Cut to the Paper Chase
A Print Redirector Helps a Lumber Company Work Smarter
Client profile
For more than 100 years, builders have relied on Lyman Lumber for sound advice and high quality building materials and supplies. Much has changed in the industry since Albert Lyman started a small lumberyard in Excelsior, Minnesota in 1897, but Lyman Lumber remains a privately-held corporation providing goods and services to the residential construction industry. Sierra Bravo helped the company to embrace new technologies — and to make them tools of their own trade.
Project: Print Redirector
Objective
Lyman Lumber had issues with documents sometimes being printed on the wrong printer, which caused paper-chase confusion among staff. Our client wanted the capability to print in PDF format and have automated email of order invoices. To accomplish this, Sierra Bravo created an invisible program that would act like a printer — it would examine content and determine what action to take, including which particular printer to send the print job to.
Solution
We set the program up in a printcap file to redirect print jobs to their proper printer based on a set of rules. These rules were combined into rulesets, with actions specified based on ruleset matching. These actions send documents to a printer, distribute them via email, and/or initiate PDF output to a directory.
Sierra Bravo wrote the application using data triggers that look for print jobs and specified forms — such as invoices and other common or uniform templates. This application directs print jobs to specific printers.
Users can also save their files electronically — this is also one of the attributes of Sierra Bravo’s more feature-rich Bravo Forms, but Lyman Lumber sought a basic and modified application with a more narrow focus than the full version of Bravo Forms. Sierra Bravo exercises agility in adapting our business/technology solutions per the specific wants and needs of our clients.
Tech tools
CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System), a portable printing layer used on UNIX-based operating systems to provide a common printing interface across a local network.
Results
Lyman Lumber had previously had issues with staff accidentally sending print jobs to the wrong printer, including printers in other buildings and even other states, causing confusion and the occasional wrong move on the other end. Also, the printer might run preprinted stock, meaning that not only did it print in the wrong place, but wasted money, too. So, Sierra Bravo made the process more user-friendly and intuitive.
Each print job shows up in the printer queue. Staff can specify rules and make changes easily, and they have full documentation of how the application language behaves. Lyman Lumber has needed no tech support since installation of their print application.
Lyman Lumber operates under the belief that the quality of their products and services is their second most important resource — and that their people are their most important resource. Sierra Bravo’s solutions are hard at work helping Lyman Lumbers most important resources work smarter still.