production such as CDs being sent to radio stations, open market, etc need to have high quality production whether a single or 2 million copies are to be produced. It may also be noted that replication usually involves labeling and sleeve design.

Replication has many benefits, including accuracy, quality, quantity, and packaging - the clear choice for a professional finished product in significant to large numbers. The larger the initial order, the lower the unit price. Though CD Duplication can come almost free, replication can cost $2 per CD, the price inversely proportional to the quantity of CDs in question.

Why would people want to duplicate CDs?

First, it saves them a lot of time. The recording technology is able to use multiple recorders say 2000 or more at the same time and therefore beats down time spent in the process. In this mode of recording, all the CDs to be duplicated are installed at once on a system and the recording done once.

Money.. Duplication costs less because there is no mastering involved. Thus, people can be able to obtain large quantities for far less the expense over replication.

Security.. The CD Duplication process ensures security especially if you have sensitive data that you would not want to compromise to third party systems. Every aspect of the duplication can be done at one place thereby eliminating the need to transport anything to another location and risking divulgence of information.

Mixonic at mixonic.com is one of the many CD Duplication Companies that offers CD Duplication services for educational and training professionals, musicians, content providers and software developers. The company has great flexibility in orders - customers can ask for Rush, Standard, or Value Packages as their budgets and convenience permit. They charge $1.88 for 1000 CDs duplicated in color.

CD man at cdman.com, a CD Duplication Company, has been around since 1991 and offers excellent services. The company has a graphic design team that can design from simple sleeves to advanced cardboard mailers. They can even stamp bar codes onto the CDs in case you would like to retail your products at a shop.

Proactionmedia.com, another CD Duplication Company also offers $0.59 CD Duplication services.

With so many CD Duplication Companies on the market, which CD Duplication Company do you choose? We have listed a few factors that you may need to look at if you are selecting a company to do duplication for you:

Do they have the advanced technology to give you error free and high turn around production?

Does the CD Duplication Company have the printing facilities in-house; if possible on the same assembly line or they will have to outsource the printing to another company which can result in poor work and delays?

Do they have a sample to show you so you can make some preliminary judgment of their output?

CD Duplication is an excellent to produce large quantities of CDs at relatively low cost. Whether you are a software producer or musician, CD Duplication is an area you may need to know about extensively so you can insist on quality work at all times from CD Duplication Companies.

About the Author

Further information and resources can be found at cd fusion

Welcome to part II of Graphic Terms- The Basics. Maybe you’re learning these terms to help you understand more about designing your own e-covers. Maybe you’re learning to understand the terms in your search to have your e-cover professionally designed. In either case these terms will give you a very basic understanding of commonly used terms in graphic design. With the tools available today it’s fairly easy to come up with an e cover for your e-book or software. It’s a bit more difficult to uncover the real tricks of the trade that only a professional can effectively use. Even if you’re determined to create your own, it will most likely be a good return on your investment to at least consult with a professional.

Terms A-N are located in Part I.

Terms O-Z are located in Part ll.

No terms for the letter O.

PNG
PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics format. PNG is used for lossless compression and displaying images on the web. Two advantages of PNG are that it supports images with millions of colors and produces background transparency without jagged edges. The major disadvantages are PNG images will not show up on older browsers, and can be comparatively larger in file size than GIFs.

PPI
PPI stands for pixels per inch. PPI specifies the resolution for an input device, such as a scanner, or monitor. Web page resolution ranges from 72-96 pixels per inch.

RGB
RGB stand for the colors Red-Green-Blue. In design for computer monitors, colors are defined in terms of a combination of these three colors. Print designers usually define colors using CMYK.

Royalty-Free Images
Photos or graphic images that are sold for a single standard fee and may be used repeatedly by the purchaser. Normally with royalty-free clauses, the company that sells you the images still owns all the rights to the images and they are allowed only for use by the purchaser.

Saturation
The color intensity of an image is called its saturation. An image high in saturation will appear to be very bright. An image low in saturation will appear to be duller and more neutral.

Thumbnail
A small version of a graphic image.

Vector Graphic
A vector graphic is a graphic image drawn in shapes and line, called paths. Images created in Illustrator and Freehand (graphic design software) are vector graphics. They are usually exported to be bitmap images.

WYSIWYG
An abbreviation for What You See Is What You Get.

Andy Eaton has created a 10 day ecourse, which includes informative articles, training videos, special offer discounts, plus lots more - finally learn to create your own amazing ecover graphics. simply send a blank email to arpgraphicslist@graphicsecretsexposed.com or visit http://www.graphicsecretsexposed.com

What is ColdFusion and ColdFusion Web Hosting?

ColdFusion is a server scripting environment for creating powerful Internet applications. ColdFusion combines intuitive scripting, effortless connectivity to database information, and effective built-in search and charting capabilities. ColdFusion enables developers to easily build and deploy dynamic websites, content publishing systems, self-service applications, commerce sites, and more.

ColdFusion web hosting requires both a web server and ColdFusion server, as explained below:

How does ColdFusion work?

When a web user requests a ColdFusion page, the web server receives the request and then passes it on to the ColdFusion server. ColdFusion then reads the data sent and processes the ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) used in the page. Based on the CFML, the ColdFusion server executes the logic and interacts with the database(s) or other technologies requested. ColdFusion then generates an HTML page, returns it to the web server and the web server then passes the page back to the user’s web browser. As slow as this may sound, proper ColdFusion web hosting allows all of this to happen with remarkable speed and efficiency.

What is ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML)?

ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML) is the tag-based server-scripting language that allows rapid development of web sites powerful enough to handle the most demanding web-application logic. CFML is ideally suited to programming applications that use HTML and XML as CFML syntax is closely related. This makes programming easy for new developers while advanced developers can easily extend CFML through custom tags, reusable components, and user-defined functions.

Who should use ColdFusion?

ColdFusion is designed to build dynamic websites and Internet applications. New developers will enjoy the short learning curve of this intuitive server scripting environment. Advanced developers will appreciate ColdFusion’s more advanced features and components, most of which are listed below:

Advantages of ColdFusion:
Simplicity and Power All Rolled Into One

* ColdFusion comes with a rich set of built-in capabilities that deliver high performance and scalability.

* Intuitive HTML-like tag-based language.

* Fewer lines of code are required by handling low-level programming tasks automatically and reusing code.

* Custom tag libraries, reusable components, Java/C++, and thousands of available third-party add-ons allow advanced users to easily extend ColdFusion web capabilities.

* Cool, integrated ColdFusion web application services for adding full-text search and dynamic charting.

* Macromedia Flash developers can now use the same scripting language for both client and server logic.

* Dreamweaver MX fully supports ColdFusion MX features allowing for powerful visual layout abilities, enhanced code editing and development capabilities, and integrated debugging.

* All the scalability, reliability, and power of the Java platform in a less complex environment.

* Easy integration with your existing technology infrastructure.

* Support for the leading server operating systems, web server software, mail servers, directory servers, file systems, and relational database management systems.

Disadvantages of ColdFusion:

* The biggest disadvantage of ColdFusion is that it is a closed source technology and the development is handled completely by one company. Therefore new features cannot be added and bugs cannot be fixed nearly as quickly as in a popular open source solutions.

* Another problem with ColdFusion is that it is expensive. You are required to purchase a new copy of the server (which costs hundreds to thousands of dollars) to obtain features that have been added since your original product purchase (which costs hundreds to thousands of dollars).

What’s New in the Latest Version of ColdFusion: ColdFusion MX 7

* Rich Flash Forms
Using just a few ColdFusion tags, rich Flash forms can be built in minutes.

* New Application Classes
Interfaces with mobile phones using SMS text messaging, XMPP (the emerging IM standard), and other Internet protocols.

* New Dreamweaver Extensions
Increase your productivity by using the new ColdFusion Extensions for Dreamweaver MX to build applications rapidly.

* Rich Charting Capabilities
Produce stylish, bold charts and graphs with modifiable attributes that can control animation, colors, labels, and more.

* Faster Deployment on J2EE
For quick and easy deployment on leading J2EE servers, package an application and the ColdFusion runtime into a single Java archive.

* Source Code Security
Make your source CFM files invisible by compiling them into Java byte-code for distribution and execution.

* New Search Power
Enable highlighted search terms, searching within a results set, spelling suggestions, and hierarchical category searching with the latest Verity technology.

* Structured Business Reports
Easily design and generate high-quality, repeating group, structured business reports.

* Printable Web Content
Using just a single tag you can transform web content into high-quality printable, portable documents in PDF or FlashPaper 2 formats.

ColdFusion Web Hosting FAQs

* Does ColdFusion Web Hosting require the use of any special tools?
Because ColdFusion integrates its code (CFML) with standard HTML code, you can use any standard Web development application or a text editor to develop your templates.

* Which databases can I use when web hosting a ColdFusion site?
ColdFusion MX 7 supports most major databases, including Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM DB2, Sybase, and IBM Informix.

* Which web servers can I use when web hosting a ColdFusion site?
ColdFusion MX 7 supports most major web servers, including IIS, Apache, and Sun ONE (formerly iPlanet).

* Which operating systems are supported?
ColdFusion MX 7 supports most major operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Solaris, Linux, and AIX.

What should I look for in a ColdFusion Web Hosting provider?

* As with pretty much any web hosting provider, you want to look for: Reliability (up time);

* Redundancy (back-up servers);

* Security (managed access to servers) and

* Scalability (ability to grow your site with your host).

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About the Author

Rodel Garcia is a Freelance Programmer, Highly skilled and versatile Web developer and consultant, Expertise in web-based development (intranet/internet) and e-commerce applications, 6+ years solid experience as programmer/analyst. Owner and webmaster of http://www.web-hosting-service-directory.com/cold-fusion-web-hosting.html