Automation Methods

To implement conditional rules and parameter driven print, and finishing of variable PDF documents involving mixed page sizes, mixed media, subset finishing, total print sequence control and more, SmartPDFPrintware relies on properties of PDF documents that you are already familiar with. When you study a job for automatic production, you note that (a) print position of each PDF document in the job is specific; (b) each PDF document has a unique file name; and (c) when you are trying to split up a large document with multiple Statements, Invoices, you use Account Number or Customer Number on page - text on page. We can use these attributes to classify and establish workflow automation rules and parameters. Hence, we decided to give job automation methods names that reflect the property being used for automating the job – Position, File Name, and Text On Page. We will try to explain and expand on each automation method.

Text On Page

Large batch systems produce every day millions of transaction documents such as Monthly Bills, Financial Statements, Investment Quarterly Reports, Invoices, and Advisory Notices. Usually these documents are result of batch processing of daily, weekly, monthly transactions. Because of lower cost of PDF libraries each batch run may generate one large PDF, may be say 60,000-page file containing multiple individual Bills, Statements. You can split; burst a large PDF into a separate document (e.g. Statement) by using text appearing within an area on page. This text may be Customer Number, Account Number, Invoice Number, fixed text on remittance page etc.

Depending on layout of document, you can use either static text, variable text or a combination of static and variable text on page, to split a large document. Once a large PDF is split, each document (Set) can again be split to subsets. Using text as a controller of variable document production is classified as Text On Page automation method.

"Text On Page" Automation Method - Typical Setup

File Name

Users can order from report generating systems hundreds, may be thousands of PDF reports a day. In order to maintain integrity of these orders, there is a need to keep multiple documents in each order together and print these documents in certain specific sequence requested by the user. Most PDF document names are dynamically generated by MIS applications. While documents are dynamically generated, these applications are aware of printing and finishing needs of the PDF being produced. Document generation system can incorporate document production intelligence in the File Name of the document. SmartPDFPrintware can use production intelligence built into the File Name to produce, non-stop, variable documents – eliminating need for manual collation.

A file name can be composed using logically meaningful text blocks separated by a special character such as space, dash or an underscore. This special character is called Field Separation Character. These text blocks can be associated with different print and finishing controls. Judicious use of text blocks enables you to maintain integrity of the job, to control print sequence, to switch paper stock for each document on the fly, do selective finishing etc.

"File Name" Automation Method - Typical Setup

Position

Position method is similar to print workflow solutions you may be familiar with to which we have added significant time and labor saving enhancements to easily handle mixed page sizes, subset creation, subset media switching, subset sides switching, subset finishing, extremely flexible control of print sequence of documents, and more. In Position method, you can set most jobs up in about ten (10) minutes. If it takes hours and days to setup page exceptions and page overrides using your current solution than you should look in to Position method. Position method enables you to control variable media, sides, finishing selection for each document in the job, for each subset of a document and for each page in the document. You can insert separator slip-sheet between documents and between subsets. You can insert Precut Tabs before a document; apply variable text to the Precut Tab. You can insert preprinted pages.

"Position" Automation Method - Typical Setup