This was an analysis by IDC of 16 prominent forms of database publishing for print, as of the early 2000s. They are positioned based on the degree of complexity along the Y axis, and volume of document throughput on the X axis.
Consider this cruise booklet. Thousands are produced daily, but it’s not just a collection of charts and figures, or a crude price listing. Each personalized booklet includes data intermingled with targeted text, while ads are interspersed using available white space. For a different recipient, the document may offer a unique sequence of sections. And based on the shape of the data, the page count can differ.
Additionally, artificial Intelligence helps ensure neat pagination into signatures while avoiding excessive whitespace. If, for example, the data flows to a single line on the final page, Paginator can copy fit and pull that line back. If there is whitespace left after the data flows, it can be filled with an ad.
Technology has brought database publishing to the point that very sophisticated visualization and communication can be automated as never before.
