KR20030024226A - An electronic publishing method using automatic layout algorithm - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for electronic publication using an automatic arrangement algorithm is provided to consistently process the entire process from the reception of an order from a customer to the output of printings through the online by using the Internet. CONSTITUTION: The customer connects to a web site of an electronic publication service provider through the Internet and selects a service list. After selecting various specifications and making a contract sheet, the customer makes a settlement through a payment tool. After confirming the settlement, the web server transmits the detail specification selection information to a modification part PC(S330). The modification part PC selects a computer sort to modify the printings(S340). The corresponding work is planned, modified and designed by using the selected computer(S350). The modified data is stored in a database and transmitted to an arrangement part(S360). The arrangement part performs the arrangement work by using the automatic arrangement algorithm(S370) and selects a printing method(S380).

Description

An electronic publishing method using automatic layout algorithm

The present invention relates to an electronic publishing method using an automatic batch algorithm. In particular, the present invention relates to an electronic publishing method using an automatic layout algorithm using a computer when printing a business card, sticker or advertisement leaflet.

Conventionally, in the case of printing business cards, stickers, or advertising leaflets, the planning company orders an order from its own customer, designs it using a design program, and then prints it at the print shop. In this case, however, the process from the planning agency to the print shop was very cumbersome and inefficient. In other words, it takes a lot of time from order order to printing, the cost is increased, and after printing, the printed material is delivered to the customer through the planning company.

In addition, although online processing is possible in part, but e-commerce is being activated as a whole, it is not processed online. However, the printing publishing industry is very small, and its sales methods are not advanced. It was difficult to equip the printing equipment, there was a problem that can not be consistent printing.

And since PC editing and graphic processing have been largely divided into IBM PC compatible and Macintosh models, businesses that are familiar with one side have not been able to take advantage of the experts of the other and cannot take advantage of the other system. There was a problem.

In particular, the batch process called a haricot is a time-consuming task even for skilled technicians, and the automation of the entire process was not performed because its automation was not properly performed.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for consistently processing the entire process online using the Internet until an order is printed from a customer. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic publishing method using an automatic batch algorithm.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

1 is a flow diagram of an automatic batch algorithm in accordance with the present invention.

2 is a flow chart of an electronic publishing method using the algorithm of FIG.

3 is an overall system configuration of the present invention.

First, the overall working process according to the present invention will be described.

A customer connects to the home page of a service provider (eg, Asland, Inc.) via the Internet. If the customer wants a work request, the service provider (actually the service provider's server) gives the customer a predetermined unique ID and allows the predetermined password. In addition, the service provider requests certain customer personal information from the customer as a prerequisite when granting an ID. It is desirable to limit the personal information to the extent necessary for the purpose of later payment and customer service.

The customer accesses the homepage and selects the work area to be commissioned. For example, book books, papers, magazines, business cards, stickers, flyers, designs, and the purchase of video images. Now, for the sake of explanation, a case of printing a business card will be described.

When the customer selects a business card, the service provider provides various types of business cards on the database that are established in connection with the server. The customer searches the various business card types, selects the desired business card type, and inputs information to be included in the business card. However, if you don't like one of the types of business cards provided by your service provider, enter the information about your business card. At this time, the information on the business card may be made of only letters, or the customer may directly outline the business card using a tool provided by the service provider. The customer then continues to specify the number of copies, the geography of the business card, the color of the letters, and the due date. If you need to put a specific logo on the business card, provide the logo file to the service provider if it is available, or request to create a logo.

Based on the input information, the service provider automatically draws a quotation and provides it to the customer in real time. If the quotation is satisfactory, the customer pays the service provider. At this time, the payment can be made by various methods and means such as Internet banking, phone banking, offline payment, card payment and cyber cash. If possible, make payments through Internet banking.

The clients include not only individual individuals but also general publishers and print publishers. For example, a publishing and print agency without a printing and / or editing facility may receive a business card and refer it back to the service provider. In addition, the customer may request the production of business cards online, but in some cases, they may also request the production of offline business cards.

When the payment is made, the confirmed service provider transmits the information on the business card input by the customer to the editing department.

The editorial department decides whether to treat the business card as a Macintosh or IBM. At this time, the decision may be handled by a skilled person in the editing department, or the system may automatically determine the knowledge of the person in charge of the editing department in a database. In this case, it is desirable to build a database using conventional AI techniques.

The editorial department that receives the business card information plans, edits and designs the business card according to the client's request. At this time, the editorial department checks the contents of each customer information file and checks whether it meets the service provider's work standards. In the case of standardization, if the customer's order does not match the service provider's work criteria, it is likely that the customer did not know the general criteria for the business card and required an unusual specification. It is desirable to go through a confirmation process through to-face consultation. In this case, face-to-face counseling includes counseling in person, counseling through computer image, telephone counseling, counseling by e-mail, counseling by fax, and counseling by letter.

The database is checked to see if there are any technical or delivery problems that are expected to be completed. If a problem is expected, find a solution to it, and if it is not possible, notify the customer to correct the work.

When the above work is completed, the created business card file is transferred to a department that arranges (layout, also known as `` harpy tail '' or `` making boards ''). In the batching department, when a large number of business card design data transmitted from the editing department is over a predetermined number, they are placed on a single large piece of paper. The batch operation is performed using a predetermined batch algorithm. The placement algorithm is an algorithm that optimizes and places a given business card for a fixed size disc. It is printed on the printer as it is completed by the batch operation. In other words, it is not a difficult task because various kinds of different business cards are arranged on one large sheet of paper and printed at one time. In the prior art, the skilled person had to do the manual work, but in the present invention, all the work is automatically completed within a short time by a program developed using the batch algorithm. And the batch work can be completed accurately without any error. Misplacement can get rid of a lot of business cards, so it requires very precise work.

At this time, each business card is given a unique number. This is necessary to cut, package and ship the printed card later.

The present invention is linked to the commercial program CorelDraw (CorelDraw), QuarkXpress (QuarkXpress), Adobe Illustrator (AdobeIllustrator), Adobe Photoshop (AdobePhotoshop) and the like to enable the electronic publishing.

Conventionally, all page files are converted to Adobe PostScript file, which is a standard print format, and the converted ps files are combined and placed again. However, in the batching process of the present invention, the batching operation is made easily and conveniently because it is executed directly inside an application program used in a computer by making a script that can be directly recognized by the commercial program (for example, CorelDraw).

At the end of the batch operation, batch data is sent to the output / subsection. The output / sourcing department creates a computer to plate (CTP) according to the batch data and sends it to the printing department.

The printing department prints using the received CTP and then, if necessary, applies a predetermined coating to the printed matter. The reason for the coating is to prevent the business card from tearing. The coating may optionally be coated.

After printing and coating, a number of business cards printed on a single cell are cut according to the size of each business card. When the foundation is completed, the cards will be packed in a unit and sent to the shipping department. The shipping department sends the finished product to the customer. In this case, the shipment may be directed to the customer according to the order of the customer, or may be sent to the customer through a courier company.

At this time, the cutting and packing are done in a certain order using the unique number assigned to each card. The packing is also done using this unique number, and the unique number and customer name are automatically entered to identify each card on each wrapping paper. do.

Although described above with respect to business cards only, the present invention may be variously modified and may take various forms. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the specific forms mentioned in the detailed description of the invention, but rather includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It should be understood to do.

The present invention can easily and quickly handle batch work, which is one of the difficult work processes in printing. In addition, since orders, production, and shipment are made online, it is clearly a new type of business through electronic commerce.

The present invention can be applied to both Macintosh computers and IBM computers that divide the electronic publishing industry and can operate in conjunction with existing commercial programs.

And unlike the conventional, no error occurs in the batch process, the quality of the product is improved according to the smooth manufacturing process.

Claims (10)

In the method of electronic publishing using an automatic batch algorithm, Accessing a web site of an electronic publishing service provider through a customer; The web server of the service provider, if the customer wants to request a job, inputting predetermined customer personal information and issuing an ID and a valid password only for a predetermined time; After the customer updates the password within a predetermined time by using the issued ID and password, the customer selects a work area that the user wants to request from the service provider from the service list provided by the service provider; The service provider automatically moving the web page to a page corresponding to the job selected by the customer; Providing, by a service provider, information for selecting a detailed specification about the task in the moved web page; A customer selecting and inputting a desired specification from the detailed specification selection information; Automatically calculating a quotation and a possible delivery date based on the input information and providing the customer with a contract; Determining whether the quotation is satisfactory by the customer; If the result of the determination is satisfactory, the customer signs the contract by a predetermined method and at the same time by the predetermined payment means; When the payment is confirmed, the web server of the service provider transmitting detailed specification selection information selected and input by the customer to the editing unit PC; The editing unit PC selecting a computer model to edit the printed matter; Planning, editing and designing a corresponding work using the selected computer model; After the planning, editing and designing, storing the data in a database and simultaneously transmitting the data to a batch department; A batch unit receiving the corresponding data to perform a batch operation using a predetermined automatic batch algorithm; Selecting a printing method; Outputting batch job data to a CTP thermal plate, developing the output plate, and punching pins of the developed plate if a CTP (computer to plate) output is desired as a result of the selection; Printing using the pin punched CTP thermal plate; Directly printing a batch operation result when the digital printing of the selection result is desired; Outputting a CTF using batch job data when a CTF (computer to film) output is desired as a result of the selection; Coating a film by making a platelet for the made CTF; Printing a printed matter using the small plate; Determining whether the coating is required for the printed matter and performing coating if necessary; And Cutting the printed matter or coated printed matter, assigning a unique number to each cut, classifying the printed matter according to the unique number, and packing and shipping the printed matter. The method of claim 1, wherein the service list includes a book book, a paper, a magazine, a business card, a sticker, a leaflet, a print design, a video image preparation, and a video image purchase. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the information for selecting detailed specifications of the job includes the type of the printed matter, the size of the title, the cover design, the type of the paper on which the printed matter is printed, the color of the paper, and the chromaticity to be used for printing. , Whether the picture is inserted, the type of text, the size of the text, the color of the text, the number of prints, the type of cover, the coating, the desired delivery date, the destination, the payment method, the photo information to provide, the image file to provide Electronic publishing method using an automatic batch algorithm, characterized by the presence, and other requirements. 4. The automatic placement algorithm of claim 3, wherein the payment means includes a credit card, cyber money, phone banking, off-line deposit, internet banking, and the contract signing means includes an electronic signature and an offline signature. Electronic publishing method using. The method of claim 4, wherein the customer includes a general person, a publisher, and a print planning company. The method according to claim 5, wherein the computer model to edit the printed matter is one of an IBM compatible model and a Macintosh model. 7. The electronic publishing method according to claim 6, wherein the computer model is selected manually by an experienced person or automatically by a database system built on the skilled person's experience. The method of claim 7, wherein providing a quote to the customer, Confirming whether the customer information matches the service provider's corresponding working criteria and that there are no technical and delivery problems; And If the result of the check does not match the corresponding work criteria or technical problems, the customer's work through the face-to-face consultation with the customer, if necessary, including the step of correcting and standardizing, electronic publishing method using an automatic batch algorithm . The method of claim 8, wherein the face-to-face consultation includes at least one of a face-to-face consultation, a consultation through a computer image, a telephone consultation, an consultation via e-mail, a consultation through a fax, and a consultation through a letter. Electronic publishing method using automatic batch algorithm. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatic batch algorithm, Receiving a data file created by the editing unit; Classifying the received data file according to a predetermined criterion; Rearranging the classified data file; Examining whether a non-standard data file exists among the rearranged data files; Setting a non-standard and selecting a location if a non-standard data file exists as a result of the review; Outputting the rearranged data file; And And using the script engine to generate a script file of the output data file.