Parker Franklin Schools Photography Software - Back End Software


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	"it was very interesting seeing behind the scenes at a print lab. I didn't realise quite how much work they put in making sure our photos look as good as possible; even on a per print basis sorting out cropping issues etc. Makes the print prices seem even better value for money." RB, Norfolk

Back End Software - ImageProcessor and ScanCsv

We have a number of pieces of back end software but the two that are of greatest concern to our clients are ImageProcessor which manages and prints orders and generates the various sales reports, and ScanCsv which gives us a check that everything that has been ordered has been packed and posted correctly.

Note that the order management and sales reporting parts of ImageProcessor are also the basis of our SID (Sales Information Database) software.

	ImageProcessor
	ImageProcessor is our core piece of back end software. It takes in our client's PHC databases from ProofStation, does any necessary colour, density and cropping corrections on those images, imports and manages all the orders from the internet or entered manually in OrderGen, prints those orders out to our Noritsu printer along with a 'leader page' (receipt and address label making sure no orders ever get misdirected), generates the sales reports that tell us and you how much we owe you and/or you owe us for invoicing at the start of each month.

	Visit Us
	You are always welcome to come visit us in our lab and see exactly how we do things here. Contact us here.

	The Leader Page
	The leader page is a crucial component of the integrity of our printing and packing system. It is printed immediately after each order and so lays on top of all the prints for that order. It ensures a number of different things: When the order is packed the barcode is scanned by ScanCsv (below) to confirm to ImageProcessor that it has indeed been packed and posted. It lists exactly what mounts should be included. It identifies what style of mounts are required. It is a receipt with a unique transaction number on it that the customer can use for any queries. It has the customer's address, ensuring the order will always go to the correct person. The page is folded so only the left half is visible and this is placed in a document wallet which is stuck on the outside of the postage envelope. Marrying up the postal address with the actual order is made simple and error free. Even if you are not using our full service and the orders are being returned direct to you or the school, it will typically identify the student's class and their name making later distribution much easier.

	ImageProcessor Features
	Here are some of the main features of ImageProcessor, which should give you some idea of how our back end operation works. Imports the PHC event database from ProofStation. Imports order CSV files from OrderGen. Imports orders from the internet ordering site. After orders have been imported allows very quick colour, density and cropping checks to be performed on only the actual images that have been ordered. These adjustments are 'virtual'; they are only applied when displaying or printing the order - the orginal image files remain unmodified. Automatically schedules internet orders and orders where you have already taken payment for immediate printing. Post or drop box orders where we have to cash a cheque are automatically scheduled for printing ten days later, allowing time for our bank to notify us if any cheques bounce (note this is treated as our financial burden not yours). Along with ScanCsv (see right), tracks when all orders have been printed and packed and alerts us to any anomalies. Tracks all sales data on a per client and per event basis and generates sales reports, so you (and the school if you want) can receive a full report of all orders taken. Based on these reports you will invoice us for any money taken on your behalf and/or we will invoice you for any printing costs.

	ScanCsv
	ScanCsv is our crucial internal integrity check. As each order is packed the leader page (see above) is scanned and the information passed to ImageProcessor so it can check that all orders that have been printed and packed in a timely manner. If any orders have been missed for any reason ImageProcessor will be able to identify it and alert us to that fact. This whole system ensures that we never loose orders; once printed they must get packed and posted before ImageProcessor is 'happy' that the order has been completed.