When Capture Becomes Rapture: Capturing Print Streams Effectively Can Help Your Business to Flourish

By Harold Hockman and Ron Rien, Optical Image Technology, Inc.

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Looking at a huge collection of data is much like navigating at sea through the fog. Without beacons to show the way, it is easy to get lost in a pool of data without finding the information you need.

While there are many ways to capture and classify the sea of information for an organization’s future use, one of the most underutilized methods that can help you stay afloat is by capturing your print streams. By electronically capturing the data that normally would be routed from a mainframe computer to a printer and creating reports that display the information needed, organizations can quickly access the data they need, analyze it, and eliminate a sea of paper.

If your business has already automated, you have a lot to celebrate, but unless you are able to use the captured data effectively and efficiently, you will not experience the full satisfaction or benefits you deserve for automating.

Taking Imaging to the Next Step: The Challenge

Once an organization has transitioned from storing its data in a sea of real paper to complete electronic storage of its documents, images, and business information, one might expect that the paper sea would end. While many businesses today achieve this first step, waves of paper – some nearing tidal waves - continue to be part of the business landscape at many organizations. Although they may have achieved the high level of data security and integrity that results from successful imaging projects, many continue to print reams of paper and sort through them manually for the information they need. Instead of eliminating or even reducing paper, companies too often create even more paper as they print data that often amounts to hundreds, or even thousands, of pages – even if they are only seeking a few pieces of information that are contained within those pages. The larger the amount of data that is stored and subsequently needed, the greater the problem becomes.

Using Electronic Pipelines to Flow Your Data

For any business, quick and reliable access to information is critical both for effective decision-making and also for cutting-edge customer service. We all know that in order to bring water to people who are distanced from its source, we rely upon well-constructed and leak-proof pipelines to deliver it. Capturing print streams is no different: the data “pipelines” carry directed streams of data to the printer that were requested by the user, thus flowing the data from its origin (the computer or mainframe) toward its intended destination (the printer). Before the data reaches the printer, however, other “pipelines” carry this same requested data to other electronic destinations, sorting out the desired sub-set of information and displaying it in reports, graphs, and other customized formats so the user can see the data exactly where and how he wants it. Instead of printing a 500-page report to locate two relevant pages that are needed for a customer, member of the staff, or even an auditor, the exact two pages that are needed can be located electronically in a fraction of the time and accessed electronically or printed, saving trees and time.

How it Works

Let’s examine how this works at a basic technical level. A computer outputs data into a steady stream in one of two standard forms: line data (a small, manageable stream of information that requires minimal storage space) or an all points addressable (APA) data stream (such as IBM AFP, Xerox Metacode/DJDE, Postscript/PDF, and PCL), which typically renders the information to visually pleasing portable document formats (PDFs) or TIFFs that are tamper-proof. Customized reports can even be pulled to a Web page for easy viewing from remote locations.

APAs are helpful to companies that need to view and assess the information routinely. Line data suffices for companies that only need access to the raw data, and do not need the data to be displayed in forms, charts, graphs, or other reports.

Because neither of these formats can be changed by the person viewing or processing the documents, companies have the ability to reproduce the reports they created previously whenever they need them. Examples might include printing a copy of invoices they sent previously to either a screen or on paper (also valuable if an error in a mass mailing has been detected subsequent to processing the mailing or billing), or reproducing an addendum to policies they previously issued. With COLD-ERM in place (referring to computer output to laser disk – enterprise report management, a term which remains although there are newer alternatives to laser disk output), pre-authorized staff can instantly access the information and documents they need by utilizing the indexing values within the metadata that describes both the files and their contents (indexing values enable the users to find information easily, like indices in an encyclopedia). Keywords, similar to those used in a search engine, are used to search the stored electronic files and find records that match the search criteria, and the data requested is available within seconds.

Adding Enterprise Reports Management and Workflow: From Capture to Rapture

Today’s Enterprise Report Management (ERM) technology effectively and electronically directs a business’s critical information to a central collection point, and makes it accessible to remote users at the point in the business process where they need the information by tying the records into automated workflow over the Web. Once a workflow is initiated (for example, a request to begin to process an insurance claim or send out a reminder for overdue invoices), the user can pull and attach documents that are needed from COLD storage and flow them through the system to workers or customers who need to review, approve, or otherwise act upon them.

While the idea of streamlining information is not new, today’s technology also makes it possible to compress files and subsequently send extremely large volumes of data electronically that were unthinkable even a few years ago. By adding automated workflow into the mix, the data that has been captured can be “re-captured” electronically, as well as the reports, graphs, and other documents that have been created and which reflect the selected data. The documents can then be pushed, or “flowed”, through a business process seamlessly.

Consider, for example, insurance or medical claims, student financial aid and enrollment forms, or patient admission records. Once the paper documents have been scanned through a quality imaging system or produced electronically online, the documents are then housed in a central electronic storage repository. Like rivers flowing from different geographic areas into the same ocean, data can enter the system from a variety of locations and through a variety of tools (scanning/imaging, XML forms, etc.), but it is all collected and stored in the same storage pool. Let’s say that the business then needs to have a report of all of the documents that require a particular transaction within a specific timeframe (for example, within a three-month period), and the names and addresses of all of the individuals that meet the specified criteria, and needs some data about the individual or transaction from a related document that has been in storage. For document-intensive operations such as claims processing, loan processing, or financial aid processing, the printed reports of all of the complete, relevant records could be massive, while the few lines of data that are actually needed from within each person’s record could be minimal.

By capturing the applicable records in their entirety, but extracting only the lines of information from those records that are pertinent, and then electronically sending this data to a pre-customized report, the user can obtain a 100% match of what was needed. Let’s assume the user selects a further subset of those individuals’ records and decides that the individuals to whom the documents belong should receive a certain letter and those supporting documents. By capturing this stream of information and initiating a workflow command, he can automatically send the data with the appropriate requests through the system to the person(s) responsible for further processing, ensuring that the right customers obtain the right letters as quickly as possible.

When electronic signature capability is added to the mix, the automated workflow can request documents stored in the COLD system and send them on for needed signatures. Imagine a change in a policy or a series of letters authorizing a loan – instead of printing and sending them in the mail for needed signatures, the relevant documents, or even pages, can be sent electronically for internal signatures, and subsequently forwarded to the appropriate customers for countersignatures.

Stepping Back in Time: The Way We Were

To understand just how far technology has brought us in terms of navigating the seas of information that continue to grow around us, it is worth taking a moment to step back and reflect on former pools of data and how we used to navigate them. If we understand the process that started back in the 1960’s, we can understand that today’s system reflects those processes, which were revolutionary at the time, and which now can be done at lightning speed.

In the early days, information was entered onto 3 x 5 cards that were stacked in groups of fifty and had holes punched in them; these holes each stood for a specific data set. All customers from a certain state might have had a hole punched through their card toward the upper left of the card; all customers who had been customers for more than ten years might have a hole punched through their cards at the lower left; etc. A metal rod could be inserted through all cards that had a hole at a certain location, so that these records could be pulled when that data set, or information, was required – for example, if all customers from California required a customized letter. Although the method worked well for its time, it was dependent upon correct card punching and was very labor-intensive, and only provided a limited amount of sorted data because it was so cumbersome.

With the ensuing microfilm system, basic indexing of information was achieved by adding informational keys or codes onto the individual frames of the filmed documents. A powerful light bulb shone on the frames of film and a receiver searched for pre-specified data. While the method worked reasonably well, the film was not always easy to read, and the quality of the film (and thus the data) deteriorated over time, making long-term storage questionable. It also required substantial physical storage, like the method that preceded it.

In the 1950’s and 60’s, mainframes entered the scene, enabling the electronic storage of information. In these early years, large rooms were needed even to store less than 20k of information, making this solution impractical and unaffordable for most businesses. By the late 70’s, computers had advanced to storing megabytes of information – thousands of times more than in the 50’s and 60’s. Computerized storage repositories required a decreasing amount of physical space, making electronic storage viable for an ever-increasing number of organizations. Large financial institutions (particularly banks) drove the changes because of their need for quick and efficient access to information due to the large volume of nightly, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports they were required to generate. They needed the print streams to be archived and accessible permanently, and line data ensured far greater flexibility, accessibility, and security than all systems that preceded it. Even today, COLD users tend to be organizations that store huge amounts of data, but they are no longer just banks. Schools storing student records, governments storing vendor information, insurance carriers storing policies and financial data, and others benefit by capturing their print streams and displaying data when they need it and in the desired formats.

When COLD-ERM was introduced in the last quarter of the twentieth century, the goal was to enable greater accessibility to data and more efficient searching within the document contents by using key words. Line data enabled information to be captured and recalled electronically, eliminating the storage problems associated with cards, microfiche and microfilm. Problems associated with manual keying errors vanished when information could be “photographed” directly from the source with sophisticated imaging products. Although this eliminated errors, the files containing the data were often huge, and the mainframes still required considerable storage, equating to the size of small warehouses.

By the last decade of the twentieth century, cutting-edge software vendors had figured out how to compress the data so that larger amounts of data could be processed and could travel more quickly to a printer. The abilities to store and flow large amounts of data effectively without requiring large amounts of physical storage for mainframes revolutionized the industry. This enabled software vendors to reexamine the real need in business: to retrieve exactly the information a business needs within seconds of a request, and to display it in the way a manager or user needs to see it, WITHOUT needing to produce reams of paper to gain access to the data. If a business had a clear vision of what it needed, it was no longer just a pipedream to obtain it.

Maximizing ERM & Workflow Today

Businesses that produce routine reports or need to send a series of standardized documents to customers (such as overdue premium notices or bills) benefit greatly by capturing print streams and directing them to an electronic storage repository so that they can be accessed and flowed through the business when and where they are needed. Examples include financial institutions that produce daily or other regular reports; insurance agencies sending policies to clients; companies producing trial balances and audit reports internally; or invoices. Instead of merely capturing the data contained in these documents or reports and then printing them, the information is indexed, compressed to ensure that the maximum allowable data flows through the pipeline, and the data streams are captured for electronic storage or burned to CD-ROMs instead of being sent to a printer. This combination of imaging (capturing documents and images electronically), electronically capturing streams of data originally destined for a printer, and automated workflow has enabled an increasing number of organizations to become virtually paperless.

Just like a printed encyclopedia or a card catalog in a public library, it is critical for a business to index its data systematically based on how it wants to search the information when it needs to be retrieved. If the receipt date of a document is important, or a person’s last name, or the amount of an invoice, then the system needs to be set up to find documents using these criteria. Careful indexing enables a business to be the master over its data sea rather than the sea overwhelming their business in a tidal wave of potentially useful – but inaccessible – information. When the data is indexed, storing it at a high compression rate ensures that the masses of high-density information get to the intended destination intact. Some vendors have taken this one step further by indexing information into bar codes that are attached to inventory, and from which information that is needed can then be extracted. A common application is in manufacturing, where workers learn information about the origin or the quantity of available merchandise by reading the bar codes with their hand-held PDAs (personal digital assistants) to view the corresponding data.

Navigating Uncharted Seas: It’s All in the Stars

Technology continues to advance at lightning speed, driven by the needs and demands of business. While the boundaries of the uncharted seas of technology are not yet defined, the seas are bound to be filled with increasingly powerful computers that process information at quicker speeds while being housed in products as small as a wristwatch, and more will be possible with wireless technology. The beauty of COLD is that it is compatible with changing technologies. Despite the rapid advances since COLD begin several decades ago, even old reports today remain available when needed, a real attraction for organizations that need to look back occasionally while moving forward. Managers who capture their print streams effectively with COLD will be able to tap into information and reports long into the future, when today’s reports are deemed ancient – but not forgotten – history.

Summary – Charting and Mastering the Seas

Businesses that produce and acquire a large volume of documents, images and e-mails and which need to draw valuable data from these materials can benefit greatly from capturing their print streams and directing the data into places where it is needed, in the types of formats that are most pertinent and helpful to the user. By tapping into the power of a steady, uninterrupted and reliable flow of useful information, business managers can chart and master their seas of data with success rather than drowning in them.

For information about Optical Image Technology’s document management solutions, including DocFinity® COLD-ERM, DocFinity Workflow, DocFinity Electronic Signature Server, DocFinity Barcode Server, the imaging and Web services in the DocFinity Core, and other products, please visit the appropriate product pages on our website at www.docfinity.com, or contact our sales team at info@docfinity.com.

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