Virtual print shop management

Abstract

A method including: maintaining, at a server, a list of print shops that participate in an external workflow managed by the server; receiving, at the server through a network, an order for a variable data campaign defining a plurality of personalized items for end recipients, said order including text and graphics used in the variable data campaign, identifying information of the end recipients that each receive an item of the variable data campaign, and a mapping specification that specifies which graphics correspond to which text for each item of the variable data campaign; generating, at the server, using the mapping specification, the text and graphics received, and the identifying information of the end recipients, a master file for the items of the variable data campaign, wherein the master file includes, for each of the items, images formed of corresponding text and graphics paired together in accordance with the mapping specification for each of the end recipients of the variable data campaign; assigning, at the server, the variable data campaign to one or more of the print shops that participate in the external workflow; and providing, at the server, the one or more print shops with the master file.