CN1231750A - Proofing system utilizing dynamic PDP technology for the interface for templated printing - Google Patents

Abstract

A technique for easily creating and proofing customized printed material before printing on a production printing system. A user may connect with an internet web site provided by a commercial printing service and select from a plurality of available templates for the printed material. The user can then select additional stored information to be included in the customized printed material, or can input variable information through a keyboard or the like. A portable document format (PDF) builder generates a dynamic PDF file from the selected template and the selected or variable data from the user. The dynamic file can then be displayed at the front end to provide an accurate view of how the printed material would look. Additionally, a hard copy proofing version of the printed material may be printed at the front end. Once the layout of the printed material is confirmed, a production printing system is used to print multiple copies of the customized printed material.

Description

Verification system using dynamic PDF technology for template printing interface

Cross References to Related Applications

This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Patent Application No. 60/024,179 (filed August 20, 1996), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background of the invention

The present invention relates to techniques for generating customized documents or other printed materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to techniques for generating customized printed materials using template formats, stored reference information, and user input data.

It is desirable in modern printing systems to allow users to easily customize printed materials for a specific need. For example, a user may select stored images and combine them with user-specified input text and stored references to produce a point-of-sale (POS) display or other similar material. Such "on-demand response" systems increase production flexibility and simplify the design process. With the growing importance and availability of the Internet, the possibilities for implementing such "on-demand response" systems have grown very rapidly.

For example, national or regional retail chains often use a large number of point-of-sale displays in their stores. These point-of-sale displays are typically printed by a commercial printing service to order and distributed to various stores for use. Other types of businesses or organizations that frequently use point-of-sale displays include soft drink bottle manufacturers or major beer manufacturers that provide promotional materials to distributor networks, cellular telephone service providers, trade associations, and other similar organizations.

Of course, the need to customize printed materials goes beyond point-of-sale displays. For example, direct mail salespeople frequently use commercial flyers and coupons that are sent to prospective customers by mail. Event planners and promoters may need printed materials to initiate concerts, sporting events, live theater performances, and other events. Similarly, various organizations often utilize customer printouts to announce seminars, annual meetings, and other similar meetings. In other words, the possible applications of custom printed materials are virtually limitless.

Client promotional materials often change weekly (or even more frequently). Plus it's usually the user who needs the material on a short time frame or knows what changes to expect in an emergency. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system for generating customized documents with optimal flexibility in design and efficiently initiated by allowing users to easily generate, verify and edit a customer's printed material in one session.

Customizing printed materials, especially when ordered in large quantities, can cost a lot of money. products, it is especially important to ensure that the design of custom printed materials is satisfactory before a large number of print jobs are run and delivered. If the design is not verified prior to printing, additional costs may be incurred to redesign and print the order, or the user will be forced to receive a product that is not the final optimization. As such, an accurate and simple technique is desired for verifying customized printing materials prior to confirming a print job order.

Different printing capabilities using existing XLC printing technology can be used to demonstrate on-demand responsive applications. In such a system, a user can connect to an Internet Web site and request a publication by providing variable or optional data (used to generate a table based on layout instructions). The final document is assembled for later printing. Possible options can be generated from a database containing reference content, some other object specific data and low and high resolution images (if images are required).

When these data are provided, such a system can then construct dynamic HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) pages to be viewed and validated by an Internet browser. These pages can be constructed on reference content selected by the user from the main HTML page. Referenced low-resolution images can be used to construct dynamic HTML pages. However, trying to mimic the actual layout of the final printed document is difficult because the HTML standard is limited in making HTML pages match the appearance of the latest printed page. Also, the differences in appearance are often device-dependent and vary from user to user.

If the selection is confirmed, an option record consisting of references to selectable objects (including images) in the database and user-supplied variable data (name, address, etc.) The high-resolution images of , and the variable data from these records are used for final printing.

One problem with this system is that the printed page is not always what the user observes based on the HTML page. Its product is that the final product is not the same as imagined, and the customer needs to redesign the material to be printed-consuming time, money and effort. Accordingly, a validation system that can show exactly what their options will look like at the time of printing before orders are sent for printing would be highly advantageous.

Summary of the invention

According to one aspect of the present invention, before user data is entered, a visual representation of a template for customizing printed materials is provided to the user so that the user can better understand and see how the data will be placed on the final document . These templates can be made into images and appear on HTML Internet Web pages in Portable Document Format (PDF). Users can see the template on the HTML page. However, users still need a tool to show documents after entering customer data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the dynamic PDF solution generates a dynamic PDF file on the fly based on template information, variable data provided by the user, and generates a low-resolution image based on selected reference content. This PDF file provides a verified version of the customized material and is generated by applications that read and write PDF files directly (by inserting components and placing them in the correct position). PDF is an accepted Internet standard, well supported by major Internet browsers. PDF is device independent and provides a one-to-one representation of the document as it is printed. Using a conventional PDF reader plug-in, the PDF file can be displayed on the user's Internet browser. PDF files can be viewed or printed to a local low-resolution printer for final verification. If changes are required, the user moves back to the main HTML page to modify options and/or variable data. Then, a new dynamic PDF file reflecting the change is generated. This process continues until the user is satisfied with the document. Thereafter, the same reference content used to construct the dynamic PDF file is sent for printing using the known XLC printing technique. Alternatively, the same resulting PDF file is sent for printing using conventional printing techniques when the low-resolution image is replaced by the high-resolution image through the OPI (Open Pre-Print Interface) process prior to printing.

Although developed for Internet front ends, the technology can also be used by front ends other than Internet browsers.

Description of the drawings

Various characteristics, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 is a system block diagram illustrating an example of a verification system according to the present invention;

FIG. 1A is a flowchart illustrating a possible implementation of the system in FIG. 1 to enable a customer to design printed materials;

Fig. 2 is an example of the first layer screen display according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an example of a second layer screen display according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is another example of the second layer screen display according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is an example of a final screen display according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 6 is an example of a point of sale display card that may be produced in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed description of the embodiment

The following detailed description sets forth a preferred embodiment in accordance with the invention. However, it should be noted that those having ordinary skill in the art can recognize modifications and changes without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, although the present embodiment is described in the context of an example system where a user uses the Internet to remotely access template information and enter user-specific information, other arrangements are possible.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the verification system example built according to the present invention includes a front end 2 preferably capable of establishing a remote connection with an Internet Web site. Reference content libraries, low resolution images, high resolution images and other data may be stored in remote memory 4. The front end 2 is typically located in the designer's office to enable custom printed material to be prepared, such as the image author's office employed by an advertising agency or direct mail sales force. The front end 2 typically includes a personal computer with at least a display screen, keyboard and mouse, and appropriate Internet browser software. The memory 4, PDF builder 6 and high resolution color production printing system 10 are located remotely, such as at a commercial print service facility, and may be part of a computerized printing facility and print driver system.

The front end 2 can establish a communication link with the remote location through an Internet connection or other suitable communication technology using an Internet browser or other similar tools. For example, a commercial printer can establish a typical HTML-based Web site on the Internet, so that customers can access the services and products of the commercial printer in a password-protected manner. A customer seeking to design a customer's print material may visit a commercial printer's Web page and enter the area reserved for that service and product offered by that printer. Options in the service and product areas of the web page can be custom designs for printed materials that, when finalized, can be printed by a commercial printer on a high-speed, high-quality printing device and subsequently sent to the customer. Of course, other solutions are also possible.

In the operation of such an example system, an image author or other similar personnel working at the front end terminal 2 accesses the Internet Web page of the commercial printer and enters a customized design area for printing materials. Remotely, the PDF (Portable Document Format) builder 6 can be implemented in a conventional manner as part of the computer system. The computer system can also work as a server for Internet Web pages. The PDF builder 6 is used to generate a printed document image based on reference data images, or other data from the memory 4 and user input at the front end 2 . A local printer 8 may also be provided at the front end 2 for producing a hard copy, low resolution proofread of the final document (if the user wishes). Once the user is satisfied with the design, a print order is confirmed and high quality prints can be produced by a high resolution color printing system 10 .

Example operation of the verification system illustrated in FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 1A. More specifically, at 100 steps, the designer working at the front-end workstation 2 utilizes a conventional Internet browser and connection to access the Web page of the commercial printer and enter an area where customers can design their own customer print materials. Typically, access to this area of the Web page is password protected and restricted to customers who have established accounts at the printer.

As explained in more detail below in connection with FIGS. It is used for verification of printed materials. The specific template forms available to that user may be customized for a particular user. For example, a supermarket chain may have multiple templates available that may not be suitable for brewers and direct mail salespeople, and vice versa. Correspondingly, these available templates can be reserved for a specific client and presented to the user according to the start information provided by the user when accessing the Web page. The template is preferably in graphic form and displayed to the user in PDF form on an HTML web page. These boilerplates can be viewed on HTML pages before customization.

With regard to the function block 104, the user may select from a number of predetermined options. For example, a user may be prompted to select a particular type of package to appear on customer printed materials. (See e.g. item 2 of Figure 3). Additionally, the user may be given a choice from a number of predetermined options, or if no predetermined options are suitable, provide the user's own variable information. (See eg items 3 and 4 in Figure 3). Variable user information can be entered, for example, from the keyboard of the front end 2 .

Next, based on the selected template information, selected or variable data provided by the user, and low-resolution images based on selected reference content, the PDF builder 6 generates a dynamic PDF file on the fly. The dynamic PDF file corresponding to the customer's printed material is generated by reading the PDF template file, inserting the appropriate image parts and placing them in the correct position, and writing a customized dynamic PDF file. The dynamic PDF file is then displayed on the front-end terminal 2 for verification by the designer (function block 106).

Once the customized dynamic PDF file is displayed on the front end 2, the designer may choose to print the image to a relatively low resolution local printer 8 for further viewing (functional block 108). Such an approach may be of particular advantage, for example, if the material being printed is multi-page or cannot be viewed on a screen display. At the same time, the printout can be passed on to others who need to see it for approval.

The designer can then either confirm the order, or return to the main HTML page to modify options and/or variable data. This way, if the designer is not satisfied with the appearance of the printed material, he has the opportunity to choose again the available templates etc. If the designer is satisfied, the commercial printer can print the materials in the desired quantity (functional block 114) and then distribute them as needed (functional block 116). For example, the printed material may be delivered to a distribution center for a retail chain, or a commercial printer mails the material to users on a mailing list (provided to them by the user).

If the commercial printer utilizes the known XLC printing technology, the same reference content used to construct the dynamic PDF file is sent for printing to the XLC system. Alternatively, at a commercial printer using conventional printing techniques, the dynamic PDF file generated for verification purposes is sent to the printing system, and the low-resolution images used in generating the dynamic PDF file are opened pre-printed The interface (OPI) is replaced with a high-resolution image before printing.

It should be noted that although FIG. 1A illustrates that when the designer is not satisfied with the appearance of the material being printed, control returns to function block 102, and generally there is no need to re-select or re-enter information that has not been changed. In addition, it should be understood that the sequence of each step illustrated in FIG. 1A can be changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the user may choose to print a low-resolution copy of a proof-reading version of the customer's print material before, or even instead of displaying on, the screen of the front end 2 .

Figure 2 illustrates an example of the first level of screen displays that may appear on the front end 2 after the user has initiated access to the verification system. Briefly, the user is provided with, for example, a number of available templates such as a common grid display card (Shelf Talker Generic 1), a vertical banner (Vertical banner), or a channel display card (ELM Chill Aisle). It should be understood that these boilerplates are for illustration only, other boilerplates may of course be provided depending on user specific needs and expectations. The user can select a template by clicking on the appropriate option with the mouse 2A.

Once the template is selected, a second screen display appears on the front end 2 . Figure 3 illustrates the second level of on-screen display menus corresponding to the grid display card selection. A PDF version of the template is displayed on the upper portion of the screen for user reference. This template is preferably imaged and stored in memory 4 in advance. The user is prompted to select a package of images contained in the template package area. In addition, the user is prompted to: (a) select a stored description or enter a different description selected by the user; (b) select a stored price or enter a different price; (c) select the desired copy from the production printing system quantities; and (d) identifying them. The user's identification may be used for billing and/or distribution purposes in accordance with previously determined customer information.

Once all required data has been entered, the user may click a button to indicate completion of data entry. Although a single screen display page for entering data was previously described, multiple screens may equally be used.

Figure 4 illustrates another example of a second layer display. Specifically, the screen display of Figure 4 can be used with a channel display card (ELM Chill Aisle). Like the example in Fig. 3, the template is displayed as a PDF image on the upper portion of the HTML screen. As shown, the channel display card template allows the prices of several different products to be displayed. Such templates are particularly useful for eg supermarket chains or the like. The user prompts for the data in FIG. 4 differ from those in FIG. 3 due to the difference in information that is printed on the customized printed material. Again, completion of data entry is indicated by clicking a button with the mouse 2A.

Turning now to Figure 5, a message may be displayed on the front end 2 when data entry is complete. This message screen provides the user with an opportunity to view the customized final document before confirming the order. The final document can also be printed to a local low-resolution printer 8 (FIG. 1). If the user is not satisfied with the documentation, the steps taken to generate the documentation can be repeated as desired.

Turning now to Figure 6, an example of the final printed document produced by the production printing system based on the grid display template is given. The image of the selected package is displayed to the left hand part of the grid display. The right-hand part includes the user's input description and price. After printing by a commercial printer, the final printed document is typically delivered to a retail store's distribution center or other similar location for display at subsequent stores.

While the invention has been described in connection with what are presently considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover the spirit and scope of the appended claims Various modifications and equivalent schemes within.

Claims (17)

1. A method of generating customized material for printing comprising the steps of: choose a template; Obtain user-defined information for incorporation into the above-mentioned customized materials; generating a dynamic Portable Document Format (PDF) file based on the selected template and the aforementioned user-defined information; displaying the aforementioned dynamic PDF file to provide a verified version of the aforementioned customized material; and If a change is desired in the verification version of the above-mentioned customized material, modify the selected template or the above-mentioned user-selected information. 2. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of obtaining user-specific information includes receiving a selection from a plurality of predetermined options. 3. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of providing user-determined information includes receiving information directly entered by the user. 4. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of printing one or more copies of said customized material to a production printer after a verification version of the customized material has been approved. 5. 4. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of printing a proof version of said customized material for viewing prior to performing printing of one or more copies of said customized material to said production printer. 6. 2. The method of claim 1, including the preliminary step of establishing an Internet connection with a remote user, and displaying the plurality of templates in portable document format to said remote user for selection. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of generating a dynamic portable document format file based on the selected template and the information determined by the user comprises: reading the PDF file stored corresponding to the selected template, and the information determined by the user The information is correspondingly inserted into the correct position of the PDF file of the selected template component to generate a verification version of the above-mentioned customized materials. 8. 7. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of printing one or more copies of said customized material to a production printer after a verification version of the customized material has been approved. 9. 8. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of printing a proof version of said customized material for viewing prior to performing printing of one or more copies of said customized material to said production printer. 10. An apparatus for generating customized material to be printed, comprising: an interface with a display screen and a front end of a user input device; memory for storing reference information and images; and a Portable Document Format (PDF) builder, responsive to user information received from said interface and selected reference information and images from said memory, to generate a dynamic PDF file representing a verified version of said customized material, for use in In printing and displaying through the above-mentioned front-end interface. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said interface is an internet web page connection. 12. 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a production printer for printing said customized material upon user approval. 13. 12. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said product printer utilizes XLC technology and operates on the same user information and selected information and images from said memory to generate said dynamic PDF file. 14. 12. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said production printer utilizes conventional printing techniques and operates on said dynamic PDF file to replace low resolution images used in generating the dynamic PDF file with high resolution images. 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the low resolution image is replaced by an open preprinted interface with the high resolution image prior to printing. 16. 11. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a front end including a display screen and a user input device, the user input device communicating with said PDF builder through said interface. 17. 16. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein said front end further includes a printer for providing a hard copy of a verification version of the customized material.

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