framing software?

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Art Barn

Grumbler in Training
Joined
May 16, 2002
Posts
9
Loc
ossining, NY
Hi - I'm glas someone tipped me off to you guys, this seems like a really interesting forum.

Maybe someone can commiserate with me on this next topic..
We're a custom framing/retail store in New York,
and we recently started using Specialty Soft framing software. I am poised at this moment to *throw* it into the middle of Rt. 9 in lovely downtown Ossining.
Has anyone else used this stuff??? Do any of you have a framing software that you would recommend to me?

Thanks.
 
Welcome to this fine forum, although framer wants your patients, so watch out for him :D
Back to your question.
There has been a few threads under the computers/tech area of the forum. I don't know if the search button is activated yet. I personally am quite impressed by specialty soft.
We met them at the Vegas show after doing alot of research. Maybe if you are more specific about your problems with them, people here could help.
 
We're very happy users of SpecialtySoft. I have not had a problem or question that has gone unaddressed. There were a few bumps at first, but I expected that to happen with any software package that would be purchased. Any software will require you to change some old habits; the sooner that fact is recognized and accepted, the sooner the software will work for you.

Check out the Grumble forum as Lisa suggested. There are many of us who might be able to offer some help if you can provide more details regarding your problems.
 
I know, I'm biased because I've used it since V1.0 but I have looked at the rest and always come back to FrameReady....hands down winner IMHO.
 
I'm a Specialty Soft user, and after some glitches in technical service, couldn't be happier. This is my third year and I can't believe what a time saver a pos is. They called me to do a customer satisfaction survey soon after I was up and running. In all honesty I told them my frustrations about the program and about getting help (I'm almost computer illiterate). Not two days had gone by before all my questions were answered. Call or e-mail them. I think you will find they stand behind their product.
 
Thanks for your suggestions - the problems I'm having with SpecialtySoft are as follows:

I cannot change *anything* about the appearance of our worktickets. The layout of the page is ridiculous to me - 75% of the page is blank, and the actual work order is squeezed into about an inch of space. The DUE DATE is in huge letters at the top of the page instead of something useful, like, say, the customer's name? Or the order number? And speaking of order numbers, each of my two work stations spits out a different series of numbers, and I can't change that either. Plus, the font is tiny, and I can't change that. I have asked them about all these things, and they indeed can't be changed. My frame shop people are bitching to no end about how hard it is to read the form, and it is actually slowing down production rather than speeding it up!
Ok, all that being said, the SpecialtySoft people are very nice, and have patiently talked me through some other techie problems I was having.

So, the people at point of sale are now having to hand write the orders, and I enter them into the computer at the end of the day to give them a number, and have the customer's info in the database. It's just plain silly.

Could it be because we tend toward kind of complicated framing orders here? I mean, we do a lot of fillets, shadowboxes, collage layouts, etc., not just your run of the mill poster stuff.
 
I don't know too much about Specialty Soft.
Did you order demos of the software before buying?
We have used Lifesaver for years.We do many fabric mats and fillets. You can but in about anything you want in it. Fit unfit et. PIA charges! It has a very "readable" worksheet. Any new employee is up and running with it right away. No part of the workorder is wasted. You can devide the worksheet to give a portion to the customer ( shows total cost only no breakdown of materials ). You can use part of the order to put on an old frame the customer brought in ( see thread on breakdown charges ) , put one with the art. One of the slips goes on our day of the week board. We use big clips to hold the orders for each day of the week.
It also has a calendar in the software showing what is due and what is done ( this is one of the the best thngs we like about Lifesaver).
Support has aways been great with them.

Judy
 
Hello again.

I am posting again to say that I am absolutely not trying to bad mouth specialty soft. They are very nice people, and the problems I am having are probably not shortcomings on their part.

I did not realize that my posting would get back to the people at specialty soft. I thought I was asking some advice from peers and that was it.
I apologize if anyone misunderstood my posting.
 
Originally posted by Art Barn:

I did not realize that my posting would get back to the people at specialty soft. I thought I was asking some advice from peers and that was it.
Click to expand...
I have decided that every major supplier moniters the grumble and that it is THE biggest source for most trade magazine article ideas. I get 6 different art and framing related magazines, and have read things in 5 of them that I had just previously saw on here. Soooo, I guess we need to be careful what we say. In other words, don't say nothin' you wouldn't want the other person to hear. But hey, isn't that the way it should be anyway?

Betty
 
Hey Artbarn, this is The Grumble, after all.
I didn't think that you were badmouthing at all-sounded like valid frustrations to me.
But since this is a public forum, it would make sense to me that any software co. worth their salt would monitor forums like this and be very quick to address any issues.
I would.
In fact, we all know that any software will have shortcomings -some we can live with some we can not. It was good to hear of SpecialtySoft's. I wish I knew more of the quirks of the other programs as well. (winks to S.W.S.!)
-Edie the fg
 
While I agree that there's an adjustment period with any new tool, it certainly seems to me that a powerful software program should enable users to format their own paperwork.
 
Artbarn,
I didn't take it that you were trashing a software company, but just expressing your frustrations. But isn't that one of the strengths of the grumble? We can't be afraid to let others know of problems (or solutions)..... and if it's a problem with a company, it's time for them to step up to the plate and take care of the problem. And we'll all respect them a little more for their efforts.
 
In the favor of said software company (because now I've learned not to drop any names...), they are working on a new program with something in mind that will allow us to do something with the appearance of the work ticket. What and when I'm not sure.
I'm sure it isn't easy to formulate a program for a design concept. But it does seem to me that there should be some freedom as far as customizing your work ticket/order form.
 
I'm gettng off topic.
But I think we should name names to help other framers.
AND to let the people in charge know that there are problems in their ranks .

More buts...
I'm not talking about trashing companies (like we have seen so often with LJ.)
Just real problems where attempts have been made to solve the problem with no success.
 
Hey -- dropping names can be a good thing. In addition to bringing up (with your more detailed post) the problems you have with the program for other framers to learn of, it also lets all the software companies know what we would want changed.

When I did my research on programs I was so so happy to have the gripes as well as the good stuff -- all are things that help us evaluate which program is best for our operations. Before going POS I couldn't begin to make a list of what I really needed in a program. They all looked fine. Only after reading bunches of posts and practicing was I able to sort it out....at least enough to make a purchase and implement a system.

Custom looking forms printing is certainly something that could be a priority.....and I'm one framer that stressed over how my staff would respond to the various company's printed forms.

As it turns out, the company I picked (Artisan) doesn't have a slick format pre-made. This may seem antique, but it also means one can pre- print their own forms and have the details printed via computer where one wants. I'll be the first to admit that their default order form is just plain ugly---but my re-worked one suits us.
 
We've talked about that product before, rosetl, and I agree that it's a nice feature. I guess the Mac started a revolution about paperwork and screens being able to look nice as well as work properly and we've gotten used to that.

Art Barn, I agree with Maryann Shirk; naming names does us all well. When it gets outrageous and unfair there are always those who step in and remind us. I guess L-J gets bashed more than anyone except Michael's (ok, so they're equal) but there have been a lot of comments which supported them as well.

SpecialtySoft is a fine company with a good product and are obviously keeping up with industry forums to put out brushfires. The fact that they got back with you so quickly illustrates that they care about their reputation and customers' concerns.

I'm sure that they wished that you had talked all this out with them first before posting it on the Grumble. On the other hand, this got some quick attention and discussion of the new revision to do just what is preferred. No matter how uncomfortable it might feel, at least everyone knows that another vendor is paying attention and making some good revisions to their product because of feedback.
 
And welcome to the Grumble, Art Barn. I haven't looked to see about your profile but promise to do so one of these days.
 
It's funny Po, because I didn't think it was a good feature when I bought Artisan, but I made it work to my satisfaction and am in no hurry to change anything. I still feel their "forms" area could use improvement.

Only mentioned to show that the programs DO have differences.....and that is why the best advice is to try the sample programs for more than a few minutes....with a list of priorities of features and real orders and day to day activities to experiment with.

And, after over a year on POS, I'm still discovering pro's and cons.

I too encourage dialogue about the programs by us that are using them -- not just what's great or how much we love our programs and would like to see more on the techie forum.
 
Couldn't agree with you more. I think I learned a couple of interesting points about the different POS programs just on this small thread.

I've done a bunch of the demo programs but I think, to learn a program, you've got to use it for over a year before you really have some valuable advice on what you'd like to see changed.

I don't see any way around that, though. SS has an interesting alternative, though, with the SpecialtySoft Lite (I think). A version of Lite should enable someone to discover in a reasonable amount of time whether or not they'd like the full monty, so to speak.
 
Actually it sounds to me it's more a question of what you're used to. I don't have a problem with the page layout; but my employee who previously had used a different program took some time getting used to it. And by the way, I design my share of complicated framing jobs in SS.
 

I guess L-J gets bashed more than anyone except Michael's (ok, so they're equal)...
[/QUOTE]

The only way they are equal is in number of dissing posts... no way are they equal in customer service, product knowledge, etc!

Now don't slam me... But LJ is Aces in my book, and have been for 20 years. I'll be happy to speak up for them any day. (and maybe I'll get a free case of foamboard?...hehehe)
 
I talked with Jeff King of Speciality a couple of weeks ago at a local distributors show. As a gilder he was interested in my comments. He is looking into a new feature that will allow the use of raw moulding being inputed as a base and separate pricing for carious finish processes (metal leaf, 22k gold, faux finish, added compo corners, distressing, etc etc.
I have made a mental commitment to change from Fullcalc, that I have used since 1992. We will probally convert this summer when it is a bit slower than it is now. We have a large commercial order in process now.
 
I agree with all that dropping names can be helpful in certain circumstances, and, yes, SpecialtySoft was right on top of me as soon as someone told them that I had posted something about them, which means that they care about their rep.
But I will add, to respond to Po', that I *had* discussed my frustrations with them before I posted anything - and the answer they gave me was that they would be working on something but nothing would be happening quickly, probably toward the end of the year.
I will say again, so I don't get another phone call, that I am not intending to bad mouth them in any way - they are nice people who care about their product, and obviously the product works for a lot of other framers, and it would work for us if we could make it visually friendly to our frame shop.
Oh, here's another question - those of you who are using this software: are you hooked up to a mat cutter? If so, are you able to design multiple mat openings at point of sale on this software?
Thanks again, to everyone - nice to meet you all.
 
Art Barn, I hope you get your software difficulties worked out one way or another. Framing software is wonderful, and Specialty Software has a very good reputation among framers.

Remember that when we're asked to give our preferences about framing software, or CMCs, or V-nailers, etc., most of us have experience with only one brand. What we have is what we like best, because that's what we've learned to use. Or maybe we hate what we have because we can't use it as well as we expected.

The few framers who have multiple-brand experience with any of these tools are valuable sources of comparitive opinions. The rest of us can only share personal experience and say what we've heard from others.

Bottom line: Your own research is probably the best indicator of what is best for you.

Welcome to The Grumble, where you can get all the non-answers you could ever want. ;)
 
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