Print Streams are textual data coming from applications such as Accounting and Finance, Human Resources and many more. The process of capturing print streams is called Computer Output to Laser Disk (COLD) or Electronic Report Management (ERM).

COLD/ERM systems are used to capture, archive, store, and retrieve data such as accounting reports, loan records, inventories, shipping and receiving documents, and customer bills. These systems are typically implemented to replace paper creation and microfiche solutions.

How can this help my business?
Often the data contained in printed paper reports is hard to distribute. Printing many copies for others in the business is costly, time consuming and not overly efficient. Captured print documents in a digital format in COLD/ERM are immediately searchable and able to participate in workflows within the business and with outside vendors. When users retrieve COLD/ERM documents, they have the ability to make these documents available for online access, delivered via fax or e-mail, or enabled for use with front-office systems such as customer service and electronic statement presentment.

Application example: Accounts Receivable (AR) prints monthly statements for distribution to the accounting team and mailing to clients. With COLD/ERM, the captured print streams are converted to documents and stored for archiving, processed based on index values in the documents and routed via e-mail, printing, fax or presentment to a Web site. Now the business can reduce courier, printing and mailing costs. Delivery of information that used to take days is down to minutes, leading to operational excellence