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Which model to choose, however, is the question. It's not quite daybreak when the buyer of one of TopForm Software's clients sits down at a computer to get an updated report on the status of the company's print product orders. Without a single phone call or fax, the buyer retrieves the information and is free to start the day. That is just one of the great benefits of online forms management, said Julie Pritchard, president, TopForm Software, Norcross, Ga. "Customers can check a real-time status of their orders whenever, and from wherever, they want." This no fuss, no muss solution explains much of on-line

ProForma Adds 500th Distributor — The Cleveland-based ProForma distributor network has added its 500th franchise. ProForma One Stop Marketing, Memphis, Tenn., has been opened by Kurt Wulff, a former sales representative for Moore. Wulff said that the decision to establish the distributorship was based on quality-of-life issues. Wulff chose ProForma because, "It will allow me to have more free time and minimize financial risk." ProForma was third among the Top 100 Distributors with sales of $175 million. The company expects to top $200 million in total sales for the 2000 calendar year. Precept CEO Deason Resigns Doug

Innovative technology and old-fashioned service give independents an advantage. Just try telling Tom Tabor that direct-selling manufacturers have the upper hand in the forms industry. With today's innovative technology allowing distributors to tap into high-tech capabilities, while still maintaining custom-ized service, the attempt would be futile. Said Tabor, vice president of Duluth, Georgia-based Data Supplies, "With the e-commerce applications that are available today, there is no account that is safe for a direct." In the past, direct-selling manufacturers were able to wow customers with their large size and mass-producing machinery. Their ability to handle heftier accounts and eliminate the proverbial middleman was

Distributor-only CSRs and five plants are positioned to handle distributor orders The $2.43 billion direct-selling giant of the forms industry—Moore North America, Bannockburn, Ill.—has launched a business unit geared to the independents and joined the DMIA. The new unit, called Latitudes, is based in Iowa City, Iowa. According to Dick Dennis, vice president of the Resale Channels, Latitudes is completely independent of Moore's direct-selling divisions. Rather than reporting to a vice president of sales, Dennis reports to Patrick Brong, the president of Logistics & Operations for Moore. No stranger to the independent channel, Dennis previously served as vice president of sales for Vallis

Breaking News GATF Releases Four Research Studies Reports feature PDF setup and digital proofing Four original research studies on color management workflow, PDF setup and digital color proofing have been released by GATF. The color management workflow study looks at the color accuracy and workflow timesavings of color management systems. The study finds that color quality depends on operators, but that CMS systems offer time savings and waste reduction. The PDF setup study was designed to evaluate the image quality of several different compression settings in PDF. The study concludes that compression affects color, detail and modeling. Overall, the JPEG-Medium compression setting produces files