2000 Page 1 Online Ordering of Imprinted Products Franklin J. Garner President September 14, 2000 Introduction The latest Internet browser from Microsoft has the ability to render graphics and typography close to that of in-plant page make-up systems. It is now possible to harness this technology for online ordering and real-time proofing of imprinted products such as business cards, stationery, checks, and standard business forms. Private web pages can be created to allow customers to have secure access to their form designs on-demand. As customers key in their imprint data, they see a facsimile of the final printed product and can select and change logos, backgrounds, ink colors, paper stocks, etc. within the bounds of an approved design template., founded in 1976, is a privately held Kansas City-based software company with products to create paper forms, electronic and Internet-compatible forms, flexographic labels, and security documents. Amgraf s MECCA Systems are widely used in North America for business forms composition within the forms manufacturing industry. Our OneForm Designer Plus software is popular within governmental agencies and financial institutions for fillable electronic forms. At Amgraf we believe that the image of a business form is valuable on and off paper. We have developed software to allow our customers to re-purpose paper form images as fillable electronic and Internet forms. Amgraf recently announced a new business-to-business e-commerce solution for companies and organizations to streamline their purchase of imprinted office supplies. If you purchase, market, or manufacture imprinted Business Cards, Letterhead, Envelopes, Message Pads, Checks, and/or Software-Compatible Business Forms, you can benefit from Amgraf s software technology to web-enable and automate client-side order-entry and in-plant prepress workflow. Some of the early adaptors of online ordering technology are listed below. You can go to their web sites for a demonstration. www.nebs.com www.printonline.com www.iprint.com www.amgrafonline.com Why Offer Online Ordering? The growth of the Internet is changing the way business is conducted in all industries, and the forms manufacturer is no exception. Customers have become comfortable using the Internet, and want to control more of the ordering process. Because of the Internet, the barriers of time and space are being removed from business transactions. Online ordering of imprinted documents is a great convenience to the customer, and the interactive visual image of the final product stimulates the purchase of more colorful forms and documents. In addition, the entire ordering process is improved because the submitted imprint data is already electronic, fully proofed, and ready to drive a digital workflow. 1501 Oak Street Kansas City, MO 64108 (816) 474-4797 Online Ordering of Imprinted Documents
2000 Page 2 How to Get Started? By re-engineering the order entry and prepress departments within the forms manufacturing plant, the foundation can be laid to offer Internet online ordering of imprinted documents. The keys to order automation are database management, form templates, and batch composition. Order entry for imprinted documents has to be comprehensive enough to capture imprint data, data such as product type, paper stock, and ink colors, and customer billing/shipping information, Ideally, (especially when digital presses are utilized) the order entry person is able to send the job to be produced without further manual intervention until it is packaged for shipment. Here are typical workflows within the forms industry: Conventional Workflow: a. Order-entry Job Envelope Composition Department b. Composition workstation Proofer + Imagesetter Platemaker Press This is the most common prepress production workflow within the forms industry. Every job is handled individually by an order-entry person then composed by a graphic artist. In some plants imagesetters are being replaced with direct-imaging platesetters, and color digital presses are gaining acceptance. In this workflow, the customer is isolated from the production process. Typically the customer meets with a sales person, places an order, then has no further contact with the forms manufacturing process until the finished printed product is delivered. Prepress Automation - Key to Online Ordering To effectively use the Internet to sell imprinted documents, the documents themselves must be digital files. By creating the document or form as a template with a static image and data merge positions, the prepress steps can be automated and jobs robotically assembled. Variable Data/Merged Form Workflow: a. Composition workstation Image Template + Imprint Data Positioning Program + Order-Entry E-form b. Order Entry workstation Capture Imprint Data Batch Composition Platesetter Press or Digital Press This is the high volume production workflow at the most advanced manufacturing plants. Order entry personnel are given E-forms to use to enter the job so that the merged form process can fetch the correct image template and overlay it with the variable imprint data. Custom one-time jobs are the only ones handled by a skilled graphic artist. Repeat jobs and all imprintable products are automatically composed and output to plate or press using computer programs and databases. This workflow is easily adaptable to the Internet. Online Ordering Workflow: a. Composition workstation Image Template + Imprint Data Positioning Program + Order-Entry I-Form b. End-User w/internet Browser Open I-form, View Document, Keyboard Imprint, Proof Image Submit Data to Imprint Database c. Job Ticket workstation + Imprint Database Batch Composition Digital Press 1501 Oak Street Kansas City, MO 64108 (816) 474-4797 Online Ordering of Imprinted Documents
2000 Page 3 This is the workflow for the Internet era. For repeat jobs and imprinted standard products, order entry is performed by the customer. As above, these jobs are automatically composed and output to plate or press using computer programs and databases. The customer is an integral part of the production process. In many respects, the forms manufacturer is a real-time specialized printing resource available on-demand. Amgraf Software Products Amgraf s MECCA 2000 workstation software includes powerful features for interactive composition of custom orders. In addition, features for batch composition, database merging, and imposition are standard. Any job can be quickly turned into a form template with merge data points. Many other utilities are provided for job tracking and imprint database management. Because MECCA 2000 runs with Unix, the Apache Web Server software is also included. Amgraf s OneForm Designer Plus software includes capabilities to create web pages for online ordering, and to establish an e-commerce web site. Any customer form can quickly be converted to a fillable Internet form that shows a real-time color proof of the printed document. Filled-in I-forms can be submitted to the forms plant for processing. The features of OneForm Designer Plus make it easy to offer online ordering services for customers. Benefits The benefits of online ordering technology are significant: Customers can place orders via the Internet at their convenience 24 hrs/day, proof jobs on-line, and track job progress. All imprint data is entered, verified, and proofed immediately by the customer who sees an exact replica of his imprinted document, including choices of ink color, paper stock, fonts, logos, etc. In-plant prepress composition is completely automated, including imposition of variable-data overlays and templates, ready for output. Job tracking and production workflows are simplified. Customers can order, proof, approve, and track orders online. No filler licenses or fees are ever required for end-users of Amgraf s E-Forms and I-Forms. Total automation reduces costs, improves throughput, and provides suppliers with a tremendous competitive advantage. Summary You can quickly create custom Online Internet Order Forms for any imprinted document by using Amgraf s OneForm Designer Plus Software. Submitted order information is saved in a real-time database on the web site host. At the manufacturing plant, Amgraf s MECCA 2000 System retrieves the open orders from the web site, and they are automatically composed for output to digital platemakers and/or digital presses. You may take a test drive of Amgraf s Online Internet Order Form technology by visiting www.amgraf.com and clicking on the E-Commerce Web Site I-Forms Demo Link. 1501 Oak Street Kansas City, MO 64108 (816) 474-4797 Online Ordering of Imprinted Documents
Ride the Information Superhighway! Online Ordering of Imprinted Products Franklin J. Garner, III 1501 Oak Street Kansas City, MO 64108 1 2 Who is? Founded 1976 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA Business Forms Composition Software Developer Publishing Systems Integrator E-Commerce Software for Printers Key Software Technologies MECCA 2000 for Custom Composition Business Forms Labels Security Documents MECCA Merge Forms for Batch Composition OneForm Designer to Produce E-forms, I-forms, and Build E-Commerce Web Sites Triton for Customer Proofing 3 4 Amgraf Business Forms Composition Strategy Amgraf Software Products Compose forms once and output many times: to paper, film, plate, digital press, computer displays, and the Internet. 5 6 1
Online Ordering Example Sites www.nebs.com www.iprint.com www.printonline.com www.amgrafonline.com Offline Ordering Creates Barriers Within the Order Chain How to Place Order? Is Data Captured? Order Composed? Customers Distributors Manufacturers How to Proof for Accuracy? Order Status? Ship Date? 7 8 Why Offer Online Ordering? Customer Convenience Decrease Delivery Times Improve Quality and Accuracy Opportunity to Upsell Reduce Manufacturing Costs Customers Distributors Manufacturers Online Ordering Eliminates Barriers to Build Strong Customer/Supplier Relationships Real-Time Proofing Common Databases E-Mail 9 10 How to Get Started? Conventional Order Entry Workflow Order Entry Re-Engineer Your Order Entry and Prepress Departments to Combine their Workflows 11 12 2
Conventional Order Entry Workflow Job Jacket Conventional Order Entry Workflow Composition Department 13 14 Composition Workstation Proof Printer 15 16 Imagesetter Plate Exposure 17 18 3
Printing Press Conventional Order Entry Workflow Order Entry Job Jacket 19 20 Composition Workstation Proof Printer Imagesetter Plate Exposure Unit Printing Press Film Output Plate Output Digital Press 21 22 Direct-to-Plate Prepress Workflow Direct-to-Press Prepress Workflow Platesetter Printing Press Digital Printing Press 23 24 4
Automated Prepress Technology is Essential for Online Ordering Form Templates and Data Merge Positions Automatic Batch Composition E-forms and I-forms for Order Entry Database Management Variable Data/Merged Form Workflow Image Template 25 26 Variable Data/Merged Form Workflow Input Data Positioning Program Variable Data/Merged Form Workflow Order Entry E-Form 27 28 Variable Data/Merged Form Workflow Output to Film, Plate, or Press Online Ordering Workflow Order Entry I-Form 29 30 5
Online Ordering Workflow Create Imprint Database Online Ordering Workflow Search Database 31 32 Online Ordering Workflow Batch Compose Orders Online Ordering Workflow Output to Digital Press 33 34 Amgraf MECCA 2000 Internet Software Capabilities: Amgraf OneForm Designer Internet Software Capabilities: Batch Composition, Database Merging, and Imposition Template and Merge Form Creation Job Tracking Web Server Software Online Database Management 35 Create Pages for an Online Ordering Web Site Convert each Customer Order into a Unique I-form Imprint Data Captured and Proofed by Customer 24/7 Ordering Convenience for Customers 36 6
Benefits of Online Ordering www.amgraf.com Customer Convenience Data Entry and Proofing Done by Customer Automated Composition from Databases Simplified Job Tracking Competitive Advantage 37 38 AMGRAF, INC. 1501 OAK STREET KANSAS CITY, MO 64108 (816) 474-4797 http://www.amgraf.com 39 7