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By: Sagar Sharma

Bridging The Gap Between Pimcore and InDesign Through PimPrint

The need for the printer will never go out of style. Digitalization and advanced marketing have not made the need for printers any less. Print is still considered as the mode of communication and a reliable source of information. To achieve the effect of printed docs, you need to embed that in multimedia channels.

The print does not work for giving effective results; you need advanced tools to do so. How about you have one source of information of product data or business-related data and from there you directly could take print of relevant documents? Sounds interesting? Let us see how it is possible.

What is Pimcore?

Pimcore is an up-to-date solution that enriches enterprise data, whenever you want. Pimcore is a central platform that collects, filters, manages, and aggregates relevant enterprise information. The single source of the platform will reduce your hard efforts in searching enterprise-related information.

You can search your desired data in no time and that too with accuracy. It is a “Trusted View” of information that eliminates the chances of data duplication or data silos. The software will let you optimize your data, improve your customer experience, and spend minimum costs on data.

With Pimcore you have incredible flexibility yet the cost is manageable. The API-data-driven approach and many other tools of Pimcore make it one of its kind software that is an alternative to many expensive digital platforms offering the same services.

What is InDesign?

It is a software application that is used to create flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, and books. With InDesign, you can either have digital or print format. It is an application that is used by professionals to create visual layouts for print and digital media. It is a simple application that can be used by professionals without any barriers.

It is the best solution for the complex problem of a combination of texts and images. It is specially used by experts who face difficulty in dealing with combination texts with images and significant data in form of texts.

The application lets its users simply use the application to unfold the complexity of complex data. The in-built programs and assembled layout design of the software make it even more astonishing. Be it visual communication or business cards, InDesign has got you.

What’s Important in Database Publishing with InDesign?

When you adopt the concept of InDesign and publish your database for having sophisticated web to print solutions. Such solutions should offer value to your company. Below are the important points, which have to be fulfilled.

1. Integration with PIM System

When you want to have direct and automated data extraction with InDesign you must have to make sure that it Native Pimcore Integration system for the automated process.

2. Efficiency

You are adopting the system so that you can have maximum efficiency and have a powerful solution. With a solution or application, you should be able to print products without any interference from other activities and with minimal effort.

3. Flexibility and updates

You must be able to update or print the document with flexibility. You deserve to have an automation process yet be able to adjust minor adjustments to the layouts, which need to be printed. On a time-to-time basis, you should be able to update data.

4. Future-Proof

You need a solution that can withstand the future requirements and is adaptable to developments that may take place in the future. The software should collaborate with IT infrastructure.

What is pimcore web to print?

PimPrint is an effective solution that brings individual product prints with a product database. From the product database, you can flawlessly take a print of individual products with pimcore web to print. It is a direct link between the database and print without any meddlers. PimPrint is a simple and user-friendly interface.

When you and your employees have a direct link of data to print; your manual work or manual supervision becomes nearly nil. You can save a lot of time and effort. You will have effective results and can invest your precious time into some important activities.

Is Print Still Handy for Marketing?

Print advertising is still active and kicking. The wave of digitization could not affect the importance of print. Many consumers still prefer print ads than they trust search engine ads. Compelling print is more credible to the customers, and you can take a print of products with minimum effort with the right software or application.

Be it magazine cards, direct mail, or magazine ads print plays a powerful role in all as it is a powerful tool to market your brand name. To reach potential customers, print is still handy for marketing. Many brands can’t recognize the importance of print marketing, and they face catastrophic results.

Print is more engaging and can keep customers captive than written text forms. Even if a customer visits your site for 10 seconds, with the print they can have a better idea about the product with visual print. So the benefits of prints have never been any down ever and it still helps in marketing your brand.

How PimPrint Works?

As earlier stated, PimPrint is a link between product data and product print. There are not any meddlers or layers required to export data from Pimcore and import it to InDesign. From Pimcore the data, objects, and assets are sent to the plugin which then is sent to the server. The server data then is placed and finalized.

Well, the upcoming section will discuss the whole process of pimcore web to print in detail, for those who are unaware of PimPrint can find this part very useful.

1. Data information to Plugin

The first step of the process is to send data to the plugin. PimPrint collects data from Pimcore and sends it to Plugin. The data integration is simply made by PimPrint without any turbulence in the process of data transfer.

PimPrint CoreBundle is a mode of the communicator of data transfer- Pimcore to Plugin. PimPrint is the communicator between product data and product print so the first important step is to collect data on the server.

2. Data Process

PimPrint then processes the data, as it implements the data in the server. The data that has been already deployed in the server comes as a tree structure so that you can have a better understanding. The new data gathered from Pimcore will convert into new content for the server.

Data is processed by pimcore web to print in such a way that the hierarchy levels of the enterprise information are easily identifiable and interpretable.

3. Data placement

The gathered data from the server and Plugin will finally be placed in the right place by PimPrint. The pre-definite set rules of Pimcore will let PimPrint filter and place content into its actual place. Data actualization and data filtration is the final step of PimPrint Process.

Thus, when the actual product-related data or any enterprise-related data is placed in its right place, you can carry out your responsibilities with less effort and with an automated process of workflow.

Installing PimPrint into Pimcore

You can easily install PimPrint into Pimcore with the below steps:

Step 1: To install the PimPrint in the Pimcore application you need to impose this command: composer require MDS-agenturgruppe/pimprint-core-bundle

Step 2: Is to enable PimPrint Core bundle with: bin/console pimcore:bundle:enable MdsPimPrintCoreBun.

And boom, you have successfully installed PimPrint into Pimcore.

Well, our next process is to discuss how to install the PimPrint plugin into Adobe Indesign.

Installing PimPrint into Indesign

Step 1: Unzip the respective extension zip and then merge the folder into the Pimcore project root dictionary.

Step 2: In this step, you need to go at config/Bundles.php and then Line

Step 3: Here you need to copy the configure folder into Pimcore and then run the command.

Installation of PimPrint on both Pimcore and Indesign had been done successfully. Now, let discuss how to connect the InDesign with the Pimcore.

Connecting the InDesign-Plug-in with Pimcore

Step 1: Start InDesign and open the PimPrint Plug-in from the InDesign menu.

Step 2: The plug-in server will start as a server connection and will be configured.

Generate and Update Documents With PimPrint

With PimPrint you can optimize the existing print products and can create entirely new print projects.

1. Creating a New Document

PimPrint’s InDesign plugin creates a new document so that you can take print of new content in the desired format. PimPrint InDesign generates new documents of product catalog, product brochures, and datasheets. The existing data can be easily sorted out and classified with Pimcore.

The classified data can be exported to InDesign for print from Pimcore. No matter how the system works on its own to eliminate the need for manpower but in the end, the human touch is always required. Likewise, the layout will need a human touch for adjustments and corrections in layout.

So with PimPrint, you generate the data and the data is printable. With the latest data or PimPrint, you will have a high print product ready at your hand. If you make any adjustments in the layout then you can save the data if you need it in the future.

2. Update Existing Documents

With PimPrint you can either a new document or new positioning or completely update the content, or update the content for specific items.

When you reprint some old document and make some changes in the same then the changes are recorded in the system so next time when you are using the same document, you need not have made any changes. You can even modify elements by separating them into layers of InDesign.

When you update any product catalogs and want to save the data so that you can avoid doing the same efforts in the future, with PimPrint you sure can do so. You can save your updated data so that it could be less time-consuming for you when you come across that data in the future.

You can even edit the definite items, by setting up rules. You can change the numbering of pages in the product brochure. You can pick any technical product and can change its price. The technical products data needs to be updated in the datasheet.

Thus, you can create or update your product information with PimPrint.

Key Features of PimPrint

1. Pimcore Integration

The important feature of PimPrint is that it integrates with Pimcore. Via Plugin it has a seamless connection to InDesign. The gap between Pimcore and InDesign is filled with Pimcore as it acts as a bridge between the two.

2. Pimcore Data Model

PimPrint majorly relies on Pimcore. The Pimcore Data Model or the asset structure is the backbone of Pimcore which is the same for PimPrint. As PimPrint relies on Pimcore it delivers the accurate and specified data model.

3. The creativity of InDesign

InDesign and unlimited creativity of format, character, paragraph, and editing. The desired imported data can be tuned with the creativity of InDesign. The automation workflow will relieve your stress of layout formatting.

4. High-Performance

As PimPrint is a compelling solution that brings Pimcore and InDesign together it will give you high performance. You don’t need to have an expert who extracts product information and takes print for marketing purposes but you have an all-in-one solution with PimPrint.

5. Rights and Roles

Though the software is transparent and user-friendly, it has specific rules of rights and roles. You can set roles and rights for a specific kind of data that has to be exported.

6. License Model

In today’s market, you can find several PimPrint software having a license model that supports product updates. Among those, a significant amount of software does provide unlimited users with a fixed price of licenses.

Conclusion

Thus, the need for PimPrint has not got out of fashion but even has increased more and more. To keep your customers captive to your website and for marketing your brand name you need print marketing. The bridge of Pimcore and InDesign cannot be better filled without PimPrint. The collaboration of three software will make your workflow automated and smooth.

Say goodbye to data chaos and embrace the power of PIM/MDM to supercharge your business growth!