VDK-RIT

Background, Business Opportunity & Customer Needs

In the printing and mailing industry there is a need for mailers to determine if they have processed a mailing job correctly. A typical mailing facility has a number of inserters. An inserter is a machine, which takes a number of sheets (for instance credit card statements), folds the sheets, inserts the sheets into an envelope and then outputs the closed envelope (also called mail piece). It is important for the mailer to know that all mail pieces have been processed for a mailing job.  A job is all the mailings done on one machine in one session.  Performing manual checks on the individual pieces of a mailing job is impossible, as there are typically between 1,000 and 90,000 mail pieces in one job.

Videk, a company headquartered in Rochester, NY, delivers high-speed, real-time vision systems to the leaders in digital print and mail automation.  One such system offered by Videk is InserterVision.   To automate the verification of mailing jobs mailers use InserterVision.  

Using InserterVision (IV), a mailer can verify that an address-bearing mail piece was correctly inserted, i.e. the address is viewable through a window envelope.  First, the InserterVision system captures an image of each envelope as it exits the inserter.  Next, IV analyzes the image to verify that the information needed to deliver the mail piece is visible.  When the information on a mail piece cannot be read, InserterVision sends a signal that is used to mark the mail piece, divert it, or halt the line so that an operator can intervene.  

Currently, scanned images collected by InserterVision during a job are not saved.  Additionally, InserterVision provides no means of collecting data on jobs. 

Videk’s sales department has recognized the need for such functionality and has requested a system that would save relevant scanned data to facilitate the creation of job reports.  The ability to save data collected by the InserterVision and generate reports from this data would allow the end user to improve traceability of mail pieces that go through the system and analyze the quality and rate of production for the insertion process through statistics.

Business Objectives

• Increase the marketability of the overall InserterVision system.

• Generate revenue by selling InserterVision Report System training to customers.

• Deliver the first release of the InserterVision Report System, to include all necessary technical documentation by the completion of the Software Engineering Senior Project.

Vision

The IVRS will enhance the ability of mailing facilities to verify and track the status of completed mail jobs through a web-based reporting system.  Users will be able to gather data summarizing completed jobs and sequential job verifications.  The template editor will allow users to create reports customized to their individual needs.  The flexibility, scalability, and extensibility of the IVRS will allow Videk developer’s to implement new features for the system to satisfy customer needs.

Major Features

• Display all available data sets.
• Sort data sets based on sort keys.
• View basic information on each data set, i.e. start time, time last record was added, number of records.
• Generate report summarizing a completed job from a template.
• Create and edit templates.
• Facilitate database maintenance such as exporting, importing, and deleting data sets.
• Authenticate users through login procedure.
• Control access to certain functionality based on user access level and permissions.
• Allow import and export of data sets.
• Manage user access to the system.

User Interface Prototypes

• Sample Report
• Standard Template Editor
• Advanced Template Editor
• Combined Template Editor
• List Data Sets
• List Available Templates