Hierarchical Specification for Combined Print Product Workflows
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for creating and processing combined print products are incomplete, as they fail to provide a structured overview of the production process for operators, especially when dealing with multiple sub-products that require both printing and finishing actions, often omitting crucial digital and physical resources.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced that creates a digital hierarchical structure to organize production parts into categories such as devices, actions, resources, and logical concepts, allowing for a user-friendly interface to visualize and manage the production process of combined print products, enabling flexible arrangement and combination of parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a workflow system comprises printing and finishing actions, then the production process is defined, but the printing device and finishing device are not determined, making it incomplete
Solution Approach 1:
The workflow specification is segmented into distinct components: printing actions, finishing actions, and device assignments. Each action type can be independently defined and then linked to specific devices, allowing the workflow to be built step-by-step without requiring complete device information upfront.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows preliminary definition of printing and finishing actions before device assignment. Users can first outline the production steps needed, then subsequently assign appropriate devices to each action, separating the planning phase from the device configuration phase.
2Device complexity
If digital resources and physical resources are omitted from the workflow system, then the system remains simple, but the overview for operators becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges digital resources (documents, images) and physical resources (media, finished products) into a single unified workflow model. This integration allows operators to view and manage all resources within one interface, eliminating the need to switch between separate systems while maintaining a clean, organized structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The workflow system is designed to handle multiple resource types (digital and physical) through a universal interface and data structure. The same workflow framework accommodates printing actions on digital documents, finishing actions on physical media, and the interconnections between them, providing a multi-functional solution.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the combined print product comprises multiple sub-products, then the product functionality is enhanced, but the specification and overview become cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The combined print product is segmented into distinct sub-products, each with its own printing and finishing actions. The system recursively processes each sub-product independently, allowing complex multi-product workflows to be broken down into manageable, standardized units that can be specified using the same template.
Solution Approach 2:
The workflow specification uses a nested structure where combined print products contain sub-products, which themselves may contain further nested elements. This hierarchical organization allows the system to manage complexity by nesting similar structures within each other, with each level following the same specification pattern.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for creating and processing specifications for a combined print product includes determining a plurality of parts needed to produce the combined print product, selecting a corresponding digital representation of the determined part from a digital representation collection, displaying the digital representations, and creating a digital hierarchical structure of the digital representations. An order in the digital hierarchical structure defines usage of the parts, appliance of the parts and a combination of the parts in a production process of the combined print product. Each part of the plurality of parts belongs to a part category out of a set of part categories, and the plurality of parts includes at least two resources, at least one device action, at least one finishing action, at least one combination action, at least one device and at least two logical concepts. A combined print product processing system is configured to apply the method.