Noel Ward While astrophysicists seek a "Theory of Everything" to unify the workings of the universe, companies around the planet are facing a Convergence of Everything and wrestling with the many ways it will impact their enterprises. Previous issues of DAD have talked about the convergence of different data streams, but there's a lot more going on that affects modern documents and the companies that create them. To get a handle on some of the driving issues, we talked with Guy Broadhurst Manager, Product Marketing at Oce Printing Systems USA. "There are several different types of convergence going on today," says Broadhurst. "They are all related in one way or another, but each must also be considered individually to develop the best possible solutions." It's All About Change "When producing a document everyone wants to get from Point A to Point B," explains Broadhurst, "but each company has its own approaches and issues to contend with. Merging an AFP datastream with a PostScript one is only one part of the challenge. No matter how you look at it, it's all about change. And coping with that change is crucial to whatever comes next." One such change is print resolution, which is rapidly shifting from 240 and 300 dpi for transactional and statement printing to 600 dpi for just about everything. This seems simple at first, until you remember that it can mean much larger files, more robust print controllers, and different marking engines. Then add the palettes of highlight and full color. Additionally, documents are increasingly winding up on the Web as well as paper. Even so, notes Broadhurst, paper is becoming a key point of convergence. Paper Paper manufacturers are faced with the need to have substrates that will work equally well in both digital and offset printing applications. Take the printing of election ballots, for instance. Efforts are underway at local, state, and federal levels to control the number of ballots printed and used by providing accountability for each ballot. This is intended to provide a newfound level of control that can make the election process more reliable. This goes beyond simply printing digitally for small towns and offset for big cities. It requires that the somewhat specialized paper needed be able to run on both digital and offset presses. "Oce is working with major paper companies to ensure the paper has the necessary characteristics for use in both environments, as well as the low acidity levels needed to attain the minimum seven year archival life required for ballots," explains Broadhurst. Because convergence issues tend to overlap, what most people would consider Digital Convergence encompasses the widest range of convergence issues. "There's digital convergence that's still related to paper," says Broadhurst. "For example, some companies are shifting jobs from cut-sheet printers to roll-fed devices. While paper is a bit less crucial here, there are issues involving the different range of paper types available, including lower paper weights. Digital convergence also includes imposition, because some roll-fed machines can print 8.5 x 11-inch pages two-up." This all results in a learning curve for users, and Oce works with its customers to learn their specific needs, helps them select the best papers for the applications at hand, and provides the technical support needed during the cut-sheet to roll-fed transition. Applications Applications, in the sense of the ways information is used and printed, are also converging. The often-cited addition of marketing messages to bills and statements involves data streams at some levels, but is also an application challenge as well. For instance, a statement application may have run for years in an AFP datastream. Adding full color marketing messages for high value customers may mean the AFP data has to be added to new statements created in a desktop publishing program. This means account data has to be merged with customer information used by the marketing department and all wind up in the same envelope on its way to the customer. "We have adapted our PRISMA and Squadron front-ends to run our different print engines in multiple and mixed environments," says Broadhurst. "This provides customers with the most flexibility. We know their needs are going to change, and we try to anticipate that change and accommodate it to the extent it's possible to do so." Minimizing the Turbulence of Convergence To do this Broadhurst routinely asks customers three questions: 1. What is your application today? 2. Where do you see it in the next six months? 3. What is your two-year plan? These questions--ones any savvy IT manager or CIO should be asking themselves anyway--drill right to the heart of a company's convergence challenges. They are intended to help define and isolate goals, objectives, strengths and weaknesses, and problem areas in overall operations and specifically where convergence issues may arise. The answers help in developing a strategy to minimize the turbulence of convergence. Broadhurst says the third question is particularly important due to the pace and costs of changing of digital printing technology. To remain competitive companies must remain flexible. Focusing much beyond two years (at least with respect to document printing and processing technologies) can commit a company to a technology soon to be outdated. "If you look at equipment leases today, most are for three or possibly four years," explains Broadhurst. "There is a financial convergence here one has to consider. If you consistently plan two years ahead, and your equipment lease runs for three years, you can plan a migration path to new technologies." Equipment vendors are increasingly acknowledging this fact with varying levels of upgrade capability. Too often these have merely been equipment exchanges. Oce, on the other hand, has led the industry with an array of field upgrades for its PageStream and DemandStream printers. Only in the past year or two have other vendors begun offering true field upgrades in which the print engine remains in place and various components and software are replaced. Another aspect of financial convergence is TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). Viewed in the context of Broadhurst's three questions, TCO includes operator training due to upgrades and new applications, in addition to the basic operating costs of each type of machine used. Cut-sheet printers, for example, usually require one operator each. Roll-fed machines, like Oce's PageStream and DemandStream Twin models typically require one operator per pair--a much lower cost due to the higher throughput of the Twin models. In addition to reducing head count, this also lowers training costs associated with upgrades and new applications. More Flavors of Convergence Broadhurst also talks of Enterprise Convergence. Because virtually all documents are now created digitally they often flow throughout a company, often over an intranet or extranet that spans the globe. This means the same document must be able to be printed on multiple printers, ranging from desktop units to workgroup machines to high speed data centers. While standardized software solves many potential printing issues, the actual output devices must have the flexibility to handle documents from many sources with minimal human intervention. Finally, there's even Offset Convergence, which can be a growing issue among in-plant and commercial print operations where the mix of print jobs is shifting from offset to digital printing. While offset is not going to disappear, its share of all printing will decline and the people with offset printing experience will have to master new skills.