Medical Environment

Background

The client had a regime of fast-moving documents where new versions and revisions were published right up to the production deadline. Sometimes depending on the production workflow and availability of devices, this meant that there was potentially a point where the document submitted for print was not the latest version available. In addition, people would submit a request for a document that had been superseded since their original order.

The problem

Within the medical Trust, all documents were designed and stored ready for production in two parts, the base background layer was stored in a document repository. The non-variable text in another subsystem. All documents had a standard never altering product ID, which meant that someone could order an Item by specifying the appropriate ID. The production team was required to assemble the document, ensuring that they used the latest version of both background and text, The system provided no facility to allow for variable text.

How we fixed this

Skyline’s PrintStation application enables ‘jobs’ to be work flowed as well as directly printed. We created an action folder that took the original client’s request, extracted the text from that order, queried the two repositories and merged the two latest current versions into a single PDF ready for production. It also took the sender’s details from the order and added that as text with a logo representing that User’s department to the bottom of the document.

Results

• Print room production always uses the current version of text and background, with no wastage and reprinting

• A re-order using an older job still produces the correct output

• Corporate, Legal and brand compliance

• No change to existing embedded work processes