Automated Document Factory

Lower your costs and improve production quality.

InfoPrint Automated Document Factory (ADF) solutions are designed to be vendor-neutral, closed-loop systems that can automate and control your entire print and mail operation. With an ADF solution, InfoPrint can help you:

• Make the best use of every dollar you spend on mailings
• Prove that every envelope is mailed with accurate customer information
• Maximize throughput and asset utilization at one or more sites with centralized management

The backbone of our best practices-based, modular ADF is InfoPrint ProcessDirector workflow software. Based on open standards such as Advanced Function Presentation™ (AFP™), ODBC and Java, InfoPrint ProcessDirector allows you to automate workflow, add your own functions, integrate third-party software and utilize multiple datastreams. The base software, plus optional add-ons, results in ADF solutions that can solve common yet complex challenges:

• Improving mailroom integrity
• Lowering postage costs
• Achieving comprehensive output management

Improve mailroom integrity

Know that every envelope was mailed with the right customer information and be ready to prove it. The Mailroom Integrity ADF solution automates the mailroom printing and inserting process, allowing you to track mail pieces from receipt through insertion.

Lower postage costs

Reduce postage costs – the single largest cost for most print and mail operations – by optimizing jobs for maximum discounts throughout the entire print and mail process. A Postal Optimization ADF solution offers three levels of implementation – all can yield substantial improvements for U.S. mailers who need to comply with Basic or Full Service Intelligent Mail®. InfoPrint also offers Intelligent Mail barcode implementation services, included as part of a Postal Optimization ADF solution, or on its own.

Achieve comprehensive output management capability

With the Output Management ADF solution, you can centralize the management of single or multiple sites to maximize throughput and utilization and help facilitate backup and disaster recovery.

Get more out of your postage, devices and people

An InfoPrint ADF can do even more for your print and mail operation:

• Minimize server and IT resource requirements and related costs
• Streamline implementations and provide ongoing flexibility to meet evolving customer, marketplace and regulatory demands
• Leverage existing investments in hardware and software
• Reduce environmental impact by enabling householding, reducing forms changes and related paper waste, printing closer to the delivery destination, reducing sorter utilization and more

Automated Document Factory

Lower your costs and improve production quality.

The workflow backbone of InfoPrint Automated Document Factory (ADF) solutions is vendor-neutral InfoPrint ProcessDirector software. Base functionality and add-on modules can help you automate and control your entire print and mail process from a single point of control. With the help of InfoPrint ProcessDirector, you can:

• Drive printers
• Gain job- and mail piece-level workflow control
• Obtain detailed event information to manage operations
• Eliminate manual intervention and its related delays and errors
• Transform PDF, PCL, PostScript and Metacode datastreams
• Start small and grow over time as you reengineer transaction output processes using open standards that include AFP, ODBC, Java, TCP/IP and Web services
• Utilize popular platforms: z/OS®, AIX®, Linux® or Windows®

An InfoPrint ADF solution can work with many InfoPrint components as well as third-party software and hardware. While each ADF solution can be designed to match specific requirements in small and large operations, the base components may include:

Architecture	InfoPrint Advanced Function Presentation™ (AFP™) Device-independent AFP integrates easily with existing print and mail systems and provides a high level of data control, security and integrity. Learn more >
Software	InfoPrint ProcessDirector (IPPD) Software A modular, configurable process management system, IPPD utilizes a database-driven engine to automate workflow and print management using a single point of control. Learn more >
Professional Services	Professional Services Assessment, design and implementation using existing software and hardware whenever possible. An InfoPrint ADF solution can integrate with nearly all printers as well as pre- and post-processing equipment. Learn more >
Complementary Products	InfoPrint 4100 A high-speed, monochrome, continuous form production output solution. Produces very high quality text and images with a 19.5" (495 mm) format on a wide range of papers. Learn more > InfoPrint 5000 State-of-the-art full-color, continuous forms inkjet drop-on-demand printing system with high print quality at high speeds for AFP, PostScript and PDF applications. Learn more > InfoPrint Productivity Tracker Enables the capture of job, operator and printer data, which can help to optimize print operations. Learn more>

Automated Document Factory

Lower your costs and improve production quality.

Features	Benefits
A vendor-neutral, closed-loop system beginning at document inception and ending at customer response	Provides rapid return on investment by automating manual processes and utilizing current hardware and software Supports growth initiatives such as color, TransPromo and electronic document distribution Suits organizations of all sizes that have simple to complex requirements
Centralized real-time job tracking and control with the Mailroom Integrity ADF solution	Provides assurance that every envelope was mailed with the right customer information so you can be ready to prove it Tracks jobs from arrival through insertion to help you avoid bottlenecks and flag and monitor late jobs Automates the handling of reprints and return mail Supports compliance with corporate and governmental standards
Electronic postal sortation, commingling of jobs and sorter optimization with the Postal Optimization ADF solution	Maximizes postal discounts and postal tracking/feedback programs Provides print stream manipulation and electronic job commingling to help optimize postage Enables compliance with local postal requirements, including addressing and barcoding, to help reduce the volume of returned mail Meets U.S. Postal Service Basic or Full Service Intelligent Mail® and related services requirements
Centralized management for single or multiple sites with the Output Management ADF solution	Delivers documents electronically, via multiple channels or to an archival system Maximizes throughput and utilization by optimizing job batches Facilitates backup and disaster recovery Tracks performance automatically with the Service Level Agreement add-on Provides visibility into jobs, operators and devices so you can optimize productivity and asset utilization
Optional add-ons such as transforms, failover, reports, management by service level agreement (SLA) and more	Lets you choose and pay only for the functionality you need

Automated Document Factory

Lower your costs and improve production quality.

Q. What are some of the problems that companies solve with an Automated Document Factory (ADF)?

A. Here are some issues that an InfoPrint ADF can help solve:

• "Our postal costs are too high."
• "We’re spending more every year on equipment and staff to meet SLAs."
• "A test job was mailed by mistake. Our customers were not happy."
• "Our customers have complained that they sometimes receive two statements."
• "Customer data ended up in the wrong envelopes."
• "We have three full-time people dedicated to reprints and return mail."
• "Sure, we have a backup facility, but we’re not really connected except by truck."
• "Unfortunately we have no way of knowing at the end of the day if every job and document was printed correctly and mailed."
• "We can’t afford the cost or the time to change our mainframe applications."

Q. What are some of the results companies have seen with an ADF?

A. Postal optimization has saved millions of dollars annually for some of our clients. Many companies are able to reassign staff because they no longer have to intervene manually to handle reprints or returned mail. For some, higher productivity is the goal – shorter print windows, automated tracking and reconciliation, ability to take on new or larger projects. Operational results experienced by clients include:

• Controlling both mainframe and open systems jobs by transforming other data streams into Advanced Function Presentation™ (AFP™)
• 100 percent tracking (by mail piece), auditability and regulatory compliance
• Improved consistency and quality of output and elimination of production bottlenecks with fully automated reprints.
• Expanding the ADF to another site to enable disaster recovery/backup capabilities and the additional benefit of load balancing
• Multi-site management using one GUI

Q. What are the most common reasons for high postal costs?

A. You may be spending more money on postage than necessary because your mail pieces aren’t sorted properly, jobs aren’t commingled to maximize discounts (for example, bills and coupons), or sorters aren’t optimized, causing the need for more equipment and staff to meet deadlines.

Q. Why do we have equipment bottlenecks – low utilization and slow throughput?

A. Two big causes of low utilization are the inconsistent inserter loads and the manual handling of reprints. Slow throughput can happen because jobs are run sequentially vs. being batched.

Q. What are the implementation options for an ADF?

A. You can engage InfoPrint Solutions Company to assess, design and implement your ADF. Or we can work with you collaboratively – an arrangement that allows you to use your team’s time and skills. Since an InfoPrint ADF can be built using base software and optional add-on modules, you pay only for what you need. InfoPrint can size an ADF for small to large organizations with simple to complex requirements.