High Volume Variable Output PDF Workflow, a presentation from Crawford Technologies Inc. http://www.crawfordtech.com/

1. High Volume Variable Output PDF Workflow A presentation fromCrawford Technologies Inc. www.crawfordtech.com Follow, Like and Join us at about.me/CrawfordTechInc

2. Agenda Background High Volume Output Application review Review objectives and requirements for PDF Role of PDF Examine Workflow Implementation

3. Introducing Crawford Technologies Founded in 1995 and based in Toronto, CrawfordTech is a privately held global software company On PROFIT 100 list of fastest growing companies in Canada Core competency is in transaction print stream and document production software, including: Automated Document Factory and Integrity solutions Document Re-engineering solutions Print stream conversions/transform solutions Document Archive Solutions Document integration/workflow solutions Document Accessibility Services

4. High Volume Output All applications originally designed to be printed Snapshot reporting instruments Include Legacy output AFP, LCDS, metacode Also new applications PostScript, PCL, Word, RTF

5. High Volume Applications Bills Invoices Customer Statements Confirmations Letters Assessments Reports Insurance Policies Assessment Notices Receipts …almost anything…

6. Adding PDF to Workflow Proofing Electronic Document Distribution Archival

7. Objectives Proofing Get approval from customer before printing starts Offer new services to customers and users Electronic Document Distribution For distributed printing For viewing Web Presentment Feed other work flows Move from paper to electronic processes Print only what needs to be printed Let users/customers print their own Index and Archive Store for future retrieval, view and reprint

8. Alternatives Browser (HTML/XML) Acrobat (PDF) Plug-in (Custom) Download format (i.e. ZIP) Source Format AFP Xerox metacode PostScript PCL

9. Why PDF? Ease of management and viewing on any platform Fidelity to printed document is important Document Distribution when formatting is important Color is important Typeface matching is important When the document will be printed by the user Document needs security controls Users sophisticated enough to download Acrobat Reader

10. Benefits Competitive advantage Keeping up with customer expectations Provide quick access to information More information can be distributed easily Marketing opportunities Hyperlinks, messages, graphics, dynamic 1 to 1 features Paper reduction Cost reduction potential

11. Where does HTML fit in? Document formatting is not critical No need to replicate printed document with fidelity Document will not be printed by user Excellent for web page linking users to PDFs or other files Dynamic viewing of information

16. Good Quality PDF Type 1 Fonts for clean look Vector graphics where possible Bookmarks for easy navigation Full Color 1 to 1 with paper document Small file size for quick downloads Appropriate security Supports maximum releases of Acrobat No full page images No Private Objects requiring plug-ins

17. Advanced Features of PDF Browsers available on many platforms Millions of users are comfortable with Acrobat Protection built in Keep users from modifying, printing & copy/pasting Digital Signatures Bookmarks Text searchable Interactive Forms capability Embedded Scripts Prints on most printers with reasonable fidelity Annotations Interactivity Web site linkage

18. Print Spool Application Print Files Previous Workflow Inserters

19. Proofing Desired Workflow Print Spool Server Application Print Files Transform W W W Inserter

20. Electronic Document DistributionDesired Workflow Print Spool Server Application Print Files Splitter W W W Individual sub-document packages

21. Server Server Print Spool ArchivalDesired Workflow Application Print Files Inserter W W W Splitter W W W Transform Individual sub-document packages

22. Challenges and Requirements Document Fidelity Clean up document (i.e. eliminate OMR, Barcodes) Automated management process Splitting into subdocuments without errors Lack of Pre-printed forms Size of PDF files and storage requirements Conversion time Quality of PDF Font matching Invoke PDF features beyond paper “emulation” Security User adoption

23. Additional Requirements High Performance (5,000 to 10,000 ipm and up) Fidelity (match printed documents) Indexing for document management/retrieval Flexible to fit in workflow Platform independence (run transform where you need it) Error handling clean Logging (audit, error, accounting Create “Good Quality PDF” Ability to add advanced PDF objects to documents Create

24. Server Server Print Spool Realistic workflow Application Print Files Inserter W W W Splitter W W W Transform Individual sub-document packages

25. Crawford TechnologiesPDF Transform Workflow Server Server Print Spool Application Print Files PRO Meta to PDF PRO AFP to PDF WWW Splitter PRO JES Spool Extraction PRO Transform Manager PRO Meta Normalization & Indexing Facility WWW Transform Individual sub-document packages PRO Meta to PDF PRO AFP to PDF

26. Server Server When to Transform? AFP Metacode LCDS Line Data, EBCDIC, PostScript, PCL, ASCII PRO Meta to PDF PRO AFP to PDF WWW WWW Transform Individual sub-document packages PRO Meta to PDF PRO AFP to PDF

27. When To Transform?It Depends… BATCH When Batch window is long CPU cost low PDFs are small Disk space cheap & large No flexibility in contents Hit rate high Use PDF for proofing Use PDF for archival DYNAMIC When Using PDF for customer/user delivery Web site hosting the information Batch window is short CPU cost high PDFs are large or numerous Disk space at a premium Flexibility in contents Marketing, Hyperlinks Hit rate low

28. PDF For Archival Advantages Files are fully contained No worry about resource changes Disadvantages Conversion time can be high Disk space usage can be great as PDF files larger than AFP/metacode Flexibility missing Forms, links, etc. locked in Data extraction requires new tools Getting back to source file not easy

29. Server Server Print Spool Crawford TechnologiesPDF Transform Workflow Application Print Files PRO Meta to PDF PRO AFP to PDF WWW Splitter PRO JES Spool Extraction PRO Transform Manager PRO Meta Normalization & Indexing Facility WWW Transform Individual sub-document packages PRO Meta to PDF PRO AFP to PDF

30. PRO JES Spool Extraction Pulls jobs out of MVS spool for automatic transform based on dataset attributes Returns converted output files to spool for printing Or send by FTP to remote system MVS, OS/390, z/OS, JES2 & JES3 Runs in 3 modes BATCH program (External Writer) Started Task (SAPI) Functional Subsystem (FSS) Optional component that can provide some interesting benefits Optionally transmits original spool files via FTP

31. PRO Transform Manager Automated capability to manage conversion of documents Receives Input files from any host Output converted to PostScript, AFP, metacode, PCL or PDF, XML, HTML Converted files routed to specified printer, folder or FTP server Multi-threading and supports multiple printers and multiple directories GUI interface provides dashboard on processing activity Handles Errors Optionally retains input files Creates and manages logs of transform activities Runs on Windows, Solaris, AIX, Linux and HP-UX

32. PRO Meta Normalization & Indexing Facility Creates page independent metacode print steam Any page can be printed without reading through the preceding pages in the file Each page fully composed (metacode and DJDEs) Can be stored in file on DASD or archive media Allows quick direct access to specific pages for viewing or printing Splits print file into multiple output files Individual statements Groups of statements (branch, broker or agent) Branch report splitting Creates an index file containing filenames and index fields from the data Can be XML, HTML, CSV, or user-defined format Files can be named using variable data information MVS, Windows or Unix

33. PRO Meta PDF Transforms from Xerox LCDS and metacode to PDF Automatically converts Xerox resources to PDF Maps fonts to standard Acrobat or embedded Type 1 fonts Bookmark support No limit on number of indexes Can be multi-level indexes Can merge PDF “Overlay” files to emulate pre-printed forms Or extend your marketing reach Exits for pre-scan of data & field suppression and modification Acrobat security feature (encryption) is supported All PDF resources are compressed to keep file size small Use in server-side application for Dynamic PDF Can also be run in batch mode MVS, Windows or Unix

34. PRO AFP to PDF Converts from AFP to PDF Supports AFPDS (MO:DCA-P) and mixed-mode AFP Automatically converts AFP resources to PDF Maps fonts to standard Acrobat or embedded Type 1 fonts Bookmark support No limit on number of indexes Can be multi-level indexes Can merge PDF “Overlay” files to emulate pre-printed forms Or extend your marketing reach Exits for pre-scan of data & field suppression and modification Acrobat security feature (encryption) is supported All PDF resources are compressed to keep file size small Use in server-side application for Dynamic PDF Can also be run in batch mode MVS, Windows or Unix

35. PRO Document Indexer Creates Index files while a document is being processed Plugs into all PRO transform and normalization products Runs in same pass as transform Creates Index files in different formats: Comma Separated Values (CSV) Fixed Fields, Fixed Records HTML or XML User-Defined Field manipulation capabilities (I.e. text reversal) Any number of index keys selected from print stream Can extract all fields from a statement

37. Manipulates fields on documents

38. Plugs into all PRO transform and normalization products

39. Runs in same pass as transform

40. Add objects to pages

41. OMR marks with integrity counts

42. Bar codes

43. Control numbers

44. Annotations

45. Web links

46. Full colour overlays

47. images

48. Add slip sheets

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