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Need advice on picking production software!!

Hello everyone! I'm new on here but thought I'd give it a try. I have been a court reporter for ten years. I decided to make a change and am helping someone start up an agency. We are deciding between RealLegal and Min-U-Script for our production software. I really need some help from other court reporters who use either of these products or perhaps from any production techs out there who might be able to tell me which one you like best! Also, any advice on binding transcript styles and/or printers would be so wonderful! Anything having to do with production, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!!!

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Comment by Kimberlee Castro on April 20, 2011 at 9:02: Great information, Glen. Much appreciated. I will check out Clarity Legal today!

Thanks,

Kimberlee

Comment by Glen Warner on April 20, 2011 at 1:20: Hi, Kimberlee.

I'm not a reporter, but you'll probably want to stay away from RealLegal's E-transcript, because it's a monthly payment every month until you get tired of paying them. There are a few threads on their new pricing model over on Depoman and the CRF, among others.

You might also check out Clarity Legal in your search. It runs on Windows, the Mac, and Linux.

Good luck ... and hope that helps!

Comment by Kimberlee Castro on April 19, 2011 at 8:53: Hi Judy,

Thank you kindly for replying to my post. What a wealth of information. I very much appreciate your recommendations! I will forward it on to my boss. BTW, nice picture :)

Comment by Judy on April 19, 2011 at 7:18: Kimberlee,

I use pdf-it (www.pdf-it.com) to produce transcripts. I personally prefer it over E-tran. It's extremely easy to add your scanned exhibits to the portfolio and then e-mail the whole thing to your client. Plus, they have a module called Depo on Demand (DoD) where you can e-mail the attorney, have them pay for the transcript using the DoD screen, and then they get access to your work. And, really, Morgan, the owner, is extremely nice, always willing to help.

I'm in SoCal and it seems most agencies use VeloBind to bind transcripts. Although, if you can afford it, PowisParker has an automatic glue-strip binder that's puts out a gorgeous bind, is fast, and is harder to take apart than a VeloBind. I think they just came out with a new model to replace the Fastback 15, but the 15 is what I'd love to purchase. You can find a few on eBay.

Last year I purchased a color Konica that scans, thereby getting one more machine out of my office (that old scanner). I love it. I've had very few jams and ink is relatively inexpensive. Plus, it automatically knows when it's color and I don't have to mess with buttons.