Instant printing innovators cut prepress time in half with Adobe PDF Transit.

Company Profile

The Printing House (TPH) operates a network of 60 company-owned branches across Canada. Founded in 1961, The Printing House was one of the first print providers in Canada to pioneer on-demand printing. “Even way back in the 1960s,” quipped Richard Bethell, software development manager at TPH, “customers wanted to take delivery of at least a portion of their printing right away, without waiting weeks for the entire run to be finished. TPH saw an opportunity and developed a new methodology: deliver the run in batches to satisfy this need. In fact, we coined the term ‘Instant Printing’ to describe this process.”

Challenges Faced

Support the diverse computer applications and platforms used by customers
Today, on-demand, “instant” printing is taken for granted, but TPH continues to pioneer new methods and technologies to satisfy the needs of their customers. TPH was one of the first to implement a web-based job submission system, called TPH Direct. Using this system, TPH customers can submit their files and enter their orders directly via the Internet.

This presented a challenge to TPH. “Taking in application files means we have to maintain all the computer platforms and applications used by our customers,” says Bethel. “This constitutes a huge overhead, not only in terms of computer hardware, OS upgrades, application upgrades, and so on, but also in terms of employee expertise and training. It is a constant battle to keep up to date with everything our customers are using. With Adobe PDF Transit, we only have to keep up to date with one file format on our platform of choice. It is easy to see that Adobe PDF Transit will eventually relieve that tremendous burden.”

Success Strategy

TPH turned to Adobe PDF Transit to address the issue of multiple applications. “We wanted a system that could be tied into the production systems of all our branches without additional training,” Bethell explained. “Because each branch has very different customers with different needs, we have to support a wide range of source applications from branch to branch. Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) is already a common denominator throughout the network of branches, so it was the obvious choice for file format. This, together with the other features offered by Adobe PDF Transit, made it a no-brainer.”

PDF Transit is an Adobe technology that enables print providers to supply their customers with a simple, intuitive way to make print-ready PDFs. The customer can use a desktop “printer” (a PDF Transit client) that has been downloaded from the print provider’s Web site. All the parameters necessary for creating a print-ready PDF file are embedded within the client so there are no options to choose and no mistakes to make.

Making a correct, encrypted Adobe PDF file is as simple as clicking Print from within any application; all fonts are automatically embedded, along with all graphics. After the Adobe PDF file has been proofed and approved by the customer, it is submitted, along with a job ticket, via the Internet. The print provider’s Adobe PDF Transit server receives the job automatically and generates an email to acknowledge receipt, and work begins.

Adobe PDF Transit is a simple but elegant solution to the thorny problem of electronic file submission: print providers are no longer required to take in application files with all the associated problems, and originators are no longer required to learn complicated procedures in order to submit their jobs.

Business Benefits

• Improved submission time to output device by 50%
• Reduced overhead with the elimination of multiple applications, hardware, and employee training across numerous store branches
• Increased customer satisfaction due to easier and more accurate job submission process

PDF Transit, in a test rollout, has already been a huge success for TPH. Bethell estimates jobs submitted using PDF Transit reach the output device in 50% of the time taken for other jobs. But there are other, less visible benefits as well. “We are used to taking in lots of application files, with lots of problems. Today there are no print buyers—people are buying their own print and generating their own files. Before using PDF Transit, getting a file without problems was a complete luxury,” said Bethell.

Customers of TPH have also praised the intuitive way they can now create PDF files and submit jobs. “There is simply nothing to it,” one customer reported. “Just click Print to create the PDF, send it to the proofer, fill out the job ticket, and click Submit. Done. Next…”

TPH ultimately plans to fully deploy Adobe PDF Transit enabling them to edge closer and closer to truly “Instant Printing.”

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