GB2388446A

GB2388446A - Method and apparatus for producing a publication

Info

Publication number: GB2388446A
Application number: GB0208052A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher John Tagg; Nicholas James White; Timothy James Taylor
Original assignee: Butler & Tanner Ltd
Current assignee: Butler & Tanner Ltd
Priority date: 2002-04-08
Filing date: 2002-04-08
Publication date: 2003-11-12
Also published as: GB0208052D0

Abstract

A method and apparatus for producing a publication, e.g. an illustrated children's book, wherein the text, illustrations and cover of the book are composed using a customer's personalised data, collected at a customer interface such as a website, and stored with predefined data in a database. A composition engine is used to compose the publication electronically before it is printed in one step. The publication may include images of characters made in the likeness of the customer and the text may include the customer's name. The method may include the step of sending the publication to the customer.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A PUBLICATION

5 Lois invent:ior relates to the method and apparatus for creating and producing a personalisfd publication.

Particular, but not exclusively, this invention relates to a book for children, which contains personalized text and pictures. The personalisation procedure is controlled lO by the consumer, helping them to create a one--of-a-kind book. Attempts have been made to personadise hooks in the post, but they gave often been hindered by the technology available at the time. for example, the productior-

15 procedure of previous attempts at personalising hooks combined lithographic printing with desktop laser printing. I.ithographic printing is widely used in the production of books because it is effective when printing on a large scale. In the known procedure, static 20 templates of text and covers corresponding to the stories are created and printed en masse via traditional lithographic printing methods. Gaps would be left in the templates for the insertion of personalized details later. The personalized elements of information are 25 manually collected once the templates are produced, and overprinted on to them using desktop inkjet or laser printing devices. This is done by manually inserting the

( personalized elements into a word processing application, which would be configured to position the elements in the correct gaps of the text.

The end result gives the illusion of a personalized 5 publication, whereas most of the book is actually printed before the order for it is made, with gaps left in it for the personalized elements to be inserted.

These publications are often bound using low cost manual hand-binding devices with no form of content-to lO cover integrity check, which sometimes results in incorrect covers bound around the text side.

disadvantage of the above method is that it was necessary to print the main body of the book on a large scale for lithographic printing to be commercially 15 viable; it therefore made sense to produce a large number of static templates, which can have the personalized elements inserted into them at a later stage. However, there is a risk associated with this, because if demand for the books is not as high as predicted, there will be 20 waste.

Another disadvantage is the amount of manual work that is needed in this method. The manual insertion of text and the manual binding of the books is undesirable both because, despite the binding devices being cheap,

( the cost of labour is high, and, more importantly, there is a risk of human error.

furthermore, there are problems with consistency in the appearance of the book when the personalized elements r, are added later. It is difficult to make the laser printed parts the same quality as the pre-printed lithographic text. The result is that: the book appears disjointed, and its quality is perceived as poor.

Moreover the yaps left in the static templates are of a 10 uniform size, whereas the personalised elements have ditterent sizes, so a problem arises as to how to fit in the details without either overlapping or leaving an abnormal space.

The present invention seeks to ameliorate the above lo problems. At its most general, the invention collects together all the data required to produce a publication, i.e. personalized data from a customer and standard data which is the same in all puhiGtions; before produci..g the publication in a single step. According to a first 20 aspect of the present invention, there may be provided a method for producing a personalized publication, the method comprising steps of collecting data from a customer interface, the collected data comprising personalized elements to be included in the publication; 25 transferring the collected data to a central database for

storage; composing the publication using the collected data from the database together with predefined data comprising standard elements of the publi.cationi preparing the publication for production, and producing 5 the publication.

Thus, in practice, all the information required to produce the publication is collected and the publication composed as a whole before it is produced. Preferably the customer is at a remote site from the production 10 facility, for example, if the customer interface was a website, the personalized data would be sent via the interned. By using a website as the customer interface, personalized data such as names and images can be electronically sent to a central database, from where a 15 composition engine extracts the data together with standard data to create a complete electronic version of the publication. This is different from the previously known procedures where the producing process comprised two steps: printing the standard material, then printing 20 the personalized data on to the template later. Often the customer data is collected between these two steps, whereas in the present invention the customer data may be collected before any step of production is taken.

Preferably the collected data will include a name 25 for insertion into the text of the publication.

The collected data may also be used to create the image of a character for insertion into the illustrations accompanying storyline; the customer may be able to build such an image by selecting certain characteristics 5 (e.g. sex, hair colour, ethnic background). Preferably,

the customer interface may be a website having a series of pages corresponding to the personalized elements required from the customer.

The method of producing a Publication may also 10 include the step of sending the books to a customer, whereby the collected data will further include payment and delivery details. Preferably, the data will be given a unique identifying tag (e.g. a bar code) to enable crss-checking. Such a tag would facilitate checking 15 that the correct cover is bound to its relevant text, and that the publication is sent to the correct delivery address. In particular, the inv-e,.tio-,riy reduce the need for manual input, and performs the printing procedure in one 20 step, thereby improving the perceived quality of the goods. The book may have pictures or illustrations, whereby during the production procedure, the customer can uniquely create his or her own character, portraying

( their own image, for Lose throughout- the storyline and in the illustrations.

These books may typically be composed of a personalized cover with a bound in text section, both 5 completely personalized. For example, the customer may choose a name to appear in the text of the story and perhaps in the title on the cover, thereby portraying a character with a role in the story. In addition, an illustration of this character may be made in the lO likeness of the customer to be used in the illustrations which accompany the text.

Thus the present invention allows a personalized book to be produced to order, the quality of the book being enhanced because the complete book is printed in a 15 single step thereby reducing the need for pre-printed templates and manual input.

The advantages of the invention are most apparent when it makes use of new technology, such as the interned and digital printing. Digital printing is more flexible 20 than traditional lithographic printing because changes in the matter to be printed are easy and relatively cheap to make. This is because digital printing prints from an electronic format, whereas lithographic printing requires a physical template. Thus, unlike lithographic printing, 25 it is not necessary to print on a large scale when using

( digital methods, therefore the new arrangement allows production to order, thereby reducing the risk assoc:iated with estimating demand.

The invention has been discussed above ire the 5 context of a method for producing a personalized publication. However, another aspect of the invention may provide an apparatus suitable for implementing thc above-

i.dentified method, the apparatus comprising: a customer interface for collecting data from a customer, the -10 collected data comprising personalised elements to be inc-:luded in the publication; a database for storing the collected data together with predefined data comprising standard elements of the publication; means for composing the publication using the collected and predelined data; IS and means for preparing and printing the publication.

The predefined data may include artwork from which a character can be created for insertion into the publication. Typically different elements or a character (e.g. sex, hair colour, ethnic background) will be stored

20 separately in the database. 'l'hese elements may then be combined in different ways depending on the collected data from the customer interface to produce a personalized character.

( An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the following drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a flow chart of a method which is an 5 embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 shows an introductory page of a website for ordering personalized books; Fig. 3 shows a first example of an option page from the website; 10 Fig. 4 shows a second example of an option page from the website; Fig. 5 shows a third example of an option page from the website; Fig. 6 shows a fourth example of an option page from 15 the website; Fig. 7 shows a page from the website where the customer enters the name of their character; Fig. 8 shows a page from the website where the personalized character is revealed; 20 Fig. 9 shows a page from the website where delivery details are taken; Fig. 10 shows a page from the website where payment details are taken; Fig. 11 shows a confirmation page from the website.

The method of creating and printing a personlised book is shown in Fig. 1. The process shown in Fig. I will}'e described, then the individual steps will be described in more detail.

5 The process starts at the customer interface, which is a data collection point where customers are able to design and create their own publication and character within the story. In this embodiment, the customer interface is a website 10 on the interned.

10 The website 10 allows customers to enter relevant information regarding the stony and their character, and to order and pay for their publication.

Once the customer has confirmed their order, the choices they made dtiring the personalizing procedure and 15 the other information relating to their order (delivery and payment details) are sent to a central database 20, where they are stored. A composition engine 30 then builds the hook by eA'traCtitig predefined elements and rule-defined elements from the central database 20 and 20 inserting them into fields corresponding to positions on

the page of the book.

Predefined elements are the parts of the publication (text, drawings, cover artwork, etc.) that are not affected by the personalizing procedure, and rule-defined 25 elements are the personalized parts of the publication,

which depend on the choices made by the customer. When an option is selected, a 'rule' is made, which instructs the composition engine 30 to insert a chosen feature into a particular field of the publication.

5 The prepared publication is then sent in electronic format to the digital front end (DFE) 40, where it enters a print queue and is processed for printing by a digital printing press 50.

The text and cover are given a matching barcode, 10 unique to every publication. Once the material is printed, a barcode reader scans the codes, thereby enabling correct matching of a text with its cover. The text is thus bound to its matching cover.

Finally, the publication is prepared for posting to 15 the selected address. The barcode is read once more as a confirmation that the job is completed Returning now to the first step of the procedure, the website 10 begins with an introductory page as shown in Fig. 2. The introductory page has an icon 11 which the 20 customer clicks on to begin the procedure of creating the publication. The customer may then have a choice of storylines. Once the customer has decided on the storyline, the website takes them through pages where they can select 25 different elements of the image which will represent

their character in the illustrations. The customer is taken through the elements one stage at a time, selecting a vital part of the character's composition Lo each window as they progress.

5 Figs. 3 to 6 show the options that are available in this embodiment. In Fig. 3, the customer chooses the sex of the character, in Fig. 4 they choose the hair colons, in Fig. 5 they choose the ethnic background of the

character, and in Fig. 6, they choose whether the 10 character is to have glasses or not. The process may also contain other different aspects of the characters composition not shown in this embodiment.

The chosen options are collected along the way in a record format. In Fig. 7, they enter the name of their 15 character which will also appear in the text of the story. The name could be their own, or if they are buying a book for someone else, it could be another name.

Finally! when 11 the options have been selected, the image llS of the character is revealed from behind the 20 screen as shown in Fig. 8. The customer is then given the option of proceeding or not. If they decide to proceed, they are then asked for their delivery details as shown in Fig. 9, so that the printed product can he sent to them. A further page is then provided (Fig. 10) 25 which will ask for payment details.

All of the option pages which require the customer to choose one option from a list of options display a checkbox next to each option. The customer need onl check the box by clicking the mouse cursor on it to 5 select that option.

Thus in Fig. 3, there are two checkboxes: one checkbox 101 designating male and one checkbox 102 designating female. In Fig. 4 there are cheekbones next to each of the four possible hair colours: blonde 103, 10 brown 104, black 105, red 106. Fig. 5 has cheekbones next to each of the options for the ethnic background of the

character: Afro/Caribbean 107, Asian 108, Oriental 109, White 110. Finally, Fig. 6 has cheekbones next to the choices yes 111 and no 112 for the customer to select 15 whether the character wears glasses or not.

For other options, such as delivery and payment details fields are provided where the customer must enter

the required information. Thus, Fig. 7 has a field 113

where the customer enters the character's name as it will 20 appear in the story. Fig. 7 also has a "GO" button 114 which creates the image according to the options selected on the previous pages. All of the pages shown in Figs. 3 7 have a screen on them that resembles a changing screen.

When the customer clicks the "GO" button 119 after 25 entering their character's name on the name entering page

f 13 (Fig. 7), the page in Fig. 8 appears, where the image 115 of the character comes from behind the screen having all the characteristics chosen by the customer. A confirmatory list of the selected options may also be 5 shown at the point, with the customer given the opportunit:y of whether they want to proceed or not. The delivery details page shown in Fig. 9 appears if they decide to proceed.

Fields are provided on the delivery details page

10 (Fig. 9) for the customer's name 120, house number- 121, street/road 122, town/city 123, postcode 124 and county 125. A "NEXT" button 126 is clicked by the customer to progress to the next page.

The website 10 may have an additional page where the 15 customer can enter another address for mailing. For example, if an adult was buying a book for a child, they may wish the book to be sent to the child's address. Thus the Customer would fill in fields for the child's

address, and select that they wanted the book to be 20 delivered to that child's address. This would set a rule that would lead to the composition engine 30 inserting the child's address on the back cover of the book.

On the payment details page (Fig. 10), checkboxes 127--130 are provided to select the type of payment, and 25 fields are provided to take the card number 131 and the

month 132 and year 133 of the expiry date. Fig l(.) shows the checkbox 127 for the "visa" option checked. To submit the information and begin the process of preparing and printing the book, the customer clicks on the "SEND" 5 button 134. If everything is in order, the confirmation page shown in Fig. 11 is shown, and the customer knows the process of printing and sending the book has begun.

The data corresponding to the choices made by the customer is then sent to the central database 20, where 10 it is stored in record format. The database 20 also stores the other components of information required to make the book. This includes the main text of the story, into which the personalized name is to be inserted, and the artwork for creating the accompanying illustrations.

15 The artwork includes all the standard art needed in the book (i.e. the parts of the drawings that do not need to change) as well as all the elements needed to create new images with different combinations of features (e.g. sex, hair colour, etc.) for insertion into the standard art.

20 The images are split into elements, each element corresponding to an option presented at the customer interface. Thus there will be a 'female' element, and a black hair' element.

Once the confirmation screen is shown, the next 25 stage of production is entered. At this point the

( collected data (i.e. options chosen and delivery information), which is variable in content from customer to customer, Is given a unique barcode to aid identification for crss-checking later in the procedure.

5 The composition engine 30 then builds the book using the elements stored in the database 20. The whole book is built using a page layout application, which positions fields in particular places on the page or cover of the

book. These fields are then filled by the composition

10 engine using elements. Predefined elements are those which are not dependent on the collected data, i.e. the static storyline and the artwork for pictures. R:le-

defined elements are those which change depending on the choices made by the customer. The variable records of 15 collected data from the website 10 set rules which the composition engine obeys to fill in the fields with the

correct selected feature. An example of this is the creation and inscclon or the image of a personalized character in the illustrations. The artwork is stored in 20 a library in the database 20; the relevant element is chosen by the composition engine 30 depending on the rule set by the collected data.

Every element of the image is stored in the library in vector format and is available to the composition

engine 30, which calls off the required elements relating to the options chosen.

The final image on the page is built up from the separate elements within the library. Depending on the 5 picture, different fields will need to be filled to

create the image. The composition engine 30 follows the rules to bring together the elements selected in an element-by-element manner allowing the image to be built as requested. For instance, the option "Female" will 10 instruct the application to bring in the Female head.

Then the option "Ethnic" will instruct the application to bring in the Ethnic base body element. The fields used

for each of the elements can have transparent qualities allowing the underlying elements to show through where 15 appropriate. Thus since the Female head has been selected, bringing in the Ethnic body base element results in an Ethnic Female head. Thus each element in turn builds upon the previous option to create a image with all the desired characteristics. The composition 20 engine 30 thus builds the image by incorporating elements in a particular order. This can be thought of as painting' the elements over each other.

Firstly the sex of the image is detected, and therefore the outline of the image is attained. Secondly, 25 the ethnic background option instructs the composition

f engine as to how the outline should be filled. Thirdly, the hair is added, then the clothes, features (e.g. eyes, mouth) and glasses (if requested) are respectively added, each element being 'painted' on top of the others, alto 5 the transparent qualities mentioned above allowing underlying elements to show through where required.

Tile same process is repeated in each place the image is inserted.

The name selected by the customer is inserted in a 10 similar way. The composition engine 30 locates fields on

the pages of the book. Some of the fields are filled with

predefined elements - the static part of the story. there will also be fields for the name selected by the

customer. On detecting this field, the composition engine

15 30 extracts the record saved in the database corresponding to the name typed into the "name" field 113

in Fig. 7.

A VPS/PS file v'a-ile Print Specification) of the

finished story is created, with the personalized 20 character included, which is subsequently sent to the DEE 40, where it enters a printing queue. At the DEE 40, a raster image processor converts the VPS/PS file into an image for printing via a digital printing press 50.

The digital printing press 50 then prints the text 25 and cover elements on the relevant paper stock, for

( example, the story text on paper and the cover on card.

The identifying barcode is also printed on each of the parts, to facilitate automated matching of the text to its correct cover. These two parts are then transferred 5 onto the binding equipment 60.

The binding equipment 60 is fitted with a barcode reader; this checks each of the separate parts as they are brought together to ensure the integrity of the publication. 10 Once bound, the publication is trimmed round and placed inside a mailing envelope 70. The address for mailing selected by the customer is printed on the back cover of the book, and the book is placed into a windowed envelope for mailing whereby the printed address is 15 visible through the window. Thus no further checks are necessary to make sure that the cover and text are being sent to the correct address once the scanning and binding have taken place. The barcode is also located on the mailing address area of the publication. When the book is 20 placed in the envelope, this is scanned with a barcode reader 80 and the information is fed back into the central database 20. This is the final check for the publication, confirming that it has been prepared and dispatched. The finished personalized publication is 25 thus sent to the customer via mail.

Claims

Cl,AIMS 1. A method of producing a personalised publication, the method

comprising steps of: (a) collecting data via a customer interface, the 5 collected data comprising personalized elements to be included in the publication) transferring the collected data to a central database for storage; (c) composing the publication using the collected data 10 from the database together with predefined data comprising standard elements of the publication; an (d) preparing the publication for production, and producing the publication.

15
2. A method of producing a personalized publication according to claim l, wherein the customer interface is at a remote site from the production facility.
3. A method of producing a personalized publication 20 according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the customer interface is a website.
4. A method of producing a personalized publication according to claim 3, wherein the website comprises a 25 series of pages corresponding to persona];sed elements required to be inputted by a customer.

(
5. A method of producing a personalised publication according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the personalised elements include a name.

s
6. A method of producing a personalised publication according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the personalised elements include a Truman characteristic.

10
7. A method of producing a personalised publication according to claim 6, wherein a said human characteristic i s gender.
8. A method of producing a personalised publication 15 according to claim 6 or 7, wherein a said human characteristic is hair colour.
9. A method of producing a personalised publication according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein a said human 20 characteristic is ethnic background.
10. A method of producing a personalised publication according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the collected data comprise payment and delivery details.

1 21
11. A method of producing a personalised publication according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the collected data comprise an identifying tag.

5
12. A method of producing a personalised publication according to claim ll, wherein the identifying tag is a barcode.
13. A method of producing a personalised publication 10 according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the collected data are transferred electronically to the central database.
14. A method of producing a personalised publication 15 according to claim 13, wherein the collected data are transferred via the internet to the central database.
15. A method of producing a personalised publication according to any of the preceding claims, wherein 20 electronic composition of the publication uses a composition engine that extracts the predefined data and the collected data from the central database.
16. A method of producing a personalised publication 25 according to claim 15, wherein the composition engine creates an image having a characteristic of a

personalized element of the collected data, included in the electronic composition of the publication.
17. A method of producing a personalized publication 5 according to claim 16, wherein the electronic composition of the publication provides a cover and a text with accompanying illustrations.
18. method of producing a personalized publication 10 according to claim 17 and claim 5, wherein the name appears in the text and/or on the cover.
19. method of producing a personalized publication according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the image appears in Is the illustrations accompanying the text.
20. A method of producing a personalized publication according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein producing the publication comprises the steps of printing 2() the cover and the text section and binding the text section in the cover.
21. Apparatus suitable for implementing a method according to any one of the previous claims, the 15 apparatus comprising: (a) a customer interface for collecting data from a customer, the collected data comprising personalized elements to be included in the publication; (b) a database for storing the collected data together 20 with predefined data comprising standard elemer-ts of the publication; (c) means for composing the publication using the collected and predefined data; and (d) means for preparing and printing the publication.

21. method of producing a personalized publication according to claim 20 and claim 11 or 12, wherein a 25 matching identifying tag is included in both the text and the cover and the step of binding the text section in the

( 23 cover comprises the step of checking that the identifying tags match.

22. A method of producing a personalized publication 5 according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the printing is performed in one step using a digital printer.

23. A method of producing a personalized publication according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the 10 step of producing a publication comprises the step of sending the publication to the customer.