Pro2col’s UK Support team received the first batch of new 1U StingRay file transfer servers today. As you can see Pete, who works in the Support and Customer Service team is thrilled to be modelling the server for our blog
Pro2col receives first 1U StingRay file transfer server at the Support department
Existing StingRay users are able to upgrade their servers up until 30th July at significantly discounted rates. Prospective StingRay customers aren’t left out as for the same period offers exist. For further information contact Pro2col Sales on 0870 250 2220 or email sales @ pro2col.com
Well its been a long time coming but finally we have the 1U appliance that we’d been after from Hermstedt AG. Smaller, faster and more robust we’re really pleased with the new server and hope our existing and new customers will be too!
We’ve created a short video to show you the server and to guide you through the process and why its a good idea to make the investment in the new hardware.
Regarding upgrading
If you are due a technology refresh to ensure the continuing reliability of your file transfer equipment, this is the perfect time to re-invest in the new, superior Hermstedt StingRay.
If your existing StingRay server is less than 3 years old then you’re alright, but if your StingRay server is installed in a high volume environment e.g. magazine and newspaper publishers picture desk workflow, upgrading should be a serious consideration.
Contact Pro2col, your local reseller or email info @ hermstedtstingray.com for pricing and further information.
As a vendor of a file transfer solution its really important that we know exactly what the market wants. To help us to take the development of the Hermstedt StingRay file transfer appliance in the right direction we’ve set up an online survey to help us capture your thoughts. If you’ve got a spare two minutes we’d be really grateful if you’d take the time to complete our seven question survey which you can get to by clicking here
Implementing a new file transfer solution can significantly improve the way in which your company works especially if you’re in the graphic arts or prepress industry. Providing a range of file transfer protocols to enable you to work with your customer in the way that they want to transfer files, is only part of the battle. If you don’t have the infrastructure in place, that is the Internet connectivity (bandwidth) then you won’t be able to take advantage of your new solution.
During my regular trawl of the Internet I found a great article which helps users to understand a little more about how long it takes to send files over the Internet. The article, written by Greg Ferro goes on to explain about how latency and data encyption can add to the overall time taken to transfer your files.
If you need to analyse the throughput required on your Internet connection to transfer large files at a reasonable speed then have a read of this article - How Long Does It Take to Transfer Data?
I was trawling the Internet this evening and couldn’t help but let you know about this little piece of history I found. Not that I’m one to harp on about the good old days but some of the people working within the pre-media industry now are too young to have even worked with ISDN, to remember how easy it was to get files to and from customers. There was only one way of sending files via ISDN - 4-Sight or Hermstedt.
For those old timers in the industry who remember using ISDN here’s an article by John Henshall called “SAY GOODBYE TO THE WORLDWIDE WAIT“. It gives a good insight into what ISDN did for the graphic arts industry and is a completely nostalgic trip down memory lane. Written in 2000 it really wasn’t that long ago either, shows how quickly technology and in particular file transfer technology moves forward!
As the last supplier of ISDN products to the graphic arts and prepress industry I feel its our duty to provide for users a bit of the history of file transfer. John’s story reflects the position of many graphics businesses of the time who wanted to reduce the time to market and reduce the cost of sending disks, scans and other images using couriers.
Many businesses rely on being able to send to or receive files from other businesses, for example what would be the impact on an advertising agency, publisher or printer if they couldn’t send or receive large files over the Internet - the answer is probably relying on couriers and with extended production schedules!
Sending files over the Internet isn’t a new concept at all we’ve been doing it for the last ten years or so in one way or another using modem, ISDN, broadband for connecting and email, FTP or HTTP to name a few delivery options.
As file transfer becomes a crucial and everyday part of a businesses process it also has an associated cost due to the amount of time taken, but do businesses really know how much file transfer is costing their business. Consider this scenario which isn’t uncommon at all; an advertising agency needs to send digital artwork on a daily basis so they set up and FTP server and increase the email attachment limits on their email server whilst also using some of the online email embedded link web sites to send files. Straight away there are three solutions for sending files, three different products to learn and three different places to check for files. It doesn’t sound very efficient does it?
Businesses do however need to be able to send if many different ways because clearly not all customers have the same level of technical competence (e.g. using an FTP client) or file transfer options due to restrictions put in place by IT.
So what is the answer - well clearly I’m going to champion the StingRay as its multi-protocol, its one solution to learn and its on-site so there are no delays unlike using some of the service based systems. The reason however for this blog was to point you at a new tool that we’ve added to the site, a Return On Investment Calculator which should give you some idea how much time you spend on file transfer activities on a daily basis. The Calculator provides you with a report on how much the StingRay file transfer server would save you in Year 1 and every subsequent year. Give it a try you may be surprised by the outcome!
