Typsetting via web form

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1

I’ve had a print company contact me about creating a system whereby clients can through a web form set their business cards, get a PDF proof of the finished cards, and then submit a purchase order for them. Something similar to http://www.vistaprint.com

Systems I’ve seen like this are either proprietary or ask for a share of your net income, so I’m not at all confident this is in this company’s reach. I just though I might throw this out at the community and see if anyone else might know of some options.

Ernie Simpson

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2

Similar to Vistaprint? Sounds labor intensive and expensive.

I looked into the pdf aspect for my own needs a couple years ago and found a nice and very robust server app (I can’t recall the name at the moment) for dynamically generating a pdf, but the license was (I think) around $5k. I can probably find the link if you’re interested. Let me know.

Todd

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3

Thanks Todd - I’ll bug you for a name or link once I can paint some options
for this 15-20 employee company.

One national company they print regional business cards for has taken all
the company cards in-house, using a large print company with a web-ordering
system like the one I referenced. Several of these print-service companies
(like Vistaprint) offer reseller arrangements (your brand, their setup) but
ask for a share of your net. This works for brokers, but not printers like
this client. I think they just want to thwart losses by being as convenient
as these other places.

–
Ernie Simpson

On Sun, Sep 14, 2014 at 11:50 PM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

Similar to Vistaprint? Sounds labor intensive and expensive.

I looked into the pdf aspect for my own needs a couple years ago and found
a nice and very robust server app (I can’t recall the name at the moment)
for dynamically generating a pdf, but the license was (I think) around $5k.
I can probably find the link if you’re interested. Let me know.

Todd
http://xiiro.com

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4

Sure, no problem.

It does have the appearance of some potentially serious technical work. Sounds like it could be fun. I hope it works out for you.

Todd

Thanks Todd - I’ll bug you for a name or link once I can paint some options
for this 15-20 employee company.

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5

There’s a very nice system called PrinceXML that I have used in the past. You feed it HTML, and it outputs a PDF that matches exactly. It’s not free, or cheap, but it is reliable and fairly tolerant of less-than-perfect input. I use it on the Online Library of Liberty system to generate PDF versions of the books they upload in XML. The result is lovely.

There’s a free version (with watermark on the first page) available, so you can test it out without a big investment. They have integration libraries for Ruby, PHP, Java, etc., so it can be slotted into any number of different application servers without too much drama.

You’re going to need an experienced programmer to do the actual integration, but you’ll be able to create the HTML templates yourself, so you won’t be entirely dealing with a black box.

As Todd already said, this looks to be a fun job.

Walter

On Sep 15, 2014, at 12:35 AM, Ernie Simpson email@hidden wrote:

Thanks Todd - I’ll bug you for a name or link once I can paint some options
for this 15-20 employee company.

One national company they print regional business cards for has taken all
the company cards in-house, using a large print company with a web-ordering
system like the one I referenced. Several of these print-service companies
(like Vistaprint) offer reseller arrangements (your brand, their setup) but
ask for a share of your net. This works for brokers, but not printers like
this client. I think they just want to thwart losses by being as convenient
as these other places.

–
Ernie Simpson

On Sun, Sep 14, 2014 at 11:50 PM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

Similar to Vistaprint? Sounds labor intensive and expensive.

I looked into the pdf aspect for my own needs a couple years ago and found
a nice and very robust server app (I can’t recall the name at the moment)
for dynamically generating a pdf, but the license was (I think) around $5k.
I can probably find the link if you’re interested. Let me know.

Todd
http://xiiro.com

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6

After Walter’s recommendation a few years ago I installed the free version for my own curiosity. After more than a little struggling (my programming skills back then were still in their infancy) I was able to get it working.

PrinceXML is indeed a nice product, so much so that I (still) wish I could justify the expense for my personal needs. The thought of trying to build a similarly appointed and refined product from the ground-up would certainly be labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive for all but the most serious and well-heeled of clients. When viewed in those terms the entry point of $3.8k seems like a bargain.

Todd

There’s a free version (with watermark on the first page) available, so you can test it out without a big investment.

You’re going to need an experienced programmer to do the actual integration, but you’ll be able to create the HTML templates yourself, so you won’t be entirely dealing with a black box.

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7

There are a couple of open-source HTML-to-PDF converters out there, but they are seriously hard to use, and janky, to boot. Imagine typesetting from the perspective of early ‘80s CompuGraphic, and you’ll know what I mean. (It made DOS WordStar look like a Mac.) My friend Ron calls it “knitting while wearing boxing gloves”.

Walter

On Sep 16, 2014, at 6:47 PM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

After Walter’s recommendation a few years ago I installed the free version for my own curiosity. After more than a little struggling (my programming skills back then were still in their infancy) I was able to get it working.

PrinceXML is indeed a nice product, so much so that I (still) wish I could justify the expense for my personal needs. The thought of trying to build a similarly appointed and refined product from the ground-up would certainly be labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive for all but the most serious and well-heeled of clients. When viewed in those terms the entry point of $3.8k seems like a bargain.

Todd
http://xiiro.com

There’s a free version (with watermark on the first page) available, so you can test it out without a big investment.

You’re going to need an experienced programmer to do the actual integration, but you’ll be able to create the HTML templates yourself, so you won’t be entirely dealing with a black box.

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8

I haven’t looked at any of those open-source converters but I’ll take your word for it.

On a slight tangent, I’m surprised by the number of PHP DIY tutorials for generating pdfs on-the-fly. I’m not sure but I suspect these tutorials are probably simpler and less elegant solutions compared to something like Prince.

Todd

There are a couple of open-source HTML-to-PDF converters out there, but they are seriously hard to use, and janky, to boot. Imagine typesetting from the perspective of early ‘80s CompuGraphic, and you’ll know what I mean. (It made DOS WordStar look like a Mac.) My friend Ron calls it “knitting while wearing boxing gloves”.

Walter

On Sep 16, 2014, at 6:47 PM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

After Walter’s recommendation a few years ago I installed the free version for my own curiosity. After more than a little struggling (my programming skills back then were still in their infancy) I was able to get it working.

PrinceXML is indeed a nice product, so much so that I (still) wish I could justify the expense for my personal needs. The thought of trying to build a similarly appointed and refined product from the ground-up would certainly be labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive for all but the most serious and well-heeled of clients. When viewed in those terms the entry point of $3.8k seems like a bargain.

Todd
http://xiiro.com

There’s a free version (with watermark on the first page) available, so you can test it out without a big investment.

You’re going to need an experienced programmer to do the actual integration, but you’ll be able to create the HTML templates yourself, so you won’t be entirely dealing with a black box.

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9

There are a lot of ways to skin the cat, but very few that result in what I would call typesetting. I have used a number of other systems, and hated how they finished product looked (typeset in Word for Windows, much?). Prince was the first non-sucky result, and it was an easy sell to my PhD client, who likes nice things, and the foundation that runs the OLL is a non-profit, so they got a 50% discount. Prince does not mind at all if you use the demo version for a while, even for production. The first page of every document it produces has a small tasteful Prince sigil in one corner (much nicer than the earlier versions, which pasted it full-screen across the first page). If you can work around that, you are free to do so.

Walter

On Sep 16, 2014, at 9:27 PM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

I haven’t looked at any of those open-source converters but I’ll take your word for it.

On a slight tangent, I’m surprised by the number of PHP DIY tutorials for generating pdfs on-the-fly. I’m not sure but I suspect these tutorials are probably simpler and less elegant solutions compared to something like Prince.

Todd
http://xiiro.com

There are a couple of open-source HTML-to-PDF converters out there, but they are seriously hard to use, and janky, to boot. Imagine typesetting from the perspective of early ‘80s CompuGraphic, and you’ll know what I mean. (It made DOS WordStar look like a Mac.) My friend Ron calls it “knitting while wearing boxing gloves”.

Walter

On Sep 16, 2014, at 6:47 PM, Todd email@hidden wrote:

After Walter’s recommendation a few years ago I installed the free version for my own curiosity. After more than a little struggling (my programming skills back then were still in their infancy) I was able to get it working.

PrinceXML is indeed a nice product, so much so that I (still) wish I could justify the expense for my personal needs. The thought of trying to build a similarly appointed and refined product from the ground-up would certainly be labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive for all but the most serious and well-heeled of clients. When viewed in those terms the entry point of $3.8k seems like a bargain.

Todd
http://xiiro.com

There’s a free version (with watermark on the first page) available, so you can test it out without a big investment.

You’re going to need an experienced programmer to do the actual integration, but you’ll be able to create the HTML templates yourself, so you won’t be entirely dealing with a black box.

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10

I can’t be certain but I’m tempted to say the version I installed had a large watermark which prevented my using it for production, but as I said that was some time ago. If it’s now small(er) and in the corner then I may just have to try it again. Woo-hoo!

I’m glad you mentioned it.

Todd

The first page of every document it produces has a small tasteful Prince sigil in one corner (much nicer than the earlier versions, which pasted it full-screen across the first page). If you can work around that, you are free to do so.

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