Here at StudioPlus, we pride ourselves on regularly releasing new software enhancements throughout the year. However, each spring we also have a major upgrade in store for our customers…2016 is no exception! Over the next several days I get to share a few of the great new 2016 features with you. One of the best parts of my job is showing off what our team has been busy creating for all of you, our customers. These new features will be available in the upcoming release of Spectra 2016 and myStratus 2016.

Today, I am thrilled to announce that we have added direct printing capabilities to both Spectra and myStratus Desktop! You can use any photo printer that is accompanied with a Windows Print Driver to print your images directly from our software. In addition, we’ve added some great automation tools to our digital workflow, enabling your studio to be more productive and profitable than ever before.

First, we’ve added the ability for you to create Print Layouts using our built-in Digital Template Builder. A print layout is used to take a single image (or a composite) and lay it out multiple times on a single sheet of paper. Examples would include a sheet of two 5x7’s, three 4x6’s, or a sheet of wallets. When you order one of these products, the software will automatically lay out the image on the sheet before printing it.

Second, you can now link a price list item to one of these print layouts, as well as to a specific Render Profile. For example, you may have a price list item called “8 Wallets.” This item can be linked to your “Wallet” print layout. In addition, this item can be linked to your “8 Inch” render profile. This render profile is set up to give the software all the instructions it needs to render (or prepare) your 8-inch prints for printing and then send them to the appropriate printer.

Third, we’ve added new maintenance screens where you can define your individual Printers and Printer Pools (groups of common printers). Each render profile includes a new section where you can specify an individual printer or printer pool for these rendered jobs.

Fourth, when you render images from a session, invoice, production order, or from the Workflow hub, the software will automatically use the instructions in the appropriate render profile(s) to send the images to the correct printer(s). Print buttons have also been added to the invoices, production orders, and the Workflow hub for easy access.

Finally, a new software product, StudioPlus Finale™, is being made available to all Spectra Enterprise and myStratus Enterprise clients. Finale is designed to be the final step in your automated workflow. Finale is a render and printer server built into one. You can have Finale running on one computer at each studio location and make it responsible for rendering and printing all the images for that location.

Over the years, so many of you have asked us to add direct printing capabilities to our software. We’re thrilled to bring it to you in 2016! Think of the power this feature can bring to your studio, to now have direct printing capabilities built right into your studio management and digital workflow software!