Corda aims to solve the Web-page printing problem

The CIO-level business angle on the latest tech

Have you ever viewed a document on the Web, printed it, and then were disappointed when the document appeared cut off on the right-hand side?  Even if you reset the page orientation before printing, you might not get the full document.  At the very least, the formatting just doesn't look the same as it did on screen.

Of course, sometimes you find a Web page that offers you a printable version, but that often strips out color and graphics.  Worse, it means that the Web master has two separate documents to maintain, and they can easily get out of synch if the original document is updated but the print version is forgotten.

The fact is, documents coded in HTML that look beautiful on the screen just weren't intended to look great when printed, too.  Until now, that is.

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Have you ever viewed a document on the Web, printed it, and then were disappointed when the document appeared cut off on the right-hand side?  Even if you reset the page orientation before printing, you might not get the full document.  At the very least, the formatting just doesn't look the same as it did on screen.

Of course, sometimes you find a Web page that offers you a printable version, but that often strips out color and graphics.  Worse, it means that the Web master has two separate documents to maintain, and they can easily get out of synch if the original document is updated but the print version is forgotten.

The fact is, documents coded in HTML that look beautiful on the screen just weren't intended to look great when printed, too.  Until now, that is.

Corda Technologies has tackled the problem of preserving the format of on-screen documents when you send them to print.  Corda, of Utah, specializes in innovative data presentation, taking routine data from databases and turning it into Web-based images and graphics that help you visualize the data's meaning.  For example, complex tables of figures turn into interactive pie or bar charts with Corda's PopChart product.

Corda's customers were pleased with the Web-based display of their data, but the joy turned to frustration when the print key was hit.  They began asking for a tool to produce PDF files from server-based displays.  The result is Corda's product called Highwire, which works with Adobe Acrobat to produce the PDF file on the fly.

(How cute can you get for a product name?  An "acrobat" works on a "highwire."  Get it?)

Corda Vice President of marketing David Vandagriff explains the premise of the product.  "The way you want customers to view you on the Web is represented on the browser page, but something is lost in translation when you hit the print key.  Highwire solves the fundamental problem of something in your browser printing with parts of it cut off.  It adjusts the Web page to fit into a PDF page, which gets created on-demand by the user."

Highwire runs on the server from which you display your Web pages.  It runs on Windows, Linux, Unix, and even a mainframe.  The information that is displayed on-screen via HTML or XHTML code is fed through Highwire, which preserves the formatting, graphics and color.  The printed page looks virtually the same as the on-screen page.

Organizations that should have a high interest in such a product are those that provide highly formatted on-screen receipts or statements, such as bank statements, travel itineraries, e-commerce receipts, and investment reports.  These kinds of on-screen displays have volatile data that changes frequently.  Thus, a printed version of the screen should only be produced on-demand, from the exact data shown in the browser.

Restaurant chain Chick-fil-A has been evaluating Highwire and has purchased the product for use with internal applications.  Chris Taylor, senior manager in the Technical Architecture and Operations department at Chick-fil-A, explains the value his department has found.  "We looked at various tools that would allow our users to print what they see on the screen.  Historically, this would be considered a reporting function," says Taylor.  "Most of the reporting tools on the market would require a redesign of the business application logic, and we couldn't afford that in time or money.  Highwire lets us use the investment we've already made in our Web applications development.  It's very easy to make the reports happen."

Linda Musthaler is a principal analyst with Essential Solutions Corporation.