Output Processing

We define Output Processing (OPS) as the generation of tasks or documents that are then automatically sent to a specific destination. This can be, for example, a label that is output from a printer, but also a PDF document that is generated and then sent by email. The decisive factor is the automation of a "job".

Our in-house developed workflow first transfers a job created by a hardware device to the Azure Cloud, where it is processed in a database and only then "played back" to the device. This allows asynchronous job processing, which favors the so-called "fire and forget" model.

Fire and forget

Jobs can be cached in a queue by relocating them to the cloud. This means that the user no longer has to wait for a job to be fully processed before initiating the next. "Fire and forget" means that a job is processed and executed within a predefined time. If this does not happen, the user can assume that his job has failed and he must repeat it (a "printer queue" does not exist in this case - if the document does not come out of the printer within e.g. 2 seconds, the job has failed and can simply be restarted). In addition, this also significantly reduces the maintenance effort.

In the case of jobs where, for example, a file has been placed in a directory, notification of successful completion can be provided via a push message or an acoustic signal.
An explicit distinction is made between generation, sending and notification. This means that a generated PDF document can be sent as an e-mail at the same time, stored in the Output Processing Center and the user or the sovia system can be informed of the completion of the print job by a notification.
Another advantage of cloud-based output processing is its flexibility. A wide variety of jobs can be created from the InStore Assistant with just one click - regardless of whether it involves sending a customer invoice by email, generating a customer card, or automatically storing a PDF in a defined storage location. A mixture of static and variable content (e.g. e-mail with text and HTML body) can also be mapped in this way.

Print jobs with an output of up to 500,000 labels per hour and a response time of less than 1 second can thus be implemented.

Depending on the application, the InStore Assistant recognizes which type of job can be created and provides the corresponding selection options. All specifications can be individually adapted to the wishes of the customer.