Case Study: Image Arranger vs. Xerox Freeflow

Customer: Amtrak Philadelphia

Image Arranger and UltraPrint were installed side by side with Xerox Freeflow in July 2009.

Job Requirement: A color job done monthly is 'Pocket Safety Guides' for all the train conductors. These guides are finished size 3.5" x 5", duplexed, and tape bound using a Fastback. The duplex alignment expectation is such that page numbers centered at bottom margin will align perfectly. The file comes to the CRD in Word at exact page size. The layout must look like the following:

The book is imposed in this manner so a tape binding strip can be put on both long edges, then a one inch horizontal gutter and a two inch vertical gutter are cut out using a guillotine. This results in four identical, pocket size guides.

The workflow in Freeflow consists of the following steps:

1. Import word document into Freeflow make-ready.
2. Create 'Master Page' template with guidelines defining four-up alignment.
3. Copy first page, and place in upper left. Repeat for lower left, tweaking placement by hand to assure proper alignment.
4. Rotate image 180 degrees, and place in upper right, and repeat for lower right again tweaking for proper alignment.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each of the 30 pages in turn. This usually takes a painstaking two hours.
6. Verify that each page and each position are aligned properly.
7. Send to Printer.

The workflow in Image Arranger consists of the following steps:

1. Import Word document into Arranger.
2. Load following Page Setup imposition template:

1. Send to printer.

The job setup time in Image Arranger takes a total of one minute.