Building a Digital Workflow Brick by Brick

When computer-to-plate (CTP) printing came on the scene a few years back and catalog content went digital, digital asset management (DAM) became the commonly used system it is today. CTP spawned new dilemmas: how to manage digital content (namely product data and images used for print and electronic catalogs); how to find the assets when needed; how to manage revisions; and how best to draw assets into the creative process. These emerging challenges created a ripe opportunity for DAM developers.

Today, fewer service bureaus offer DAM, and all but the largest printers have returned their prepress departments to their original intent: getting files ready for the press. What remains of the DAM space, however, is an array of mature software solutions catalogers can bring in house. That's good news for catalogers.

The not-so-good news, at least for small to mid-size mailers, is that many enterprise-wide DAM systems are so capable and feature-rich they're often beyond the means of the small to mid-sized cataloger. But they're a luxury for organizations with deep pockets.

Daunting Proposition

Bruce Detweiler Breckbill, vice president, direct sales for Kidron, Ohio-based general merchandise cataloger Lehman's, says venturing into the realm of DAM is a daunting proposition. "I attended a conference last year and checked out some [DAM] systems. I tried to pin one developer down to a price," Breckbill recalls. "I had to know if he was talking about $10,000 or $100,000. He told me that the solution would cost us about $250,000 initially, plus a $30,000 a year licensing fee. We can't even begin to think about that kind of investment."

So Breckbill suspended his search for a large-scale solution and adopted a new strategy — setting more modest workflow goals.

Managing images was a top priority, so Lehman's licensed DiskCatalog, which helps track digital files stored in a DVD library. It's an inexpensive tool that has shaved hours off the creative process, Breckbill says.

Tying asset management into automated catalog production and e-commerce systems was Detroit Hitch Co.'s goal. But Pavan Muzumdar, COO of the Clawson, Mich.-based hauling supplies marketer, knew it couldn't be attained overnight. Five years ago, the company created its annual catalog — 400 pages — using WordPerfect. "It was an inappropriate way to produce a catalog," he says.

So, Muzumdar imagined a better way, a database that not only would manage assets but also automate the print catalog's creation. The first step was to implement ObjectPublisher Catalog-On-Demand to drive the print catalog workflow. "Then, if we had our content in a database-driven model, it would be accessible and searchable. It became a natural extension to have it feed our Web site," he says.

The ObjectPublisher system was subsequently integrated with the cataloger's own e-commerce solution to ensure a seamless browse-and-buy Web experience for Detroit Hitch's customers. The company now is rolling out the new Web site to beta users, so it's too early to quantify return on investment, Muzumdar says, though he does expect immediate savings on his print bill.

"It may cost us $13 or $14 to produce a print catalog," he notes, "but it only costs us $2 or $3 to make a CD-based catalog now. So, we plan to be much more selective about when we print and who we give [print] catalogs to."

Watch Workflow Grow

Dan Lorenzini, director of prepress at Garden City, N.Y.-based Bookspan, says the book marketer's quest for digital asset management began in 1998. The company's initial goal was to save printer prep charges. So it brought prepress in house and began using Xinet's FullPress to create print-ready PDF files.

"That paved the way for asset management," Lorenzini says. "We started with our royalty-free artwork. We'd buy stock art, and the art directors would pass CDs around. And we asked, 'Is there a way that we can put these images online?'"

So Bookspan chose Xinet's WebNative, and grew the solution beyond the royalty-free library to include all product photography — 200,000 images in all.

Simultaneously, it developed a system for copy. "It's an Oracle database where all of the catalog copy is written by way of a Java Applet," he says. "So, we handle our images and our copy on different servers. But both of those feed our online system, as well as our print work."

The workflow foundation with solid asset management technologies will enable Bookspan to further automate. The company now is implementing RoboCatalog. "Art directors will open up a template and populate all the images and copy on the fly," Lorenzini points out, "taking four hours worth of work down to two or three minutes."

Five DAM Tips From Catalog Users

Embarking on a quest for a digital asset management (DAM) solution? Several catalog pros offer some practical advice.

1. Are you ready for DAM? Never adopt a new technology for the sake of being on the cutting edge, suggests Tim Burns, brand manager at Tonawanda, N.Y.-based science gadgets cataloger Edmund Scientific. "Think of DAM like any other new technology or process," he says. "If you find the system you have in place is becoming hard to teach, and if it's unusually painful to use, then you should be out looking for a better solution."

2. Think big. Devise a grand plan, suggests Dan Lorenzini, director of prepress for Bookspan. Start with a utopian workflow vision and let it guide the search for tools. "Look for a solution that's flexible, that doesn't pigeon-hole you into a workflow," he cautions. "Find one that you can shape and mold to fit your vision."

3. Take it a step at a time. If an enterprise-level DAM solution is out of your fiscal reach, try building the workflow one component at a time. "You don't need to tackle everything at once," Lorenzini points out. "Consider low-cost automation tools, and re-engineer one or two little pieces of the workflow at a time."

4. Court the right partner. Pavan Muzumdar, COO of Detroit Hitch Co., asks the following: Is the developer reinvesting in research and development? Is it adding new features and functionality to its software all the time, responding to what its customers are asking for and not spending its earnings on things like producing documentation and advertising it won't necessarily benefit from?

5. Get buy-in from both management and those in the trenches. Patti Ward, director of product management at Conshohocken, Pa.-based healthcare products marketer Wolters Kluwer Health, recommends forming cross-function teams with representatives from across the organization who can participate in brainstorming sessions and have a hand in developing the workflow. Each has a vested interest in ensuring that the solution is successful.