Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Thesis Research Prospectus
I haven't talked much about my thesis on printmode, so I thought I would share a prospectus I prepared a week or so ago. The prospectus provides a general overview of my research. I'm sure there will be a few minor adjustments to the scope and objectives as I prepare my thesis proposal.
Web-to-Print System Architectures for Automated Print Production
Objectives
Web-to-print workflows have been employed by a number of business-to-business (B2B) printing companies as an effective way to allow customers to manage their print inventory. These solutions are designed to minimize print waste and provide faster turn-around times by using the power of the internet, automated workflows and digital printing systems. With the success of web-to-print business solutions, print providers are starting to open up this web-to-print model to consumers who are looking to self-publish or have custom printed products produced.
Web-to-print workflows require an efficient information system to handle data input from a broad user base that has varying requirements and expectations. The system architecture describes the flow of data from creation through finished document. System architectures have been engineered to efficiently handle data input and processing, printing, and document finishing.
Users may supply files in a wide variety of formats: from plain-text to full page layouts in the Portable Document Format (PDF). Some systems are engineered to handle a wide variety of formats; while others apply constraints on the formats allowed. Data collection methods also vary widely from stepby- step wizard-based methods to advanced methods designed to cater to the print professional.
Little has been published on the system architectures that are enabling efficient web-to-print workflows. This research will document the system architectures currently in use by print providers for web-to-print systems and will be the first step in developing a "best practice" document for the information systems required to support web-to-print solutions.
Specific Research Objectives:
To document system architectures used throughout the industry.
To determine how system architectures handle data input and processing, specifically how the data is prepared for printing.
To determine how users interact with the web-enabled system architectures.
Develop a taxonomy for describing the variety of different approaches to web-enabled print.
Posted in: Research | Thesis | Web to Print
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