Creating pdf files

[SezMe]

Mail merge? You mean you're replicating the newsletter for each recipient? Why?

Because I don't know any other way to do individual addressing. It does seem very duplicative. Do you know of a better method?

How large is the PostScript file that you export from WordPerfect?

I don't know ... I didn't keep it.

I don't know anything about Acrobat distiller. When I finish here, I'll go take a look.

 

[Donks]

Because I don't know any other way to do individual addressing. It does seem very duplicative. Do you know of a better method?

If you're only using this to send the newsletters individually, you can use BCC isntead. Put your email address in the To field, and the whole list of recipients in the BCC field. They won't see who else gets the newsletter. If you are doing it for the personalized touch of a form letter then I can't help

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Yes, tell us why you're duplicating it. Is this thing emailed or printed? Are you merging just a name and address, or more information?

~~ Paul

 

[SezMe]

It gets distributed three ways:

1. A single, addressless and slightly modified version goes up on the organizations web site. We have an e-mail list who get notified when the newsletter is available each month.

2. A single, addressless but unmodified version is sent as an e-mail attachment for those who have signed up for that option.

3. The mail merge copies are sent via snail mail. I use a query in an Access database to generate the raw merge data then use WordPerfects ODBC interface to pull that data into a lengthy WordPerfect script that formats the data. Basically, Paul, it is just address information but processing the names is a bit complicated because we have both single and joint members and their names appear differently on the label.

I put this file on a CD and take it to Kinko's for printing, collating and folding.

All three types of delivery involve conversion of three different files to pdf.

Including all three types of distribution, we probably generate about 150 copies per month, 12 months of the year. If there is a better, easier way to do this, I am all ears. I'd sure like to simplify the process myself but I don't know how...except that I am trying to get more and more people to convert from snail mail to electronic distribution.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Why don't you let Kinko's address them, too? Then you wouldn't have to do the merge and replicate the document. Just give them a csv file with the address info.

~~ Paul

 

[SezMe]

Why don't you let Kinko's address them, too? Then you wouldn't have to do the merge and replicate the document. Just give them a csv file with the address info.

~~ Paul

Great minds run in the same gutter, Paul. I asked them about doing something like this quite a while ago. First I got a blank stare then some mumbling about "we don't do that." So I asked for the manager who said they could do it but it would have to be sent offsite for offset printing which would a) cause an additional delay of 3-4 days and b) would entail a significant cost.

But thanks for reminding me. I think I'll go back and try going higher up the food chain to see if there isn't a better answer.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Offset printing? Okay, now I'm still confused. Are you merging information into the document itself, or just onto a cover letter and/or envelope? If the latter, that's trivial and any reasonable print shop ought to be able to do it.

~~ Paul

 

[SezMe]

Offset printing? Okay, now I'm still confused. Are you merging information into the document itself, or just onto a cover letter and/or envelope? If the latter, that's trivial and any reasonable print shop ought to be able to do it.

~~ Paul

The individual labels go right onto the document. That way, we avoid the painful process of stuffing envelopes. Your're right, if it were separate - like an envelope, it would be duck soup and I'd probably do that part on my printer at home.

 

[Leif Roar]

The individual labels go right onto the document. That way, we avoid the painful process of stuffing envelopes. Your're right, if it were separate - like an envelope, it would be duck soup and I'd probably do that part on my printer at home.

A silly question, perhaps, but why don't you just print the labels separately onto address label stickers and then just glue them on to the documents?

 

[SezMe]

A silly question, perhaps, but why don't you just print the labels separately onto address label stickers and then just glue them on to the documents?

Not silly at all. That is, in fact, what we do now. But when I became editor, I was looking for ways to streamline the production process and eliminating the labels was one obvious candidate.

Given all the hassles, manual labeling may be the final solution that we adopt. But, being somewhat of a techie, I'd like to find a more satisfying, "high-tech" solution. In fact, this is partly what motivated me to post here in the search for such a solution.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

SezMe said:
The individual labels go right onto the document. That way, we avoid the painful process of stuffing envelopes. Your're right, if it were separate - like an envelope, it would be duck soup and I'd probably do that part on my printer at home.

So the document is mailed without any envelope? Does it arrive intact? How is the document bound?

You could probably send a separate cover page document to the printer, along with the address data, and they could merge print the cover page, slap it at the front of the document (now needing only one copy), and mail it.

~~ Paul

 

[SezMe]

So the document is mailed without any envelope? Does it arrive intact? How is the document bound?

You could probably send a separate cover page document to the printer, along with the address data, and they could merge print the cover page, slap it at the front of the document (now needing only one copy), and mail it.

~~ Paul

It is folded to be 1/2 of regular (American) paper (8-1/2" x11"), sealed shut with a tiny label, stamped and mailed. I suppose we get one or two a year that get shredded in the postal machines and come back undelivered.

Your other idea has merit Paul ... damn good idea. I'll first have to verify that the additional page does not push the weight of the whole enchilada over the regular 37 cent weight limit. I'll let you know.

 

[balrog666]

Pagemaker is expensive and doesn't work very well.

CutePDF is cheap and works reliably. And you can download a trial version of CutePDF to check it out.

 

[scribble]

If you are simply merging data in, printing them off, and mailing them... why make it a PDF at all? Your printer doesn't care, I assure you, and PDF was never created to be "small" or "lightweight". Or easy to edit.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Sure PDFs were designed to be small, at least relative to PostScript files. However, their primary wonderfulness is the embedded fonts.

~~ Paul

 

[SezMe]

If you are simply merging data in, printing them off, and mailing them... why make it a PDF at all?

The job is too big for my printer - literally. It gets printed on 11x17 paper which my little HP laserjet 1200 does not handle.
It is printed double-sided, which my printer does not handle. Finally, a complete print run is roughly 300 pages, which would take a loooong time. I use pdf because that is the format my local print shop requires.

 

[SezMe]

...an update for those who are interested.

I adopted Paul's idea of putting the labels on a separate, 8-1/2x11 sheet used as a "wrapper" for the newsletter itself. This, with some other modifications, worked like a charm this month. Thank you very much for the solid idea, Paul.

This approach allows me to generate only one version of the newsletter, keeps all file sizes to less than 2 Megs, and simplified the production process.

We settled on a hybrid approach to creating the pdfs. First, I use the "publish to pdf" feature of WordPerfect to generate the preliminary pdf. I then ship it off to our webmaster who runs it through a tool called NitroPDF that shrinks the file and fixes some bugs. This final pdf is what is posted for electronic distribution. I can use the "preliminary" version for the print shop since size does not matter.

Thanks again, Paul and Zep and others who contributed. Big help. While the process is not perfect now, it is vastly improved over my previous approach.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

So is your print shop merging the cover sheets, or do you give them a file full of merged pages?

~~ Paul

 

[Zep]

Not a problem - many hands make light work.

And with a bit of try-it-and-see, you should even be able to leave out the webmaster step, and go straight to finished PDF yourself. I've given you a starter-kit, and there's been lots of suggestions for more professional products.

Now all you need to do is write that Great American Novel...

 

[SezMe]

So is your print shop merging the cover sheets, or do you give them a file full of merged pages?

~~ Paul

The latter. The form file is just a little graphic for the return address and, of course, the script that generates the addresses themselves. The merge itself, for about 125 people, takes less than a second and the "published pdf" version is less than 2 Megs since it is so simple.

Next month I will be trying Zep's tools and maybe I can simplify the process even more. After that, I'll find a new editor and the process (for me) will have been simplified out of existence.