Flexi Cloud Is Here!

[genericname]

They just need to add remote control functionality so that I can walk through our production area with my tablet and start and monitor jobs away from our rip station.

YES! This is a direction that all RIPs need to go in. It's ridiculous that I can only monitor jobs by logging in through some remote desktop protocol. We've been able to print from networked folders for ages, so why not control and monitor over a network as well?

I would have a hard time not supporting any RIP that does this.

 

[Signout]

Well, Im at a crossroads - I have been a loyal Flexi user for years - I work on a mac and love the mac experience, after being told by SAI that they were working on an update for mac versions, I was contacted yesterday and was told that SAI was no longer supporting the Mac versions! I really don't want to transition to PC - have enjoyed stability from a mac environment, so, I can either transition to Adobe Illustrator or attempt running Flexi through bootcamp.... I curious how many of you run Flexi using bootcamp and has that process ran smooth or should I just focus on Illustrator?

 

[Techman]

and since version 8.5 it compresses the saved file to reduce the size

There is very little compression in a graphics file..

SAI was no longer supporting the Mac versions!

The market for the MAC ported products just is not there.

 

[HulkSmash]

The reason why this is called Flexi Cloud is because they have introduced the ability to store up to 1GB of files free in amazon cloud storage. e.

a whole gig?

 

[Steph_Stamm]

For those of you looking for more info: SAi Flexi installs to your computer but takes advantage of Cloud services.

• Quote new jobs in seconds with FlexiQuote
• Quickly access media profiles and support
• View job reports on iPhone and Android smartphones using the SAi Cloud mobile app
• Windows 8 compatibility (along with 7 and Vista)
• Improved PDF transparency support
• Free for SAi Flexi 10 users and as low as $395 for older versions

For those of you looking for more info... you can find links to Latest Features, Pricing and more on www.ThinkSAi.com/Flexi.

 

[signcrafters]

FlexiDesigner Cloud

Been using for the last half hour and here is what I think...
Everything is the same as Flexi 10 except another window labeled "SAi Cloud".
In this window are links to Files, FlexiQuote and Reports- which seem to be the only useful buttons. The rest of the buttons have to do with BUYING stuff- wrap templates, clipart, logo collections.
I would guess that the 1gig of cloud storage can be upgraded for a price and the FlexiQuote (powered by SignTracker) is a limited version of something you can buy.
My feeling is, I just paid A LOT of money for your software. Not only should it work perfectly, it shouldn't constantly try to sell me something more.
SAi, drop this while you can. It's not worth it.
AND
If this is the direction you are going to force your customer base, be prepared for a lot of people to jump ship- you are not the only game in town.
Give it a try while it's free. Let me know what you think.

 

[HulkSmash]

For those of you looking for more info: SAi Flexi installs to your computer but takes advantage of Cloud services.

• Quote new jobs in seconds with FlexiQuote
• Quickly access media profiles and support
• View job reports on iPhone and Android smartphones using the SAi Cloud mobile app
• Windows 8 compatibility (along with 7 and Vista)
• Improved PDF transparency support
• Free for SAi Flexi 10 users and as low as $395 for older versions

For those of you looking for more info... you can find links to Latest Features, Pricing and more on www.ThinkSAi.com/Flexi.

Sounds like a good deal steph, it really does. Just let me know when you guys get some support who can handle my questions, and answer them in a timely fashion.

 

[OADesign]

my spare change...

I have been a FS user since 6. Love the app. But it is not a full featured suite. IMO, It truly needs the other apps (Photoshop, Illy) to fill out a sign shops capabilities. I think the whole cloud thing is just an attempt to get on the bandwagon. And it may open up another possible future revenue stream for SAi. Although for the price of flexi, I don't see why they would need another...

Not that anyone asked but here is what I think Flexi needs, just in case the folks at SAi are listening. In no particular order:
We all know that the rip in Production Manager needs a revamp.
The Adobe plugin integration is a useless, not funny, joke.
Better raster image manipulation (eliminate the need for photoshop)
Open plugin development
Better memory management
Integration with popular POS apps (SignVox, Quickbooks, Estimate, Cyrious, *sigh* and Casper etc.)
Braille conversion
Better color management out of the box.
Better support for CAD files.
And if you want to jump on the "cloud" band wagon, consider offering a SaaS option. instead of some file storage. I think most of your users have storage covered...
And an interactive proofing solution.

I could go on, but I think the aforementioned features will make many not as sour about dropping 4k on your app.

 

[FrankW]

What would the benefit to me be to have logs of what I have sent to my printer floating around up in the clouds?

They will set up a report function in the near future with wich you can analyze your printer usage. Apps for smartphones with which you could check what is printed from remote. But currently there is not even a search- or sort-function of the list.

What would the cloud people need that info for?

Thats the question .

 

[FrankW]

The market for the MAC ported products just is not there.

I think as soon as SAi have a working version of Flexi Mac, they could sell it. I know a lot of people who uses Flexi Mac.

The bad thing is: over years, everytime I ask for what happened with the mac-version there is a different answer.

 

[ProWraps]

for users like myself, adam and others it boils down to tech support.

i dont care if you have a disc, a cloud or a floppy. or even if you charge $4k and release new versions every week that try to sell you crap while you use it.

Sai's tech support has to be without a doubt the sadest in the industry. their own techs will tell you that they dont even know how to fix your problem. how on gods green earth is that acceptable for a production piece of software that costs $4k?

stop focusing on releasing new stuff when you cant even support what you currently have!

 

[FrankW]

YES! This is a direction that all RIPs need to go in. It's ridiculous that I can only monitor jobs by logging in through some remote desktop protocol. We've been able to print from networked folders for ages, so why not control and monitor over a network as well?

I would have a hard time not supporting any RIP that does this.

Onyx does it. Postershop/Productionhouse have a simple Webinterface, Thrive a more enhanced interface to do these things (set job-properties/assign quicksets, start jobs and so on).

 

[Steph_Stamm]

Thanks for all the input, gang. As for our technical support team, we've recently added experienced staff to deal with calls more quickly and efficiently. When the occasion arises that an issue occurs within the software, we listen to that feedback and fix it in free service packs. We also frequently escalate issues and try not to leave unresolved calls. If you have unresolved technical support issues, you are welcome to PM me and I can follow up to see if there was a resolution.

As for the new version, I wanted to respond to a couple of comments:

They will set up a report function in the near future with wich you can analyze your printer usage. Apps for smartphones with which you could check what is printed from remote. But currently there is not even a search- or sort-function of the list. Thats the question .

This is already live both within SAi Flexi Cloud and on the free companion iPhone / Android mobile app. We've heard from shop owners that they like to monitor production while they are on the road.

Not that anyone asked but here is what I think Flexi needs, just in case the folks at SAi are listening. In no particular order:
We all know that the rip in Production Manager needs a revamp.
Better color management out of the box.

The RIP was actually updated in SAi Flexi 10.5. We received many reports of improved color at the time. We again improved the RIP in SAi Flexi Cloud to increase speed and performance with PDF transparencies.

Better memory management

SAi Flexi Cloud has better memory management as well. For example, 10.5 couldn't handle files over a few GB, but Cloud can now use and save files of almost unlimited size.

Integration with popular POS apps (SignVox, Quickbooks, Estimate, Cyrious, *sigh* and Casper etc.)

We've begun down this path with our FlexiQuote tool in SAi Flexi Cloud. If you like FlexiQuote, you can upgrade it to the full-blown Sign-Tracker CRM and it keeps your data.

Braille conversion

We have a Braille option that you can add to your SAi Flexi installation. Contact your reseller for more information.

And if you want to jump on the "cloud" band wagon, consider offering a SaaS option. instead of some file storage. I think most of your users have storage covered...

Actually, some of the new productivity tools in the Cloud Window are SasS. With the new file storage feature, we're not trying to reinvent the wheel. Dropbox and other companies do a great job of hosting files.

The new file storage does something a little different though: it's a platform for many new SaaS tools that will increase shop business and reduce their costs. FlexiQuote is the first, but soon there will be free ecommerce websites, a customer approval tool, and insourcing/outsourcing services that will all use the Cloud stoarge. Many of these benefits are provided through the Sign and Printmakers Guild, which SAi, along with Mutoh, Roland and others are sponsoring. Read more about the Guild / Flexi benefits here: http://www.signprintguild.org/member-benefits

 

[LittleSnakey]

Can you post a direct link to where I down load this from?

It was hard for me to tell if I was downloading the right thing.

I have a version of flexi 10 that we don't use due to some issues and I would like to see if any were fixed. We are currently using 8.6 and for my money 8.1 was the most stable version I have one file that can only be opened by 8.1 it crashes all other versions.

 

[Steph_Stamm]

The download link will pop up once you enter your key number / 1st 4 digits of your password. When you install, the new Cloud version does not overwrite your previous installation, so you could continue to use your existing 8.6 as well as the Cloud. Hope that helps!

 

[jayhawksigns]

Steph- Any thoughts on being able to control the PM through a remote interface, like a tablet?

 

[HulkSmash]

Are you going to acknowledge the other questions we are having?

 

[FrankW]

This is already live both within SAi Flexi Cloud and on the free companion iPhone / Android mobile app. We've heard from shop owners that they like to monitor production while they are on the road.

Yes, the list is there ... but no functionality to manage this list (search, sort). I'm shure shop owners will be very happy to scroll like hell to search for entries when their installations are busy.

I've heard from no one who have asked for such a feature ... the people I know ask for a better text tab, or OPOS Barcode functionality, or Flexi Mac, or metallic support or ... or ... or ...

 

[FrankW]

With the new file storage feature, we're not trying to reinvent the wheel. Dropbox and other companies do a great job of hosting files.

Thats a fact. No background uploading (Flexi will be blocked as long as the file takes to upload), no uploading for multiple files at one time (only one after each other), FS-Files only, no possibility to create public links or download without Flexi, no possibility to create subfolders, search or sort file names and so on ... thats really far away from reinvent the wheel .

 

[GAC05]

"... thats really far away from reinvent the wheel."
Maybe refining - rather than reinventing......


wayne k
guam usa