Robust variable data and storefront solution

I started using Pageflex as a designer with few skills in coding outside basic HTML. In the years I worked with Pageflex, my team leaned how to apply various scripts to our products and enhance what we were able to accomplish. Pageflex also allows users to tap in to to additional 3rd party tools to further add to their offerings.

Pros

Pageflex has been on the market a long time. What Pageflex continues to do well is to provide an ability to create variable, on-demand and automated marketing solutions for users that don't have a coding background.

Cons

Pageflex has suffered from multiple shifting corporate structures and a woefully understaffed customer support team. Customer support can take way too long to respond. That said, the people who do support the customers are very helpful and really know what they're talking about.

Storefront Review

Perfect for delivering simple and complex form driven printable templates, so long as the client wants to use the same workflow as Pageflex designed it to be used. As soon as the client wants to strays from the official workflow, (like may W2P) , it becomes difficult to deliver. Pageflex (UK) for many reasons have made the software less flexible rather than more flexible so as to reduce support costs and increase reliability. The lack of flexibility is driving some clients away.

Pros

Being XML based, each template can be modified in several ways, either through the software interface using built in logic and area templates, with simply with a text editor or using a script such as VBscript. It is possible for example to change the clients corporate colours over x100+ templates in a few minutes using search and replace, or build an area template on the fly using VBScript.

Cons

The server is not always stable (memory bleed perhaps). The graphical load can be so great that the server needs to be rebooted every few weeks. The core product has had little development over the years. Twelve years ago it was the best out there by far, now it is an also ran.

Useful and powerful tools, but performance must be better

Pageflex has some great and powerful features that give us some very useful tools in our web to print business. But it seems the system needs to be so complex for the template function the overall performance of our static product posts for our users is terribly slow.

Pros

I do like the powerful abilities built into Pageflex Studio and Storefront. This gives us the ability to build some powerful templates with great capabilities.

Cons

The performance is an issue. We need to have our user side perform much better to reduce the client complaints about using storefront.

Storefront from Developer POV

Created a one-stop shop for our clients to initiate mailing campaigns. We can now accept their data, analyze/validate the data, and USPS presort in real time. Ultimately allowing a TRUE proof and accurate postage cost immediately. This has proven to be a differentiator in the market. This would have probably been more difficult with other W2P systems.

Pros

Ease and flexibility of SXI extension development. Not many packages expose event based customization, and it has really allowed us to customize Storefront for our needs. We've been able to develop a number of complex extensions for USPS data processing, SAML SSO, and inventory integration with our ERP system.

Cons

Inability to customize the administration side of Storefront. Specifically for SSO capability.

Good turn key product for web to print

Pageflex Storefront is our go to platform when we get a customer that wants an easy solution for sending orders for variable web to print content to our manufacturing facilities.

Pros

If you are looking for a good business to business ecommerce platform for web to print customer, this is a good option. Pageflex server is an awesome product that has a lot of versatility. Thier Storefront product is good for B2B applications, but if you're looking for a good B2C offering, there are better products available.

Cons

Pageflex Storefront doesn't scale well in the business to consumer area. They have made a lot of UI improvements over the years, but front end isn't as customizable as it needs to be and the system in general doesn't handle large numbers of customers, products, or orders very well.

Pageflex 8.6.5

Using Pageflex allowed us to support a mailing project containing over 400 variable images, with support for Spanish & English versions, gender and pet species printing over 50,000 records weekly. Not sure we could have supported this project any other way.

Pros

Pageflex is very strong with text manipulation providing us with the ability to reproduce all of our client design needs while maintaining visual appeal for minimal and maximum variable content.

Cons

Without some programming/developer background you really can't take advantage of all the capabilities the software provides.

Pageflex Administrator

This product is awesome for variable data brochures and direct mail.

Pros

The new UI looks fantastic. There seem to be a few minor bugs in it but overall it works well for B2B storefronts, particularly direct mail.

Cons

Upgrading storefronts from legacy versions to their new platform doesn't work very well and it usually requires a rebuild from scratch. This product does not provide the sort of feature full front end UI that you would need to set up a good B2C storefront. It would be nice if the pageflex studio plugin for indesign worked better.

Pageflex 8.6.4

I have been using Pageflex for 9 years and am happy with the progress of the software. We are on 8.6.4, but would like to move to version 9 shortly.

Pros

I like how I can quickly setup and customize a site for our customer. We use the system for print on demand items and warehoused inventory. If we need a specific feature, we are able to build a custom extension to meet our clients needs.

Cons

Extensions can get very expensive if you go through Pageflex. Quotes I have received from Pageflex can be 2-3x more expensive than a 3rd party programmer. With a 3rd party programmer there may be multiple rounds of revisions to fix bugs, but I find that it is cheaper and faster.

Marketing Tool

It allowed us to diversify out product lines. As a printing company, it let us connect the digital component to the ink on paper component, giving us the product needed by our customers.

Pros

When Pageflex first came out, it allowed us to exclusively offer our customers marketing services. Today, there are a lot of options out there, so Pageflex might not have the advantage it once held. It still is a good tool, in the right hands.

Cons

It is a little pricey, but it paid for itself right away.

Pageflex has come a long way

Pros

Repeat processes are very easy to do with Pageflex. We have been using Pageflex for 13 years now and I would have to say that the Program has come a long way as far as being more user friendly.

Cons

I do not like the integration between the InDesign Plugin on a Mac and Pageflex Persona. Or the fact that you need to have "programming" knowledge in order to do the scripting. I feel as if there should be built in scripting options.

Pageflex Storefront 8.6.4

I have used Pageflex Storefront for the last 10 years and love how much it has evolved.

Pros

I like the flexibility I have with this software. I am able to add any additional fields to any page and can quickly get a site setup for our customer. I also enjoy creating the customizable components using Pageflex Studio.

Cons

Speed and Services Support. Some of the pages take a bit to load on larger sites, but we are currently running 8.6.4 and there have been speed performances made in 9+. The other issue is getting a response for Pageflex Services. I get a response from support within a day or two, but once it goes to Services, it can take a while for a response. Most of the time, I have to follow-up to get answer. This is why we chose to work with an outside developer for custom add-ons.

Slow to evolve

We have since moved to a different platform with more responsive support and regular platform upgrades.

Pros

Easy to navigate and customise. Global library for updating variable content.

Cons

Support is painfully slow. Evolution of the platform to keep up with current market demands are non existent, requesting them is met with a development fee for your instance at a high premium. Almost no e-commerce support/functionality for users outside the US.

Great product and Good Support

It's been great! We have an account person who goes above and beyond to answer our questions and even trouble shoot some problems. He is a life saver! The product is awesome as well. It saves time and helps keeps people updated.

Pros

I like that I can use it for a variety of different types of tasks. Not just for one specific type of task.

Cons

It isn't necessarily a con but I wish some of the formulas were a bit easier to figure out in terms of mapping things from one sheet to another. For a beginner/Intermediate user it can take a bit to find something out.

Pageflex Services needs improvement.

The ability to offer customizable solutions with Pageflex makes it better than a normal storefront.

Pros

The flexibility to make changes and add metadata fields.

Cons

Often times a feature or function that you need is not available and requires custom programming which is always very costly. Pageflex Services who would do the custom programming is not always very responsive and their timelines are ridiculously long.

Pageflex Pros and Cons

Pros

The ability to use an API to interface with Pageflex Server without having to pay for a storefront application that will not do what is needed for our specific application.

Cons

Though customer support is excellent sometimes we go beyond what they can help with simply because we are using the product in a way that most users would not consider.

Sofware is no longer supported

Support helped us migrate from Xerox FFWS to Pageflex iWay without issue despite scheduling being a challenge due to support staff being outsourced overseas. Unfortunately the software is now unsupported. We were unable to migrate to Pageflex Storefront due to budget constraints. iWay is still functioning, but it's concerning that we no longer have access to support should something go wrong.

Pros

It is relatively easy to maintain after configured.

Cons

Pageflex iWay software was discontinued and we were given the option to continue using it without support, or migrate to a more expensive product.

PageFlex Review

In general we like the software (Storefront). We have 130 deployments on it currently.

Pros

It's stable for the most part. The PDF's that are created work pretty much everywhere.

Cons

The lack of a support page and user forum is beyond frustrating. The main thing I don't like is the lack of a punchout interface (cXML)