Abstract:
An improved system and method for procuring printed materials over a network, e.g., the Internet is described. In one implementation, a print material procurement system includes software configured to: receive profile information from a particular customer. And in response to the profile information and without any user intervention, automatically: serve, to a client computer, a Web browser page with a graphical image of printed material particularly associated with the customer. The Web browser page contains icons permitting a user of the client computer to view, proof and/or order one or more types of printed material with one or more portions of the profile information displayed as part of the graphical image of the printed material. This abstract itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. The scope of the present invention is pointed out in the appending claims.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/375,685, entitled Printed Materials Procurement System, filed on Apr. 26, 2002, which is incorporated herein its entirety. 
     
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to computer software systems and, more particularly, to systems for procuring printed materials.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0003]    Procurement systems are being developed that utilize the World Wide Web (Web) to allow purchasers to order printed materials. Typically, a purchaser accesses these systems over the Web using a Web browser (browser). These procurement systems generate Web pages (pages) that are transferred over the Web and viewed by the purchaser on the browser running on the purchaser&#39;s computer. These procurement systems suffer from three main limitations. First, they are inefficient; second, they are incompatible with many business-to-business (B2B) purchasing systems; and third, they do not completely automate the procurement of printed materials.  
           [0004]    Existing procurement systems are inefficient in terms of order entry and review. Order entry and review is hampered by inefficiently designed pages that require numerous pages (typically eight or more) to be viewed by the purchaser to place an order. In addition, orders are not summarized in a manner that can be quickly reviewed for confirmation by the purchaser. Existing procurement systems are also incompatible with many B2B purchasing systems because they are not adapted for use with any B2B purchasing system or they are specifically designed for use with one specific B2B purchasing system. Many companies have adopted Web-enabled B2B purchasing systems offered by such companies as Ariba, Clarus, Commerce. Since companies preferably use their selected B2B purchasing systems for making purchases, they are unlikely to procure printed material from procurement systems that are incompatible with their existing B2B purchasing systems. Accordingly, sales may be lost if a procurement system is incompatible with the B2B purchasing system of a company. Existing procurement systems also are not completely automated to include order processing, typesetting, proofing, and imposition of printed materials for printing, and remain labor-intensive and costly.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0005]    An improved system and method for procuring printed materials over a network, e.g., the Internet is described. In one implementation, a print material procurement system includes software configured to: receive profile information from a particular customer. And in response to the profile information and without any user intervention, automatically: serve, to a client computer, a Web browser page with a graphical image of printed material particularly associated with the customer. The Web browser page contains icons permitting a user of the client computer to view, proof and/or order one or more types of printed material with one or more portions of the profile information displayed as part of the graphical image of the printed material.  
           [0006]    The aforementioned problems are, therefore, overcome by allowing a buyer to enter orders directly into a printer&#39;s workflow environment using display screens that present information to the purchaser such that fewer display screens are needed for receiving and processing orders. This simplifies the order process. Moreover, order processing, typesetting, proofing, and imposition are automated. Orders may be received over the network from purchasers using Web browsers or through business-to-business (B2B) purchasing systems. The system improves order accuracy and corporate compliance, simplifies billing requirements, and tightens the overall delivery cycle. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a typical environment in which a printed material procurement system in accordance with the present invention may be practiced.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 illustrates a method for a purchaser or B2B purchaser of printed materials to accesses the procurement system and order printed materials.  
         [0010]    FIGS.  3 A- 3 G are illustrative web pages for display to a purchaser to retrieve information associated with the steps of FIG. 2.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a method for processing a printed material order for printing. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 depicts a typical environment  100  in which the present invention may be practiced. The environment  100  includes a server  102  housing a procurement system  104  for processing and fulfilling orders for printed materials, a client  106 , a printer  108 , and a network  110 , e.g., the Internet. In a general overview, the client  106  orders printed materials by communicating over the network  110  with the procurement system  104  residing on the server  102 . The procurement system  104  then fulfills the order by processing the order information for printing at the printer  108 .  
         [0013]    The client  106  is a conventional computing device. In a preferred embodiment, the client  106  supports a Web browser (browser)  112  that enables a purchaser  114  to accesses the procurement system  104  over the network  110  and/or supports a B2B purchasing system  116 , such as Ariba, Clarus, Commerce One, or m{haeck over (e)}tiom, that enables a purchaser who uses the B2B purchasing system, i.e., a B2B purchaser  118 , to access the procurement system  104 . The browser  112  is a conventional Web browser. The client  106  may be essentially any processing device for presenting visual and/or audio content including, but not limited to, a desktop computer, laptop computer, handheld device, personal digital assistant (PDA), etc.  
         [0014]    The server  102  is a conventional server computer that includes a Web server and an application server, which enable communications over the network  112  between the procurement system  104  and the Web browser  112  and/or the B2B purchasing system  116 . The procurement system  104  is a computer software system that develops and serves information, such as HTML documents, for display at the client  106  and retrieves information from the client  106  that is related to ordering printed materials.  
         [0015]    In a preferred embodiment, the computer software system is compatible with a plurality of B2B purchasing systems  116 , such as Ariba, Clarus, Commerce One, and m{haeck over (e)}tiom. In addition, the computer software system is preferably capable of processing the order for printing. In the illustrated embodiment, the server  102  includes a conventional storage device  120  for storing information relating to the ordering of printed materials. In a preferred embodiment, the procurement system  104  is built upon Microsoft&#39;s Commerce Server and information management on the storage device  120  is implemented using Microsoft&#39;s SQL Server.  
         [0016]    The printer  108  prints orders for printed materials processed by the procurement system  104 . The printer  108  may be a conventional printer such as an Imagesetter printer or a digital image (DI) printer such as a Heidelburg printer. The printer  108  may support various printing techniques that include, but are not limited to, engraving, embossing, foil stamping, die cutting, sheet fed and web fed thermography, lithography, and holography. The printed materials may include by way of example, but are not limited to, stationery, business cards, envelopes, business forms, checks and security documents, Post-It-Notes®, and merchandising specialties.  
         [0017]    Although shown in server  104 , procurement system  104  can reside in other locations or as part of one or more applications, such as part of the operating system or independently as separate code on a computer-readable medium that executes in conjunction with a virtual object, hardware, and/or firmware device. In the exemplary implementation, procurement system  104  resides as a component in the form of computer-executable instructions and/or logic within a storage device accessible by a processor(s) operating on server  102 , that when executed serves as a procurement system for server  102 .  
         [0018]    An implementation of exemplary subject matter using a procurement system  104  as described above may be stored on or transmitted across some form of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise “computer storage media” and “communications media.” 
         [0019]    “Computer storage media” include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, software, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computer.  
         [0020]    “Communication media” typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as carrier wave or other transport mechanism. Communication media also includes any information delivery media.  
         [0021]    The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above are also included within the scope of computer readable media.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 2 illustrates a method  200  for a purchaser or B2B purchaser of printed materials to accesses the procurement system and order printed materials. Method  200  includes blocks  202  through  214 . The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation. Furthermore, the method can be implemented by procurement system  104 , but may also be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.  
         [0023]    In a preferred use, the typical environment of FIG. 1 enables the preferred method  200  of FIG. 2 to be performed. Accessing the procurement system, the purchaser may enter an order, view an image of the printed materials ordered, and submit the order for processing through pages served (i.e., rendered by the server) to the client by the procurement system. The procurement system may then fulfill the order for printed materials as will be described in reference to FIG. 4 below.  
         [0024]    At block  202 , the procurement system serves a login page to a client to receive login information from a purchaser. At block  204 , a profile page is served to the client to receive profile information from the purchaser. At block  206 , display product pages are served to the client to receive product selections from the purchaser. At block  208 , a proof page is served to the client to receive proofing information for product selections from the purchaser. At block  210 , a preliminary order page is served to the client to receive preliminary approval from the purchaser. At block  212 , a shipping page is served to the client to receive shipping information from the purchaser. At block  214 , an order confirmation page is served to the client to receive order confirmation from the purchaser. The pages may be developed and served for viewing on a browser using conventional programming techniques including: caching, dynamic page development, vector graphics, etc.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3A depicts an illustrative login page  300  displayed on a browser at a client for a purchaser accessing the procurement system using a browser. The purchaser accesses the login page  300  by entering the universal resource locator (URL) of the procurement systems into an address field of the browser. The procurement system serves the login page to the client in response to the purchaser attempting to access the procurement system. In a preferred embodiment, login information including a user ID and an optional password are required to validate the purchaser for access to the procurement system. The login page  300  includes a User ID text entry box  302 , a password text entry box  304 , and a login button  306  for receiving the required login information. In addition, the login page  300  may contain additional textual information and/or graphics  308 . Login information is preferably received from the purchaser by displaying the login page  300  on the purchaser&#39;s browser to solicit the login information, relying on the purchaser to enter the login information into the text entry fields  302  and  304 , and processing the information entered into the text entry field  302  and  304  after the purchaser selects the login button  306  with a pointing device such as a mouse. If the purchaser is a B2B purchaser accessing the procurement system through a B2B purchasing system, the login procedure is invisible to the B2B purchaser and validation is done seamlessly using known message processing techniques.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3B depicts an illustrative profile page  310  for displaying, adding, and selecting profile information. The profile information defines the imprint variables, such as name, title, address, and phone number, that will be imprinted on printed materials being ordered through the procurement system. The profile information is specific to an individual or group of individuals. In a preferred embodiment, each profile may be used for multiple ordered products and multiple profiles may be used for each order. Preferably, the profile is stored on a storage device for future or repeat orders.  
         [0027]    The profile page  310  is displayed to the purchaser and the B2B purchaser after they are validated by the procurement system. In a preferred embodiment, after validation, the procurement system serves the profile page to the client. The profile page  310  includes a profile display box  312  which displays the name of an individual or group of individuals who&#39;s profile information is presently displayed. The profile display box  312  is preferably a drop down menu containing the names of other individuals or groups of individuals that may be selected for display of their profile information. The purchaser may select a profile for display from the drop down menu. In one embodiment, a profile indicator associated with a selected profile is generated by the procurement system when another page of the procurement system is requested, such as the product selection page (see FIG. 3C).  
         [0028]    The profile information preferably consists of an individual&#39;s or group&#39;s name displayed in name text boxes  314  and the individual&#39;s or group&#39;s associated academic/professional title, address, and contact information that are displayed in academic/professional title text boxes  316 , address text boxes  318 , and contact information text boxes  320 , respectively. An individual&#39;s or group of individual&#39;s profile data may be updated by entering information into the text boxes  314 - 320  and selecting the save button  322 . Individuals may be added to the drop down menu associated with profile display box  312  by entering information in a search/add text entry box  324 . If an entry is not found, an entry can be added using text boxes  314 - 320  in the same manner as profile information is updated. In the illustrated embodiment, a cost center text entry box  325  is provided for receiving cost center information.  
         [0029]    The illustrative profile page  310 , as well as most pages associated with the procurement system, further contains a header navigation bar  326  and a side navigation bar  328 . The header navigation bar  326  contains selection text indicators, such as shopping cart  326   a,  check out  326   b,  and profile  326   c,  that can be selected by positioning a selection device over the text for accessing different pages. Selecting shopping cart  326   a  will access a shopping cart page (see FIG. 3E), selecting check out will access a shipping page (see FIG. 3F), and selecting profile  326   c  will access the profile page  310 . The side navigation bar  328  contains selection text indicators such as product selection indicators  328   a  and selection buttons such as a profile button  328   b,  a shipping button  328   c,  a new order button  328   d,  and a history button  328   e.  Selecting the product selection indicators  328   a  will access product selection pages (see FIG. 3C), selecting the profile button  328   b  will access the profile page  310 , selecting the shipping button  328   c  will access the shipping page (see FIG. 3G), selecting the new order button  328   d  will start a new order, and selecting the history box  328   e  will display a page listing past orders. In a preferred embodiment, the profile for an individual listed in the profile display text box  312  is selected when the name of the individual or group of individuals is listed in the profile display text box  312  and the purchaser selects a product selection indicator  328   d.    
         [0030]    It should noted that the “selection text indicators,” described herein, maybe implemented as “buttons,” and “buttons” described herein, may be implemented as “selection text indicators.” Moreover, selection text indicators or buttons may be implemented as any type of icon. For example, selection text indicators or buttons may be implemented as symbols with or without text. Also, selection text indicators or buttons may be implemented as a link to other Web pages or Internet sites.  
         [0031]    Alternatively, profile information as well as information associated with a purchase for printed material can be received via electronic mail (e-mail) and parsed by procurement system  104 . The parsing function involves identifying a user/customer, profile information (if any), and quantity and type of materials ordered (if any).  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 3C depicts an illustrative product selection page  330  for displaying products at a client for selection by a purchaser. In a preferred embodiment, the procurement system serves product selection pages to the client when the product selection page  330  is requested, e.g., by selecting a product selection indicator  328   a  in the side navigation bar  328 . The product selection page  330  includes a text box  332  which displays the individual or group of individuals who&#39;s profile was selected. In the illustrated embodiment, the text box  332  contains a drop down menu. In one embodiment, the individual or group of individuals may be changed, thereby changing the profile indicator, by selecting another individual or group of individuals from the drop down menu. The product selection text indicators  328   a  are used to control the products displayed on the product selection page  330 . For example selecting “All Products” will display business cards, letter head, etc. On the other hand, selecting “Business Card” will display only business cards. In a preferred embodiment, images for each product are displayed on the product selection page  330 . In the illustrated embodiment, special features may be specified. For example, whether a Snoopy™ character is displayed on a business card  338  is indicated by selecting yes/no from an Imprint Snoopy selection box  334 . In the illustrated web page  330 , a product is selected by selecting a preview button associated with the product, such as the preview button  336  associated with the business card  338 . When a product is selected by the purchaser, a product selection indicator is generated at the procurement system. In one embodiment, the product selection indicator is generated and transferred to the procurement system in response to the selection of a preview button associated with a selected product, such as the preview button  336  associated with the business card  338 .  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 3D depicts an illustrative proofing page  340 . In a preferred embodiment, the procurement system serves the proofing page to the client in response to receiving a product selection indicator, e.g., in response to the selection of a preview button  336  (FIG. 3C) associated with the product. The proofing page  340  depicts a graphical image of the product to be proofed that contains applicable profile information for a selected profile, such as the graphical image  342  for a business card  338  containing profile information  344 . This allows the actual product containing profile information to be displayed over the network, i.e., on-line, for proofing prior to ordering. In one embodiment, the graphical image  342  is a conventional graphics file such as a GIF or jpg file. In an alternative embodiment, the graphical image  342  is created using vector graphics, which allow the graphical image  342  to appear exactly as it will appear when printed and further allows the graphical image to be resized. The depicted product may be selected for ordering by selecting the add to cart indicator  346  or the add/check out indicator  348 . Selecting the add to cart indicator  346  will retain the order information and display the product selection page  330  (FIG. 3C) for selection of another product. Selecting the add/check out indicator  348  will access a preliminary order information page, i.e., a “shopping cart” (see FIG. 3E). In a preferred embodiment, when a product is ordered by the purchaser, a product order indicator associated with the selected product is generated by the procurement system. In one embodiment, the product order indicator is generated at the procurement system in response to the selection of an add to cart or add/check indicator such as the add to cart indicator  346  or the add/check out indicator  348 .  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 3E depicts an illustrative preliminary order page  350 , i.e., a “shopping cart,” for displaying ordered products. In a preferred embodiment, the procurement system serves the preliminary order page  350  to the client in response to selecting the shopping cart indicator  326   a  in the header navigator bar  326  associated with the procurement system. For each ordered product, the web page  350  displays a graphical image  352  of the product containing profile imprint information and additional ordering information  354  such as quantity, description, and part number. By selecting the graphical image  352  with a selection device such as a mouse, the graphical image  342  (FIG. 3D) used for proofing will be displayed. The products listed on the preliminary web page are approved by the purchaser by selecting the checkout button  356 , which will access a shipping web page (see FIG. 3F). The preliminary order page  350  provides a centralized location for quickly and easily viewing the order in detail, including the information that will actually be printed on the printed materials.  
         [0035]    In addition, the order page  350  includes an e-mail information area  376  for selecting an e-mail address or entering an e-mail address to be used for purchaser confirmation purposes.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 3F depicts an illustrative shipping page  358  for receiving ship-to information from the purchaser. In a preferred embodiment, the procurement system serves the shipping page to the client in response to the purchaser selecting a checkout button  356  (FIG. 3E). The purchaser enters ship-to information, which is preferably saved on a storage device for future use. The shipping page  358  contains shipping information text entry boxes  360  for receiving ship-to information such as address, city, state, and zip code. The ship-to information is selected and saved by selecting the save indicator  362 .  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 3G depicts a confirmation page  370  for receiving confirmation information from the purchaser related to ordered printed materials. In a preferred embodiment, the procurement system serves the confirmation page to the client in response to selecting the save indicator  362  (FIG. 3F) on the shipping page  358 . In the illustrated embodiment, the confirmation page  370  includes shipping information  372  and ordered product information  374 . In certain embodiments, if the purchaser is a B2B purchaser, when the B2B purchaser selects the confirm indicator on the confirmation page, information will be transferred to a B2B purchasing system to retrieve necessary approvals. In the B2B environment, the ordered printed materials are not confirmed until a predefined approval indicator is received at the procurement system from the B2B purchasing system.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 4 is a method  400  for processing a printed material order for printing. Method  400  includes blocks  406  through  426 . The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation. Furthermore, the method can be implemented by procurement system  104 , but may also be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.  
         [0039]    After the order for printed materials is confirmed, confirmation is sent to the purchaser, the order is scheduled, and the order is prepared for printing. Customer confirmation and scheduling are performed separately from the preparation of the order for printing as indicated by the first path  402  for customer confirmation and scheduling and the second path  404  for order printing preparation.  
         [0040]    In the first path  402 , confirmation of the order is sent to the purchaser and the order is scheduled. The customer confirmation at block  406  includes the generation of a paper copy to be sent to the purchaser and may include the generation of an e-mail to be sent to the purchaser at block  408 . At block  410 , the order is scheduled. The scheduling includes allocating resource to the order and interfacing with an accounting module. At block  412 , a job ticket is generated that groups orders and assigns the grouped orders to a printer for printing. In a preferred embodiment, the procurement systems generates the job ticket.  
         [0041]    In the second path  404 , the order is prepared for printing. At block  414 , a digital document such as a PDF file is generated. The digital document is an image of the information that will be printed on a product within the order. In one embodiment, imprint information from the order is systematically merged with predefined templates of the ordered item to produce the digital document.  
         [0042]    At block  416 , the digital document is verified and converted for printing. In a preferred embodiment, the digital document is verified for inconsistencies. In addition, the colors are converted from Web RGB to specific Pantone or Process Color color formats for printing. Also, fonts are imbedded and optimized for print quality. The verified and converted digital document is then stored in a specific customer folder on a storage device at block  418 .  
         [0043]    At block  420 , the first and second paths  402 ,  404  are combined to impose the verified and converted digital document onto a master template. In a preferred embodiment, the converted digital documents are imposed on the master template by product type and quantity.  
         [0044]    At blocks  422  and  424 , the converted document is RIP processed and printed, respectively. At block  422 , the imposition performed at  420  is verified and checked for specific processing requirements. If the converted document is to be printed on a digital imaging (DI) printer (e.g., a Heidelburg DI printer), the converted document is passed to the DI printer for printing. On the other hand, if the converted document is to be printed on a non-DI printer (e.g., an Imagesetter), the converted document is further converted to a non-DI compatible format such as PostScript. In addition, processing may be performed to separate colors for printing. For example, if the printer prints one color at a time and a business card with two colors (e.g., black and blue) is to be printed, the black portions are separated from the blue portions to create two separate films that are used by the printer in two steps to deliver a business card having two colors.  
         [0045]    At block  426 , the converted document is archived on a storage device for use at a later date. The archived document may be used for future product orders and for reprinting products that were incomplete due to mechanical failures.  
         [0046]    Besides using a web browser as a basis to submit print orders as described above, it is also possible for procurement system  104  to receive email message order from purchaser  114  and/or B2B purchaser  118 . The e-mail message can then be parsed for information to determine the order, such as, but not limited to, indicating product information to be ordered, quantity of printed material, shipping address, account information, and so forth.  
         [0047]    Although the invention has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claimed invention.