Usage scenario for receiving jobs from Avanti Slingshot

Before any Avanti Slingshot jobs are sent to RICOH ProcessDirector, an administrator at the print shop uses the Avanti Slingshot Connect feature to configure RICOH ProcessDirector.

The administrator sets up hot folder input devices to receive jobs from Avanti Slingshot and submit them to RICOH ProcessDirector workflows. The names of the two hot folders in this scenario are Statements and Mailer Inserts. They use the JDF Batching method.

The administrator modifies the RICOH ProcessDirector workflows to send information back to Avanti Slingshot. The names of the two workflows in this scenario are PDF and Insert. The PDF workflow prints jobs on regular paper and does not impose them. The workflow receives jobs from the Statements hot folder. The Insert workflow prints jobs on special coated paper and imposes eight pages on each side of each sheet. The workflow receives jobs from the Mailer Inserts hot folder.

To send external preflight information from each workflow to Avanti Slingshot, the administrator:

• Assigns the Preflight cost center to the RunExternalProgam and CreatePageRanges steps.

• Gives the RunExternalProgam step a Slingshot milestone status value of In progress. The first time that RICOH ProcessDirector sees this value for the Preflight cost center, it sends Avanti Slingshot the time that the step receives a job.

• Gives the CreatePageRanges step a Slingshot milestone status value of Complete. The first time that RICOH ProcessDirector sees this value for the Preflight cost center, it sends Avanti Slingshot the time when the job moves to the next step.

The administrator assigns an Avanti Slingshot cost center to each RICOH ProcessDirector printer that prints jobs received from Avanti Slingshot. The printer in this scenario is the Ricoh Pro C901. The administrator assigns it the Ricoh Pro C901 cost center.

The administrator sets the Print unit to report value for the Ricoh Pro C901 printer to Pages.

After the administrator has configured RICOH ProcessDirector, the print shop receives a new order to print 100,000 statements with advertising inserts.

The accounting staff creates a sales order in Avanti Slingshot with two line items:

• Statements

• Mailer Inserts

The print shop supervisor:

• Makes sure that the Ricoh Pro C901 printer is specified on the section associated with each line item.

• Uploads a PDF file for the statements to the Statements line item.

• Uploads a PDF file for the inserts to the Mailer Inserts line item.

To create Avanti Slingshot jobs, the print shop supervisor releases the sales order with its two line items to production.

To print the jobs, the supervisor exports each job to RICOH ProcessDirector.

Avanti Slingshot sends the statements job to the Statements hot folder. The hot folder submits the job to the PDF workflow.

Avanti Slingshot sends the inserts job to the Mailer Inserts hot folder. The hot folder submits the job to the Insert workflow.

As each job moves through its workflow, RICOH ProcessDirector sends Avanti Slingshot the processing time required to do external preflight operations and to print the job.

When each job finishes printing, the RICOH ProcessDirector sends Avanti Slingshot this information:

• The amount of time the job spent on the printer.
• The total pages printed on specific media.
• Whether the job was printed with CMYK ink or toner or only with black ink or toner.

Using this information, Avanti Slingshot computes the costs of preflight operations and printing for each job.