Next-Generation Workflow Delivers Industry's First Automated Document Factory Solution With Native PDF and AFP Support

BOULDER, CO - Ricoh Company, Ltd. today announced a wide range of industry-first features for its award-winning workflow solution family of offerings. Printers demanding high-volume output each month can rely on the InfoPrint ProcessDirector workflow solutions to deliver automated document factory solutions for native PDF and AFP -- a true industry first. These breakthrough enhancements will enable customers to optimize their PDF datastreams for high-volume production, seamlessly apply industry-leading PDF tools such as Enfocus PitStop Server and Ultimate Impostrip On Demand Automation, maximize postage savings, achieve end-to-end integrity, save money with new ink tools, and broaden their ability to manage multichannel communications. This workflow management can all be done from a single point of control -- a market-recognized benefit of the InfoPrint ProcessDirector-based workflow solutions.

"This aggressive new toolset of workflow capabilities supports the hybridization of the digital print markets. Printers of all sizes are seeking new ways to differentiate themselves by offering more communication solutions, most of which are produced in PDF environments and many of which require production integrity," said Chris Reid, vice president of Business Development, Ricoh Production Print Solutions (RPPS*). "Prime examples of such output include those that require the highest standards of integrity such as healthcare and financial services fulfillment kits, HIPAA-related documents and more."

With this new support, PDF shops can index a PDF file, identify document boundaries and perform pre-production manipulations, including: address cleansing, barcoding (including Intelligent Mail) and even adding variable data messaging -- features previously only achievable using data stream transforms. This entire rules-driven process is automated and managed from the InfoPrint ProcessDirector dashboard, increasing efficiency and production integrity. The extracted information is also used to optimize post-production processes, like inserting and finishing, by passing critical job parameters to those devices, enabling job reconciliation and reprinting while maintaining complete output fidelity.

These newly added PDF and related features include:

• InfoPrint ProcessDirector with native PDF Workflow support - this highly requested capability enables the indexing, editing, splitting, sorting, and grouping of disparate PDF jobs, while demonstrating integrity to meet regulatory requirements and postal optimization to help maximize postal savings. It also allows for multi-vendor inserter integration that can automate reprints and advanced print management tools for all production environments. It delivers detailed reports and supports compliance with service level agreements.
• PDF Acrobat Toolkit - this tool allows users to edit PDF documents and add or remove barcodes, create index for document management and build automated PDF input to InfoPrint ProcessDirector workflows.
• Enfocus PitStop Server Integration - this feature enables customers to link InfoPrint ProcessDirector to their PitStop Server. This integration also includes the ability to automatically route PDF files through PitStop Server, enabling advanced pre-flighting.
• Ultimate Impostrip On Demand Automation Integration - this integration enables an automated management solution for routing PDF files through Ultimate's Impostrip On Demand Automation technology solution.
• Ink Savvy - a component of Ink Suite, Ink Savvy enables the automatic management of color in order to optimize ink quality and maximize ink savings by estimating, testing and tweaking color output for optimum cost and quality balance from the InfoPrint 5000. This tool is designed to support both AFP and PDF files and allow customers to better manage their color resources for each job.
• JDF Input and Output Support - this end-to-end capability leverages JDF to provide job management information to InfoPrint ProcessDirector, external software and hardware.