EFI Launches New Print Application That Brings Production-Printing Power To Office Workers
January 26, 2010 - Electronics for Imaging (EFI) is seeking to give office workers access to production-class printing with a new print tool, Fiery Vue (right), that makes producing professional finished documents, including bound booklets, much easier. Vue, which is a free download available at http://www.efi.com/fieryvue , has a three-dimensional user interface, enabling users to see exactly how documents will appear before printing them, minimizing trial-and-error and wasted consumables and time.
EFI envisions Vue as an ideal application for sales, marketing, finance, legal, human resources and training, and as a tool for office workers to better utilize higher-volume imaging systems--including those equipped with EFI's Fiery controllers. Unlike with traditional job-preparation software that often requires extensive user training, Vue requires no special training. Among its advantages is that it will enable organizations to produce more documents in-house, which in turn will result in lower costs and more control over the document versus outsourcing documents to print-for-pay providers.
Vue is a desktop application that visually guides office workers through document layout and production. Users can incorporate multiple files to be combined into a single document, and then apply finishing options such as stapling, binding and document hole punching. It's compatible with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, as well as with Adobe Acrobat applications. Users can launch the software as a stand-alone application or from within Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007.
Angi Hast, project manager at Company Nurse, a Scottsdale, Arizona, provider of nurse triage services for workers compensation says that using Vue has saved her company two to three hours a day in preparing jobs for printing, "We create a lot of booklets, and before Fiery VUE, it was a trial-and-error process involving printing a draft, making changes, and printing again. Now, we can quickly and easily import documents from various files, format our booklets, use the preview feature to confirm everything, and print once. This all adds up to huge savings in time and paper."
Notes Toby Weiss, general manager and senior vice president of EFI's Fiery division, "Fiery VUE is a game-changing application from EFI. We believe it will eliminate office workers' ongoing frustration associated with searching for available printers, installing various print drivers or just trying to print a nice looking finished document. As companies seek solutions to lower costs, speed turn-around times, and reduce waste in support of their green initiatives, Fiery VUE enables fast production of professional-looking documents while dramatically improving productivity."
4th Quarter 2009 Results
EFI also announced results for its fourth quarter of 2009. Revenue was $114.0 million, down from 2008's fourth-quarter revenue of $135.3 million. Net loss was $3.4 million, or $0.07 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2009, but was favorable when compared to the fourth quarter 2008's net loss of $104.5 million or $2.03 per share. For the entire fiscal 2009, net loss was $10.7 million, or $0.22 per share, while net loss for the fiscal 2008 year was $41.2 million, or $0.74 per share.
EFI CEO Guy Gecht commented, "Our results continue to show improvement as we delivered 13-percent sequential revenue growth driven by a strong rebound in our Fiery business posting 26 percent quarter-over-quarter growth. In addition, we delivered on our commitment to return to profitability and generate cash in the fourth quarter. As we look to 2010, we will be focused on profitable growth while continuing to provide the print industries' most innovative technology."