WO2000077671A2

WO2000077671A2 - Electronic proof of publication system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2000077671A2
Application number: PCT/US2000/016386
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter J. Lecy; Jodi K. Thielges; Dan J. Rivard
Original assignee: Novus Marketing, Inc.
Priority date: 1999-06-14
Filing date: 2000-06-14
Publication date: 2000-12-21
Also published as: AU5738500A; WO2000077671A8

Abstract

The present invention provides an automated electronic proof of publication system and method. An electronic proof of publication is an electronic notification to a recipient that serves as verification that particular content was published in a particular print media. In one embodiment, the electronic proof of publication includes notification data and an electronic address. The notification data can be placement data, or one or more digital images of pages of the print media, or a combination of both the placement data and the digital images. The electronic proof of publication is delivered to a recipient using any common method of electronically transferring data. In an example embodiment, the electronic proof of publication is an electronic newspaper "tearsheet" delivered as an electronic mail message ("e-mail"). The automated proof of publication system receives from a source system placement data, an electronic address, and a digital image of a page containing the advertisement. A source is any source of print media including, but not limited to, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, pamphlets, brochures, and letters. The automated proof of publication system generates an electronic proof of publication and electronically delivers the electronic proof of publication to an electronic address of a recipient. The recipient is any person or entity receiving the electronic proof of publication, such as an advertiser, advertising agency, internal publication advertisement sales representative, marketing or research group and the like. The electronic proof of publication system of the present invention desirably provides quick and efficient proof of publication to the recipient.

Description

ELECTRONIC PROOF OF PUBLICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to proof of publication and more specifically to an electronic proof of publication system and method.

Copyright Notice/Permission A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings hereto: Copyright © 1999, Novus Marketing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Background of the Invention "Proof of publication" is a process of providing an advertiser with a publication or publication page that contains their advertisement in order to prove insertion of the advertisement in the publication. There are two main reasons why the proof of publication process is required by advertisers. First, the proof of publication process provides proof to the advertiser that the advertisement actually ran. Second, the proof of publication process allows the advertiser to see what material was surrounding the advertisement.

There is no standard process for providing proof of publication, the process is currently handled differently from publisher to publisher. There are some publishers that have staff dedicated solely to the proof of publication process, while others combine this responsibility with either the accounting or advertisement sales functions. Still other publishers contract with an outside service to coordinate the manual process of sending proof of publication to advertisers. Another variation in the process is that some publishers send the single page on which the advertisement ran, while others send the entire publication (such as a magazine) and let the advertiser find their advertisement. In the newspaper industry, for example, the proof of publication process commonly includes sending a tearsheet. A "tearsheet" (also spelled as two words: tear sheet) is a sheet torn or otherwise separated from a newspaper to prove insertion of the advertisement in the newspaper. Currently, most tearsheets are manually separated and mailed to advertisers. This manual process requires far too much time for publishers, advertisers and agencies alike. The manual tearsheeting process is also costly in terms of extra publication copies, labor and postage. Extra copies of the publication are required just for use in the tearsheeting process. Publishers or outside agencies must devote extra labor resources to managing the delivery to advertisers of hundreds, or even thousands, of tearsheets a month. Extra postage costs are incurred to deliver the tearsheets to advertisers.

As the volume of advertising in printed publications increases, so does the need to efficiently manage the proof of publication process. One recent attempt to more efficiently manage the proof of publication process in the newspaper industry involves manually scanning a newspaper page and then faxing a reduced-size copy of the newspaper page to the advertiser. Publication information about each advertisement, such as insertion order number, is also faxed to the advertiser along with the copy of the newspaper page. In another attempt within the newspaper industry to increase the efficiency of the proof of publication process, a physical copy of the newspaper page is scanned and an associated file is stored on a compact disk (CD). The CD is sent to the advertiser rather than the physical newspaper page. In some cases, publication information about each advertisement is also stored on the CD.

Scanning a newspaper page and then faxing a copy of a page, or sending the file on CD, to the advertiser still has several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that these recent attempts to improve the proof of publication process require a major investment in expensive equipment. For example, scanners capable of scanning newspaper pages of a variety of lengths and widths are required. Another disadvantage is that a physical copy of the newspaper is still needed and a person must take the time to scan the newspaper in order to generate the copy to be faxed or the file to be stored on a CD. A third disadvantage is that the quality of a scanned page is poor because print on the backside of the newspaper page often shows through. A fourth disadvantage is that a person must also take the time to fax the copy or to manually mail the CD. Thus, even recent attempts to more efficiently manage the tearsheeting process are still costly and time consuming. For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.

Summary of the Invention One aspect of the present invention is an automated proof of publication method. According to the method, notification data is received from a source system. An electronic proof of publication is generated from the notification data and the electronic address. The electronic proof of publication is delivered to an electronic address of the recipient. Another aspect of the invention is an electronic proof of publication server. The electronic proof of publication server comprises a computer readable medium, a processor, and computer executable instructions stored on the computer readable medium. The computer executable instructions are executable by the processor to perform a method of generating an electronic proof of publication and electronically delivering the electronic proof of publication to an electronic address.

A further aspect of the invention is a computerized system for providing verification of publication. The computerized system includes a source system to maintain placement data for print media content and to generate a digital image of a page containing the print media content. The computerized system also includes an electronic proof of publication system to provide verification that the print media content was published.

Due to the increasingly large volume of advertisements in printed publications, providing electronic proof of publication using an automated system and method offers several advantages over previous systems and methods of providing proof of publication. One advantage is that the printing of additional publications for proof of publication is not necessary. Another advantage is that no additional labor overhead is needed to handle proof of publication demands. A third advantage is that the entire proof of publication process is automated and therefore is more timely and accurate. An additional advantage is that electronic files are easily archived and retrieved for future reference (the format of the archived file is also cross platform). A further advantage is that an increase in advertising volume does not slow down the proof of publication process because the process is automated and scalable to any circulation volume.

Still other and further embodiments, aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by reading the following detailed description.

Brief Description of the Drawings FIG. 1 is a diagram of a typical hardware and operating environment in conjunction with which embodiments of the invention may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a system for generating and distributing electronic proof of publication.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the electronic proof of publication system shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a high level flowchart of an example embodiment of a method to be performed by the electronic proof of publication system of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the Novus Marketing, Inc. implementation of the electronic proof of publication system of FIG. 3.

Description of the Embodiments In the following detailed description of the embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.

The present invention provides an automated electronic proof of publication system and method. As used herein, an "electronic proof of publication" means an electronic notification to a recipient that serves as verification that particular content was published in a particular print media. The print media content for which an electronic proof of publication may be requested includes, but is not limited to, advertisements, graphics, illustrations, photographs, figures, and text. The print media content referred to in the following detailed description is an advertisement. An advertisement is used as an example of print of media content only. It will be readily apparent to one of skill in the art that the electronic proof of publication system of the present invention is capable of verifying the publication of any type of print media content.

In one embodiment, the electronic proof of publication includes an electronic address of a recipient and notification data. The "electronic address" identifies, for example, a unique location of an electronic mail user, a specified file (for example, a World Wide Web page), a file server, a fax machine/server or the like. The "notification data" can be, but is not limited to, placement data; or one or more digital images of pages of the print media; or a combination of both the placement data and the digital image or digital images. "Placement data" includes but is not limited to source information (such as publication data), product information, recipient information (such as advertiser data), and layout information. For example, placement data for a catalog page may include the catalog name, page number, section description, print quantity, and product information such as name, number, price and percentage of page allotment. The digital image of a page allows the recipient to review features of an advertisement (or other content) such as material in the advertisement, and placement of the advertisement on a page.

The electronic proof of publication is delivered to a recipient using any common method of electronically transferring data. In an example embodiment, the electronic proof of publication is delivered in the form of an electronic mail message ("e-mail message"). For example, in one embodiment placement data is sent in the body of the e-mail message and the digital image of the page is sent as an attachment to the e-mail message.

As used herein, a "source" refers to any source of print media including, but not limited to, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, pamphlets, brochures, and letters. Also, as used herein, a "recipient" refers to any person or entity receiving the electronic proof of publication including, but not limited to, an advertiser, an advertising agency, internal publication advertisement sales representatives, marketing or research groups and the like. In one embodiment, the source is also the recipient and thus the source receives an electronic proof of publication. The detailed description is divided into four sections. In the first section, the hardware and the operating environment in conjunction with which embodiments of the invention can be practiced are described. In the second section, a system level overview of the invention is presented. In the third section, methods of using example embodiments of the invention are provided. In the fourth section, a particular implementation of the invention is described.

Hardware and Operating Environment. This section provides an overview of the hardware and the operating environment in conjunction with which embodiments of the invention can be practiced. Figure 1 is a diagram of a computerized system in conjunction with which embodiments of the invention may be implemented.

Computer 100 is operatively coupled to a monitor 102, a pointing device 104 and a keyboard 106. Monitor 102 permits the display of information for viewing by a user of the computer. Pointing device 104 permits the control of the screen pointer provided by the graphical user interface of window-oriented operating systems. Keyboard 106 permits entry of textual information, including commands and data, into computer 100. Computer 100 includes a central processing unit 108, random-access memory (RAM) 110, read-only memory (ROM) 112, and one or more storage devices 114, such as a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a compact disc read-only memory (CD ROM), an optical disk drive, a tape cartridge drive or the like. RAM 110 and ROM 112 are collectively referred to as the memory of computer 100. The memory, hard drives, floppy disks, etc., are types of computer-readable media. The computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for computer 100. The invention is not particularly limited to any type of computer 100. The computer 100 operates as a stand-alone computer system or operates in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers.

Computer-readable instructions stored on the computer-readable media are executable by the central processing unit 108 of computer 100. The computer- readable instructions perform a method of generating an electronic proof of publication and delivering the electronic proof of publication to an electronic address as further described below. System Level Overview. A system level overview of the operation of an example embodiment of the invention is described by reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for generating and distributing electronic proof of publication 200. The system shown in FIG. 2 comprises a source system 202, an electronic proof of publication system 204, and one or more recipient systems 206.

A source system 202 is a data processing system capable of electronic layout and pagination. The source system 202 generates a digital image of the page containing an advertisement to be printed in the publication. The digital image of the page is a file containing headlines, text, photographs, figures, illustrations and the like as they are to appear in the printed publication. The digital image of the page is used by the source system 202 to create the printed page. The digital image of the page is also used by the electronic proof of publication system 204 to provide verification to the advertiser that the advertisement was published. In one embodiment, the digital image of the page is a page description language file 208 or the like (referred to herein as "PDL file"). The terms "page description language file" and "PDL file," as used herein, refer to an electronic file containing data representing the layout and the print media content of one or more pages of print media. In an example embodiment, the PDL files are PostScript™ files. PostScript™ is a page description language developed by Adobe Systems, Inc. Those skilled in the art will recognize, however, that other comparable PDL files may be employed without diverting from the scope of the present invention.

The source system 202 also maintains one or more databases 210 containing placement data. The one or more databases 210 store typical data record fields for placement data. In one embodiment, some typical placement data record fields include client name, advertiser name, insertion order number, advertisement size, run date, version/region/zone, circulation, section, page number, and number of pages in the section. Alternate embodiments having additional or differing combinations of placement data record fields will be readily apparent to one of skill in the art and are contemplated as within the scope of the invention. In addition to the typical data record fields, the one or more databases 210 of the source system 202 store an electronic address for the recipient. The electronic address identifies, for example, a unique location of an e-mail user, a specified file (for example, a World Wide Web page), a file server , a fax machine/server or the like. Alternate embodiments using additional or differing electronic addresses will be readily apparent to one of skill in the art and are contemplated as within the scope of the invention.

In one embodiment, the one or more databases 210 also store an electronic proof of publication indicator. The "electronic proof of publication indicator" serves as an indication of whether the recipient is to receive an electronic proof of publication or a traditional printed proof of publication. The indicator may, for example, take the form of a code, a flag, or other common identifier to indicate the recipient's selection of a proof of publication method. In another embodiment, the presence or absence of an electronic address stored in the database 210 serves as an electronic proof of publication indicator. For example, if the field for the electronic address is empty or null, then the recipient does not receive an electronic proof of publication. However, if an electronic address is present in the database 210, then the recipient will receive an electronic proof of publication. An electronic proof of publication system 204 uses the digital images, the placement data, the electronic address and optionally the electronic proof of publication indicator maintained by the source system 202 to automatically generate and distribute an electronic proof of publication for each recipient wanting to receive the electronic proof of publication. The electronic proof of publication system 204 comprises processing modules 212 that perform the functions to generate and distribute the electronic proof of publication. The processing modules 212 are further described below by reference to FIG. 3.

Unlike previous systems, the electronic proof of publication system 204 does not require a physical copy of the printed publication. Instead, the electronic proof of publication system 204 utilizes the same digital image of the page that is used to create the final printed page. Also unlike previous systems, the electronic proof of publication system 204 automates the delivery of the electronic proof of publication and thus eliminates the need for an individual to mail a physical tearsheet or a CD, or to initiate and send a fax of the copy of the physical page.

One or more recipient systems 206, shown in FIG. 2, are configured to receive the electronic proof of publication. The recipient systems 206 receive the electronic proof of publication at the electronic address indicated in the database of the source system 202. In one embodiment, the recipient systems 206 receive the electronic proof of publication in conjunction with an electronic mail message. In an alternate embodiment, the recipient systems 206 access the electronic proof of publication from a specified file over the Internet (for example, the electronic proof of publication is accessible on a World Wide Web page identified by a uniform resource locator or URL.) In still another embodiment, the recipient systems 206 access the electronic proof of publication from a specified file server such a file transfer protocol (FTP) server or a FAX server. A system for generating and distributing electronic proof of publication has been described by reference to FIG. 2. The system of the present invention desirably provides quick and efficient proof of publication to a recipient by automating the proof of publication process. Rather than manually separating and mailing actual pages from a print media, the present invention provides a novel system to automate the entire proof of publication process.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the electronic proof of publication system shown in FIG. 2. The electronic proof of publication system 204, as shown in FIG. 3, comprises one or more inputs 302, processing modules 212, and one or more outputs 304. The inputs 302 to the electronic proof of publication system 204 include notification data and an electronic address of the recipient to receive the electronic proof of publication. The notification data can be, but is not limited to, placement data; or one or more digital images of pages of the print media; or a combination of both the placement data and the digital image or digital images. For the purposes of this detailed description, notification data will refer to both the placement data and the digital image of the page, however, the invention is not so limited. The processing modules 212 comprise program modules that perform the function of generating and distributing the electronic proof of publication. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The processing modules 212 generate and distribute the electronic proof of publication using the electronic address and the notification data.

Periodically, the electronic address and the notification data is either transferred to or accessed by the processing modules 212 of the electronic proof of publication system 204. In one embodiment, for a daily newspaper, the electronic address and the notification data are transferred to the processing modules once a day. In an alternate embodiment, for a weekly publication, the electronic address and the notification data are transferred once a week. In still another embodiment, for a monthly publication, the electronic address and the notification data are transferred once a month and so on. However, the system of the present invention is not limited to use with publisher systems that distribute print media on a periodic basis. The system of the present invention operates with any source system for print media.

In one embodiment, the digital image of the page is received by the processing modules as a PDL file. The processing modules convert the PDL file to a predetermined file format that allows the page(s) contained in the electronic layout file to appear on a viewer's monitor or printer with the same formatting as in the actual page(s) of the published media. In one embodiment, the predetermined file format is a Portable Document Format ("PDF") file. A PDF file is a file format developed by Adobe Systems, Inc. PDF captures

Postscript™ formatting information from a variety of publishing applications, making it possible to send formatted documents and have the documents appear on the recipient's monitor or printer formatted as they were intended. Those skilled in the art will recognize, however, that other comparable file formats may be employed without diverting from the scope of the present invention. In an alternate embodiment, the digital image of the page received by the processing modules is not converted. Rather the digital image of the page is delivered to the recipient in the format generated by the source system (for example Postscript™, EPS, TIFF, and the like).

In one embodiment, the processing modules 212 comprise program modules that perform additional processing functions. Example processing functions include, but are not limited to, the following: generating a daily status e-mail message to the recipient, automatically e-mailing an electronic proof of publication to a newspaper's internal sales representative, automatically generating a daily electronic proof of publication log for the publisher, automatically generating a daily electronic proof of publication summary for an advertising agency, providing confirmation to a publisher of receipt of the digital images and data by the electronic proof of publication system (and updating the publisher's database), and providing confirmation of the receipt of the digital images and data by the electronic proof of publication system to processing modules that will operate on the digital images and data. Additional example processing functions include, but are not limited to, the following: automatically posting notification data on a Web site accessible by the recipient and/or the source, automatically posting the notification data to a designated media asset management system for the recipient and/or source, providing soft-proofing capabilities, providing electronic invoicing for the electronic proof of publication service, and archiving of digital images of the print media. Alternate embodiments performing additional or differing processing functions will be readily apparent to one of skill in the art and are contemplated as within the scope of the invention.

The output 304 of the electronic proof of publication system 204 is an electronic proof of publication created by the processing module 212 as a result of the inputs 302. The electronic proof of publication serves as evidence to the recipient that desired print media content ran in a particular print media. The digital image allows the recipient to review features of the advertisement as it was published including placement on a page. In an example embodiment, the electronic proof of publication is electronically delivered to the recipient in the form of an e-mail message. The e-mail message includes text containing pertinent placement information and the digital image of the page is attached to the e-mail message. Additional outputs 304 will be apparent from the description below.

The system level overview of the operation of an example embodiment of the invention has been described in this section of the detailed description. The system 204 of the present invention generates an electronic proof of publication. Generation of an electronic proof of publication by the electronic proof of publication system 204 is a useful result that provides a number of advantages over previous proof of publication methods. One advantage is that the printing of additional publications for proof of publication is not necessary. Another advantage is that no additional labor overhead is needed to handle proof of publication demands. An additional advantage is that the proof of publication process is automated and therefore is more timely and accurate. A further advantage is that an increase in advertising volume does not slow down the proof of publication process because the process is automated and scalable to any circulation volume.

Methods of an Example Embodiment of the Invention. In the previous section, a system level overview of the operation of an exemplary embodiment of the invention was described. In this section, the particular methods performed by a processor, such as the central processing unit 108 of FIG. 1, in an exemplary embodiment are described by reference to a flowchart. The methods to be performed constitute computer programs made up of computer-executable instructions. The methods shown in FIG. 4 are implemented in a machine readable medium comprising machine readable instructions for causing a computer to perform the method. Such machine readable medium may include software modules and computer programs. The computer programs comprise multiple modules or objects to perform the methods, or the functions of the modules in the electronic proof of publication system of FIG. 3. The type of computer programming languages used to write the code may vary from scripting languages to procedural code type languages to object oriented languages. The files or objects need not have a one to one correspondence to the modules or method steps described depending on the desires of the programmer. Further, the method and apparatus may comprise combinations of software, hardware and firmware as is well known to those skilled in the art. Describing the methods by reference to a flowchart enables one skilled in the art to develop such programs including such instructions to carry out the methods on suitable computerized systems.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example embodiment of a method to be performed by the proof of publication system 204 of FIG. 3. The automated proof of publication method begins by receiving placement data from a source system (block 402). The digital image of the page containing the advertisement is also received from the source system (block 404). An electronic proof of publication is generated (block 406). Finally, the electronic proof of publication is electronically delivered to the electronic address of a recipient (block 408). In an alternate embodiment, the method performed by the proof of publication system 204 of FIG. 3 begins by receiving notification data and an electronic address from a source system. The notification data and the electronic address are used to generate the electronic proof of publication. Finally, the electronic proof of publication is electronically delivered to the electronic address of the recipient.

Novus Marketing, Inc. Implementation. This section of the detailed description describes a particular implementation of an electronic proof of publication system. The particular implementation described in this section is part of a Novus Electronic Tearsheeting system (referred to initially as "NET") developed by Novus Marketing, Inc., the assignee of the present invention.

NET uses non-proprietary hardware and software, and is automated using AppleScript™. NET is designed to be flexible and can be customized to operate in many different computing environments. In one embodiment, the NET system operates on a computer running a Macintosh operating system. The computer preferably has at least a G3 family processor and runs Macintosh OS 8.0 or greater. The computer also is preferably configured with at least 64 MB of RAM. The NET system uses commonly available database software such as Filemaker Pro. The NET system also uses software such as Adobe Acrobat Distiller to create PDF files for the electronic proof of publications. The NET system also uses any commonly available e-mail software such as Claris e-mailer. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the NET implementation of the electronic proof of publication system of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 illustrates a source system, the NET system, and a recipient system.

A source system, such as a newspaper publisher's system, provides the placement data and digital images to the NET system. When advertisement space is reserved in a print media, the applicable data for the advertisement is entered into a database in the publisher's system (block 502). In addition to the typical data fields in the publisher's database, the publisher's database also includes a first data field containing data representing an electronic proof of publication indicator and a second data field containing an electronic address (i.e. e-mail, FTP, uniform resource locator etc.) that the corresponding advertisers would like the electronic proof of publication to be delivered to. The data contained in the first data field and the second data field may reside in multiple databases. The databases are accessible to the NET system by a standard access method such as Open Database Connectivity Standard (ODBC) or by daily text file downloads. If multiple databases are used by the publisher's system, a third data field in which the data from one database can be "linked" to the data in the other database is also present.

After the advertisement space is reserved, either the advertisements are received in electronic form, or the advertisements are received as materials which are converted to an electronic form (block 504). Then, the publication pages are assembled or laid out using any common electronic pagination and layout system that is part of the publisher's system (block 506). Once the publication pages are finalized, the publisher's database is updated with the correct section and page number for each advertisement (block 508).

The final assembled publication pages are printed to a spooler in PostScript™ form (block 510). The spooler then sends the final pages to the Raster Image Processor (RIP), which in turn converts the composite pages to four color process/Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black (CMYK) and images the pages to film/plates. The spooler/RIP may also perform a low-res swap (Open

Prepress Interface or "OPI"), which automatically replaces the low-res graphics with their corresponding hi-res versions. In one embodiment, the NET system is configured to automatically retrieve digital images of the final pages from the publication's print spooler. In an alternate embodiment, the NET system is configured to receive the final pages from the publication's spooler which is configured to automatically send the digital images of the pages to the NET system. In still another embodiment, the NET system automatically opens and prints the final electronic pages directly in the publication's layout system. At this stage the publication is printed (block 512), and NET is customized to "receive" the Postscript™ file or files for the final publication pages from the spooler.

The NET system implementation uses scripts to automate the proof of publication process. The scripts are written and customized for each publisher system using AppleScript™. In one embodiment, the NET system automatically initiates a script at a specified time each day and the publishers database is queried to gather placement data and the recipient's e-mail address (block 514). The NET system receives placement data from the publisher system (block 516). The NET system queries the records that are marked to receive an electronic proof of publication and that have an advertisement which is inserted in the publication. NET also queries the publisher's database for other information such as client name, advertiser name, insertion number, advertisement size, run data, version/region/zone, section, and page number for example. In one embodiment, the queries are performed using ODBC access methods. In an alternate embodiment, the NET system receives placement data and the recipient's e-mail address by processing a text dump from the publisher system(s). In one example, the text dump from the publisher system(s) is executed daily and the text dump is saved to a server location accessible by the NET system.

In one embodiment, the NET system automatically organizes, processes and stores the placement data received from the source system (block 518). Processing includes sorting and combining placement data that is received from two or more databases on the publisher system. During processing the specific filename of the digital image is determined by processing the placement data. In this example implementation, the filename of the final assembled publication pages follows a consistent naming convention that includes the date, section and page number. The NET system identifies the files containing the final assembled publication pages by their filename using the information from the publisher database (such as the date, section, and page number fields). The NET system is able to receive revisions to electronic pages if the revision follows the same filenaming convention as the previously sent version of the digital image of the page (the new file overwrites the previous file with the same filename).

The NET system receives from the publisher system the digital images of the pages (in PostScript™ format) containing the advertisements (block 520). The final versions of the digital images of the pages received by the NET system are in a low resolution composite Red, Green, Blue (RGB) form. The final versions of the publication's electronic pages are automatically gathered and organized by the NET system. The act of receiving the digital images of the pages continues until all of the pages are received for a given publication or until a predetermined time limit expires.

The NET system converts (or distills) the digital images of the pages from PostScript™ format to Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF) (block 522). The NET system embodiment uses the PDF format because it maintains the accuracy of the page layout. PDF files are compact, cross platform, and can be viewed by anyone with publicly available Acrobat Reader. In one embodiment, the PDF file is saved at 100 dots per inch (dpi) at 100% of the final printed size. However, the digital image quality can be adjusted depending on the desired results. A single PDF file is created for each publication page. The converted pages are saved to specific folders and stored for a specific time. In another embodiment, the NET system saves the PDF files to a designated network server that is part of the publisher's system. These saved PDF files can be archived and/or indexed by the publisher for future reference or retrieval. This feature adds value to the publisher's archiving process by having all of the publisher's pages in PDF format.

The NET system uses the information acquired from the publisher system to automatically generate an e-mail message. The advertiser's (or other recipient's) e-mail address is automatically inserted into the "To:" field of the e-mail message (Block 524). The pertinent placement information such as publication name, run data, page number, section, and the like are inserted into the body of the e-mail message as text (block 526). The PDF file corresponding to the publication page containing the advertisement is included as an attachment to the e-mail message (block 528). In order to attach the appropriate publication page (the digital image file in PDF format), the NET system searches for the filename that was determined during the data processing as shown in block 518. In an alternate embodiment, both a PDF file and a text file are attached to the e-mail message. The text file contains the placement information rather than placing the placement information in the body of the e-mail message.

After generating the electronic proof of publication, it is electronically sent to the e-mail address of the recipients in a timely and accurate manner (block 530). The process of sending the e-mail messages can be configured to take place at off-peak times to reduce Internet traffic.

A daily electronic proof of publication report, which lists all of the electronic proof of publication requests that have been processed is sent to the publisher's proof of publication administrator. NET also performs basic e-mail error checking, and tracks and reports delivery failures. At the end of each day, NET resets all settings in preparation for running the following day. All aspects of NET automatically "clean-up" after processing— unnecessary files are deleted at the end of the NET process with no operator intervention. Upon receipt of the e-mail message by the recipient (block 532), the recipient may process the placement data and the digital image (PDF file) any number of ways. For example, the recipient's database can be automatically updated with placement information (block 534) and the digital image file in PDF format can be archived for future use (block 536) (to send with an electronic invoice, to post on a web site, etc.). In one embodiment, the placement information and a link to the electronic proof of publication (posted on Novus 's web site) is included on the electronic invoice sent to the client (block 538). When the client views and approves the digital image on the web site, this triggers an electronic transfer of funds from the clients bank account to Novus' bank account (block 540 and 542).

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. It will be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous arrangements which, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the invention and are within the scope of the invention. Thus, for example, although the invention is illustrated in the context of a particular file types, file formats, and electronic addresses, those skilled in the art will be able to implement the invention with any of a variety of file types, file formats, and electronic addresses. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An automated proof of publication method, the method comprising: receiving notification data from a source system; generating an electronic proof of publication from the notification data; and electronically delivering the electronic proof of publication to an electronic address of the recipient.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification data comprises placement data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification data comprises a digital image of a page.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification data comprises placement data and a digital image of a page.

5. An automated proof of publication method comprising: receiving placement data and an electronic address from a source system; receiving a digital image of a page from the source system; generating an electronic proof of publication from the placement data, the digital image of the page, and the electronic address; and electronically delivering the electronic proof of publication to the electronic address for a recipient.

6. The automated proof of publication method of claim 5, wherein receiving placement data and the electronic address is performed by querying the source system for records marked to receive an electronic proof of publication.

7. The automated proof of publication method of claim 5, wherein receiving placement data and the electronic address is performed by processing a text dump from the source system.

8. The automated proof of publication method of claim 5, wherein receiving placement data and the electronic address is performed by the source system automatically updating a database.

9. The automated proof of publication method of claim 5, wherein receiving the digital image of the page is performed by the source system automatically transmitting the digital image of the page.

10. The automated proof of publication method of claim 5, wherein receiving the digital image of the page is performed by retrieving the digital image of the page from the source system.

11. The automated proof of publication method of claim 5, further comprising the step of converting the digital image of the page to a predetermined file format.

12. The automated proof of publication method of claim 11 , wherein the predetermined file format is a PDF format.

13. The automated proof of publication method of claim 5, wherein the electronic address is selected from the group consisting of: an electronic mail address, a uniform resource locator, a file server, a fax number and an FTP address.

14. A electronic proof of publication server comprising: a computer readable medium; a processor; and computer executable instructions stored on the computer readable medium and executable by the processor to perform a method of generating an electronic proof of publication and electronically delivering the electronic proof of publication to an electronic address.

15. The electronic proof of publication server of claim 14, wherein the computer executable instructions stored on the computer readable medium further comprise instructions to use placement data stored on the computer readable medium to determine a name and a location for a file stored on the computer readable medium containing a digital image of a page.

16. The electronic proof of publication server of claim 15, wherein the computer executable instructions to generate the electronic proof of publication further comprise instructions to generate an electronic mail message and to attach the file containing the digital image of the page to the electronic mail message.

17. The electronic proof of publication server of claim 16, wherein the computer executable instructions to generate the electronic proof of publication further comprise instructions to attach a file containing placement data to the electronic mail message.

18. The electronic proof of publication server of claim 16, wherein the computer executable instructions to generate the electronic proof of publication further comprise instructions to insert placement data as text in the body of the electronic mail message.

19. The electronic proof of publication server of claim 15, wherein the computer executable instructions stored on the computer readable medium further comprise instructions to post to a Web site the file containing the digital image of the page.

20. The electronic proof of publication server of claim 15, wherein the computer executable instructions stored on the computer readable medium further comprise instructions to save to a file server the file containing the digital image of the page.

21. The electronic proof of publication server of claim 15, wherein the computer executable instructions stored on the computer readable medium further comprise instructions to convert the file containing the digital image of the page to a predetermined file format.

22. A computerized system for providing notification of publication, the computerized system comprising: a source system to maintain placement data for print media content and to generate a digital image of a page containing the print media content; and an electronic proof of publication system to provide notification that the print media content was published.

23. The computerized system of claim 22, further comprising a recipient system to receive and process the notification.

24. An advertisement verification data structure stored on a computer readable medium, the advertisement verification data structure comprising: a first field containing data representing placement information for content in a print media; a second field containing data representing a digital image of a page containing the content in the print media; and a third field containing data representing an electronic address for a recipient to receive the placement information in the first field and the digital image in the second field.

25. The advertisement verification data structure of claim 24, further comprising a fourth field containing data representing a link to one or more databases containing the first field, the second field or the third field.

26. The advertisement verification data structure of claim 25, further comprising a fifth field containing data representing an indicator that the recipient at the electronic address contained in the third field is to receive the placement information contained in the first field and the digital image contained in the second field.

27. An electronic proof of publication data structure stored on a computer readable medium, the electronic proof of publication data structure comprising: a first field containing data representing a digital image of a page containing content in a print media; and a second field containing data representing an electronic address for a recipient to receive the digital image of the page contained in the first field.

28. An electronic proof of publication data structure stored on a computer readable medium, the electronic proof of publication data structure comprising: a first field containing data representing placement information for content in a print media; and a second field containing data representing an electronic address for a recipient to receive the digital image of the page contained in the first field.

29. A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon for causing a computer to perform a method of generating and distributing an electronic proof of publication, the method comprising: receiving from a source system notification data and an electronic address for a recipient; generating an electronic proof of publication from the notification data and the electronic address; and electronically delivering the electronic proof of publication to the electronic address of the recipient.

30. A method of automatically sending an electronic proof of publication to the recipient, the method comprising: receiving, by an electronic proof of publication system, from a publisher system placement data and an electronic address for each advertisement having an electronic proof of publication indicator; receiving, by the electronic proof of publication system, from the publisher system a digital image of the page with the advertisement for each advertisement; converting the digital image to a predetermined file format; creating an electronic proof of publication containing placement data and the digital image of the page; and transmitting the electronic proof of publication to a recipient using electronic mail.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising: electronically assembling a plurality of pages of a print media; and updating one or more databases in the publisher system with placement information for the advertisements in the print media.

32. A method of creating an electronic proof of publication, the method comprising: using placement data to determine a filename for a file containing a digital image of print media content; locating the file with the filename; and attaching the file to an electronic mail message.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising: adding the placement data to a body of the electronic mail message.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising: attaching a second file containing the placement data to the electronic mail message.

35. A computerized system for providing notification of publication, the computerized system comprising: means for maintaining placement data for print media content and for generating a digital image of the print media content; and electronic proof of publication means for providing notification that the print media content was published.

36. The computerized system of claim 35, further comprising means for receiving the notification.

37. The computerized system of claim 36, further comprising means for processing the notification.