Vistaprint 2008 Annual Report Download - page 14

Our Technology
We have standardized, automated and integrated the graphic design, automation and production
process, from design conceptualization to product shipment, through a number of proprietary
technologies, including:
Design and Document Creation Technologies
Our document model architecture and technology employs Internet-compatible data structures to
define, process and store product designs as a set of separately searchable, combinable and
modifiable component elements. In comparison to traditional document storage and presentation
technologies, such as bitmap or PDFs, this architecture provides significant advantages in storing,
manipulating and modifying design elements, allowing us to generate customized initial and later
matching product design options automatically in real time.
Our auto-matching design software algorithmically generates customized product designs in real-
time based on key-word searches, enabling professional-looking graphic layouts to be easily and
quickly created by customers without graphic arts training.
VistaStudio is our product design and editing software suite that is downloaded to our customer’s
computer from our server and runs in the customer’s browser. This browser-based software provides
real-time client-side editing capabilities plus extensive system scalability. A wide variety of layouts,
color schemes and fonts are provided and over 70,000 high quality photographs and illustrations are
currently available for use by customers in product design. Customers can also upload their own
images and logos for incorporation into their product designs.
Our Internet-based, remote, real-time, co-creativity and project management application and
database enables customers and VistaPrint design agents to cooperatively design a product across
the Internet in real-time, while simultaneously engaging in voice communication.
Our Internet-based website design and layout tool enables customers with no experience in
creating websites to quickly design and publish a website. The interface provides customers with the
ability to update their content in a simple editing environment that closely mimics what the website will
look like when published. Some of the features that customers can add to their website using this tool
include images, maps, credit-card payment processing, downloadable files and contact forms.
Customers looking to improve their ranking among search engines can modify their content and search
keywords through a simple interface. In addition, customers can change their website design on-the-fly
and can choose from hundreds of different templates categorized by industry and style.
Pre-Press and Print Production Technologies
DrawDocs is our automated pre-printing press technology that prepares customer documents
received over the Internet for high-resolution printing. DrawDocs ensures that the high-resolution
press-ready version of the customer’s design will produce a printed product that is exactly like the
graphic design that was displayed in the customer’s Internet browser.
Our VistaBridge technology allows us to efficiently store, process and aggregate thousands of
Internet print orders every day. The system automates the workflow into our high-volume offset or digital
presses by using complex algorithms to aggregate pending individual print jobs having similar printing
parameters and combine the compatible orders into a single print job. The technology calculates the
optimal allocation of print orders that will result in the lowest production cost but still ensure on-time
delivery. In our fiscal year ended June 30, 2008 we averaged in excess of 31,000 orders per day and
orders often contain multiple print jobs, which can result in more than 100,000 individual stored jobs
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