Bitstream Responds to Market Demand for Easy-to-Use Cross Media Publishing Tools with the Release of Pageflex Storefront 5

January 18, 2007; 04:03 AM
Bitstream Inc., the leading provider of variable data and Web-to-print software for personalized marketing, announced today the release of Pageflex™ Storefront 5, a major release of the product that gives print service providers and corporate marketing departments an easy-to-use system to develop, implement, and manage attractive Web-to-print document customization and purchasing sites. Pageflex Storefront 5 introduces unified cross media support for producing personalized HTML and print documents.

When executing marketing campaigns, Pageflex Storefront end users now can select HTML e-mail and Web page templates, in addition to print templates, from the online catalog and customize the text and images with unique content through a simple Web form interface. Additionally the user can select, upload, or purchase a data list for personalizing HTML e-mails. Pageflex Storefront 5 automatically sends personalized e-mails as they are generated. Online store providers can turn on or off e-commerce capabilities depending on whether or not their business model requires the end user to pay for the marketing campaign.

Previously Pageflex Storefront sites could offer HTML documents using an add-on option. Now this capability is fully integrated within the product and can be turned on when needed. Pageflex Storefront 5 is immediately available.

“This major release expands the core customer base for Pageflex Storefront from print service providers to corporate marketing departments,” explains Anna Chagnon, Bitstream CEO. “Pageflex Storefront 5 meets the needs of today’s multi-channel marketers. New robust features make it easy for them to execute coordinated, personalized direct mail and e-mail campaigns.”

In addition to integrated support for HTML documents, Pageflex Storefront 5 also introduces new features that provide graphic design, document manipulation, workflow, site administration, and speed enhancements.

New Graphic Design and Document Manipulation Tools

The release of Pageflex Storefront 5 includes compositional integration of the product with the enterprise-level Pageflex 5 variable publishing platform released in October 2006. Pageflex Storefront 5 utilizes the Pageflex 5 server to generate all interactive editing views, document previews, and final output documents. This integration also gives Pageflex Storefront a higher level of graphic design capabilities and provides enhanced document manipulation capabilities. These new capabilities include:

• Document Actions— A very powerful feature set that results in true unlimited variability. Every aspect of a print document—including variable values, content, attributes, pages, shapes, and text—can be modified on a record by record basis. This unique capability surpasses what other variable publishing applications on the market allow. For example, with Document Actions appropriate marketing messages can be added as extra white space on the page allows, the font size and style throughout a document can adjust based on the age of the recipient, or image sizes can reduce one percentage point at a time for each individual document in a data merge run until all of the variable copy fits.
• Global Copyfit—Pageflex Storefront now takes traditional variable data copyfitting to a new level of professionalism by designating that specific containers in a document all maintain the same type settings (font size, leading, tracking, etc.) when the document is output, even if the text in only one of the containers has been copyfit. For instance, a dynamically generated travel brochure will maintain a consistent look through out the document because all captions will adopt the type specifications of any caption that was copyfit, and all boxed content will maintain the same type specifications even if one or more of the variable boxes is copyfit. The patented flex capability of the Pageflex composition engine ensures that any extra white space generated by this process can be distributed on the page in a pleasing manner consistent with the template designer’s vision.
• Graphic Design—Both the desktop Pageflex Studio design component, which is used to design templates for use in Pageflex Storefront, and the interactive Free Edit online editing interface now enable static or variable text on a curved path and snap-to-grid editing. Additionally, guides and grids have been added to the Free Edit interface.

“The graphic design, copyfit, and document manipulation enhancements to the product all enable marketers to produce the most professional looking documents with highly-targeted messaging,” says Chagnon. “Pageflex Storefront 5 makes it possible for corporations to easily make multi-touch, personalized marketing campaigns with direct mail, collateral, event signage, and e-mail components available online to their dispersed sales forces to drive lead generation and response rates.”

Workflow Enhancements

New streamlined print production workflow options available in Pageflex Storefront 5 include:

• step-and-repeat and cut-and-stack imposition options enabling one record or multiple records to be automatically imposed on a press sheet.
• the ability to break a job with many variable records into a batch of jobs;
• the ability to assign paper trays on a press to individual document pages so that multiple stocks or pre-printed sheets can be co-mingled within a document; and

Storefront Administration Enhancements

Pageflex Storefront 5 offers site administrators expanded granularity of the e-commerce tax options to support, among other things, unique requirements in Europe and Canada and for documents that are purchased for download only. Site administrators also now have more flexibility in creating ordering workflows for situations that do not require the collection of shipping or payment details.

Companies hosting Pageflex Storefront 5 sites will experience logging and reporting improvements due to the integration with Pageflex 5 server. Additionally Pageflex Storefront administrators will find stability and usability improvements when viewing large data tables. Enhancements also have been made to how site administrators manage user and group accounts.

UI Speed Increases

Pageflex Storefront 5 introduces the use of AJAX for displaying bitmap document previews. As end users customize a document they can see a dynamic update of the on-screen preview with each piece of content they enter or select.

The integration with Pageflex 5 server provides scalability enhancements enabling concurrent processing of previews and jobs. Site administrators also will find new configuration options that offer substantial speed improvements in several aspects of Free Edit, the online interactive editing interface available with Pageflex Storefront.

About Bitstream

Bitstream Inc. (NASDAQ: BITS) is a software development company that makes communications compelling. Bitstream enables customers worldwide to render high-quality text, publish all things variable, browse the Web on wireless devices, select from the largest collection of fonts online, and customize documents over the Internet. Its core competencies include font technology, browsing technology, e-commerce technology, and variable data publishing technology. You can visit Bitstream on the Web at www.bitstream.com.

Bitstream is a pioneer and technology innovator in the variable data printing market starting with its introduction of variable data software in 1997. Bitstream’s Pageflex software enables template design, flexible layouts, personalization, customization, document scaling, variable-length documents, Web-to-print portals, interactive online editing, cross media marketing, and personalized e-mails and web sites. Pageflex provides the capability to produce all things variable for printers, advertising agencies, marketing services companies, and corporate marketing departments worldwide.

Bitstream is a registered trademark. Pageflex and the Bitstream logo are trademarks of Bitstream Inc. Other technologies and brand names are used for information only and remain trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.