Glossary

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), refers to processes used to synthesize a three-dimensional object in which successive layers of material are formed under computer control to create an object. Objects can be of almost any shape or geometry and are produced from digital model data 3D model or another electronic data source such as an Additive Manufacturing File (AMF) file.

Business process management (BPM) is a systematic approach to making an organisation's workflow more effective, more efficient and more capable of adapting to an ever-changing environment. A business process is an activity or set of activities that will accomplish a specific organisational goal.

Business process automation (BPA), is the strategy a business uses to automate processes in order to contain costs. It consists of integrating applications, restructuring labour resources and using software applications throughout the organisation.

A content management system (CMS) is a computer application that supports the creation and modification of digital content using a simple interface to abstract away low-level details unless required, usually supporting multiple users working in a collaborative environment.

ColorJet Printing (CJP) is an additive manufacturing technology which involves two major components – core and binder. The Core™ material is spread in thin layers over the build platform with a roller. After each layer is spread, colour binder is selectively jetted from inkjet print heads over the core layer, which causes the core to solidify.

In digital imaging systems, colour management is the controlled conversion between the colour representations of various devices, such as image scanners, digital cameras, monitors, TV screens, film printers, computer printers, offset presses, and corresponding media. The primary goal of colour management is to obtain a good match across colour devices; for example, the colours of one frame of a video should appear the same on a computer LCD monitor, on a plasma TV screen, and as a printed poster. Colour management helps to achieve the same appearance on all of these devices, provided the devices are capable of delivering the needed colour intensities. With photography it is often critical that your prints or online gallery appear how they were intended. Colour management cannot guarantee identical colour reproduction, as this is rarely possible, but it can at least give you more control over any changes which may occur.

Cost recovery, defined as the method to recovering an expenditure which a business takes on, is both a specific and general term. Generally, cost recovery is simply recovering the costs of any given expense.

Document management, often referred to as Document Management Systems (DMS), is the use of a computer system and software to store, manage and track electronic documents and electronic images of paper based information captured through the use of a document scanner.

Digital printing refers to methods of printing from a digital-based image directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to professional printing where small-run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed using large-format and/or high-volume laser or inkjet printers. Digital printing has a higher cost per page than more traditional offset printing methods, but this price is usually offset by avoiding the cost of all the technical steps required to make printing plates. It also allows for on-demand printing, short turnaround time, and even a modification of the image (variable data) used for each impression. The savings in labour and the ever-increasing capability of digital presses means that digital printing is reaching the point where it can match or supersede offset printing technology's ability to produce larger print runs of several thousand sheets at a low price.

Enterprise content management is the technology used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organisational processes. ECM tools and strategies allow the management of an organisation's unstructured information, wherever that information exists.

An electronic document management system (EDMS) is a software system for organizing and storing different kinds of documents. This type of system is a more particular kind of document management system, a more general type of storage system that helps users to organise and store paper or digital documents.

Enterprise Information Management (EIM) is a particular field of interest within information technology. It specialises in finding solutions for optimal use of information within organisations, for instance to support decision-making processes or day-to-day operations that require the availability of knowledge.

Inkjet printing is a type of computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper, plastic, or other substrates. Inkjet printers are the most commonly used type of printer, and range from small inexpensive consumer models to expensive professional machines.

Image per Minute (IPM) is a way of measuring the speed of a printer. An IPM rate indicates the number of single-sided 8.5" x 11" sheets, a printer can complete in one minute. An IPM rate is more to graphics files, whereas a PPM rate is for more to text-only files.

Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process. It produces high-quality text and graphics (and moderate-quality photographs) by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a negatively charged cylinder called a "drum" to define a differentially charged image.[1] The drum then selectively collects electrically charged powdered ink (toner), and transfers the image to paper, which is then heated in order to permanently fuse the text and/or imagery. As with digital photocopiers, laser printers employ a xerographic printing process. However, laser printing differs from analog photocopiers in that the image is produced by the direct scanning of the medium across the printer's photoreceptor. This enables laser printing to copy images more quickly than most photocopiers.

MJP or MultiJet Printing is an inkjet printing process that uses piezo printhead technology to deposit either photocurable plastic resin or casting wax materials layer by layer. MJP is used to build parts, patterns and molds with fine feature detail to address a wide range of applications.

Optical Character Recognition, or OCR, is a technology that enables you to convert different types of documents, such as scanned paper documents, PDF files or images captured by a digital camera into editable and searchable data.

Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a water-based film (called "fountain solution"), keeping the non-printing areas ink-free. The modern "web" process feeds a large reel of paper through a large press machine in several parts, typically for several metres, which then prints continuously as the paper is fed through.

Konica Minolta’s Optimised Print Services (OPS) combine consulting, hardware, software implementation and workflow management in order to lower document spend.

Pages per minute - A unit for measuring print speed.

Print management is essentially the management of various print tasks. Some software companies have developed sophisticated print management software to help human users coordinate all of the processes that take place between a printer and the machines that demand print jobs.

Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which copies of a book (or other document) are not printed until an order has been received, allowing books to be printed singly, or in small quantities. While build to order has been an established business model in many other industries, "print on demand" developed only after digital printing began, because it was not economical to print single copies using traditional printing technology such as letterpress and offset printing.

Pull printing is a printing feature where a user's print job is held on a server (server-based pull printing) or on a user's workstation (serverless pull printing) and released by the user at any printing device (pulled to the printer) which supports this feature.

In the printing industry, Saddle Stitch refers to a finishing process, where the sheets of paper are folded and secured by applying staples along the fold to produce a book format.

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technique that uses a laser as the power source to sinter powdered material (typically metal), aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined by a 3D model, binding the material together to create a solid structure.

Stereolithography (SLA or SL; also known as stereolithography apparatus, optical fabrication, photo-solidification, or resin printing) is a form of 3-D printing technology used for creating models, prototypes, patterns, and production parts in a layer by layer fashion using photopolymerization, a process by which light causes chains of molecules to link together, forming polymers.

Variable-data printing (VDP) (also known as variable-information printing (VIP) or VI) is a form of digital printing, including on-demand printing, in which elements such as text, graphics and images may be changed from one printed piece to the next, without stopping or slowing down the printing process and using information from a database or external file.

Web-to-print, also known as Web2Print, remote publishing or print e-commerce is a broad term that refers to the practice of doing print business using web sites.

Wide format (aka large format) printers (contrast to vector-rendering "plotters") are generally accepted to be any computer-controlled printing machines (aka "printers") that support a maximum print roll width of between 18" and 100". Printers with capacities over 100" wide are considered Super Wide or Grand format. Wide format printers are used to print banners, posters, trade show graphics, wallpaper, murals, backlit film (aka duratrans), vehicle image wraps, electronic circuit schematics, architectural drawings, construction plans, backdrops for theatrical and media sets, and any other large format artwork or signage. Wide format printers usually employ some variant of inkjet technology to produce the printed image; and are more economical than other print methods such as screen printing for most short-run (low quantity) print projects, depending on print size, run length (quantity of prints per single original), and the type of substrate or print medium. Wide format printers are usually designed for printing onto a roll of print media that feeds incrementally during the print process, rather than onto individual sheets.

Workflow Management System (WMS) is a piece of software that provides an infrastructure to setup, execute, and monitor scientific workflows. In other words, the WMS provide an environment where in silico experiments can be defined and executed.