Developers are not proofreaders!

All too often, development personnel are pulled into the document testing process to act as proofreaders.  Not only is this a tremendous waste of their talents, but forcing developers into this role often leads to job dissatisfaction, further eroding their productivity.  In addition, manual review of modified or upgraded document applications takes too much time, costs too much money, and allows too many document errors to slip through the cracks, all the way to your customers. 

This makes a solid print comparison module vital to the success of any document testing automation solution.  Paloma's Print Perfect solution incorporates the most advanced print stream comparison module available - CDP Communications'^TM STREAMdiff module. STREAMdiff was developed to automate the tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone manual document review process.  This industry-leading technology ensures that companies never have to use development personnel as proofreaders again, while also saving time and cutting cost from your document production process.

STREAMdiff digitally compares "pre-change" and "post-change" documents, displaying them side-by-side on your PC screen using color-coded markers to highlight differences, and then allows you to iteratively review and accept document changes.  Supported file formats include AFP, PDF, Postscript, Metacode, and PCL.  In fact, STREAMdiff can compare two print files created in the same format (AFP to AFP, for example) or two print files created in different formats (AFP to PDF, for example).

STREAMdiff first compares your "pre-change" and "post-change" documents on a structural level to determine if there are changes in the underlying instructions which are sent to, and interpreted by, the printer.  Included in this structural comparison is a review of non-printable elements such as TLE's, indexes, bookmarks, and printer commands (e.g., simplex/duplex, paper bin).

However, because structural differences don't always translate into differences on the printed page, STREAMdiff offers a second level of validation - called Visual Verification - to ensure the results of its comparison are accurate.  The Visual Verification feature compares documents down to the individual pixel, ensuring every document change is detected, while minimizing the number of "false differences" caused by structural differences.  In addition, Visual Verification allows users to compare two files generated in different output file formats (AFP to PDF, for example).

Once it has finished comparing two files, STREAMdiff presents the user with a list explaining each change in complete detail, ensuring that the reviewer knows exactly what has changed and giving them the information they will need to make informed decisions.  Drag and drop selection of acceptable changes provides an automated mechanism for iteratively reviewing and tracking changes and monitoring the acceptance testing process. In addition, Print Perfect creates an audit trail of this acceptance process for each document application it processes.

HOT TIP!  STREAMdiff also makes it easy for non-technical users to get involved in the review and approval of document changes.  The STREAMdiff Detailed Difference Report is an end user, PDF-based report which details all the differences found between two files.  With STREAMdiff, the only technology that non-technical users need to get involved in the document testing process is a PC and a copy of the Adobe® Reader.

BENEFITS     FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS     TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS     BROCHURE