PIM and PAO (InDesign, Quark, EasyCatalog…) software
What are the links between these tools?
Introduction
How can a PIM software be connected to a PAO tool such as InDesign to automate the creation of catalogs, product sheets, and marketing documents?
Nowadays, many companies are looking to improve the reliability of their product data while accelerating the production of their communication materials. PIM (Product Information Management) software and PAO (Desktop Publishing) tools each address these challenges, but it is above all their interconnection that makes it possible to optimize the entire process.
In this article, we explain the relationship between a PIM software and PAO tools, how a PIM facilitates the creation and updating of documents (catalogs, product sheets, brochures, reports), and how automation with InDesign and EasyCatalog helps save time, reduce errors, and secure your publications.
In conclusion, we will introduce Interactiv’ Technologies and its solution Interactiv’ Database as a possible solution to link PIM and PAO software, thanks to their integrated services.
Table of contents
Definitions
Document creation process simplified through automation
What links exist between PIM and PAO? How can document creation be facilitated by a PIM?
Definition
PIM
A PIM (Product Information Management) is a database that enables to centralize all your product information (prices, references, names, images, product descriptions, etc.), which can then be enriched and easily distributed across your various sales channels (printed catalogs, web catalogs, e-commerce websites, marketplaces, applications, etc.).
A PIM software offers various features, and may also include a DAM (Digital Asset Management) that will centralize your digital assets (images, pictures, videos, etc.). To learn more, please refer to our complete guide on PIM.
PAO
PAO (Desktop Publishing) software is used to create documents (such as brochures, flyers, catalogs, directories, newspapers, etc.) intended for distribution or printing. Among PAO software, we have Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Publisher, Quark, etc. Today, the most widely used software by designers to create catalogs, product sheets, or brochures is undeniably Adobe InDesign, which is widely adopted in the professional world. This article therefore, focuses on this PAO tool.
Document creation process simplified through automation
Traditional document creation process
When creating documents (such as catalogs), the graphic designer may need to enter the product data displayed in the document. This data may be found in the old catalog, your colleague’s knowledge, an Excel, a PIM, an ERP, an internal software, a website, etc. The graphic designer is in charge of entering or copying this data into layouts created in PAO software (most often InDesign).
To save time, this data entry work can be automated. Indeed, it is possible to link product data stored in a PIM (or in any other data source, such as an Excel file) directly to InDesign. This requires an automation plug-in in InDesign, called EasyCatalog.
Automation in InDesign with EasyCatalog
EasyCatalog allows you to link your InDesign layout with your product database, for example, your PIM, your ERP, your Excel file, your internal software, etc.
This link between your data source and InDesign enables you to automate the process by inserting the product information directly from the data source into InDesign. This is similar to mail merge, but this time with product data inserted into InDesign, with multiple options that allow the creation of various layouts where data is automatically populated in just a few clicks, generating dozens or even hundreds of pages. This greatly simplifies document creation.
This link established between InDesign and your data source is bidirectional: all changes made in the data source are reflected in InDesign, and conversely, changes made in InDesign can be reflected back into the data source. Thanks to this bidirectional link, last-minute changes can be made either in the data source and/or directly in InDesign.
The benefits of this link between your data source and your InDesign documents are numerous: reduced risk of error; significant time savings, allowing designers to focus more on design rather than data entry; faster and simpler proofreading phases; easier creation of additional documents; and quick, efficient updates and last-minute changes.
What links exist between PIM and PAO? How can document creation be facilitated by a PIM?
PIM and EasyCatalog: two fully independent tools that can work together
This link via EasyCatalog can be established between your PIM product database and InDesign. Indeed, product data centralized in the PIM can be exported using various methods (CSV, Excel, ODBC connections, XML feeds, etc.). These exports can then be used as PAO in InDesign via EasyCatalog.
The PIM database and the EasyCatalog InDesign plugin are totally independent: it is possible to have a PIM software without using EasyCatalog for document creation, and vice-versa.
For example, since a PIM centralises your product data and distributes it across different sales channels, you may use a PIM, not for document creation, but for other purposes: real-time distribution of product information to applications and e-commerce websites, centralization of product data, or any other purpose you may find in our complete guide on PIM. It is therefore possible to use a PIM without EasyCatalog, especially if document creation is outsourced to external service providers.
Conversely, you can use EasyCatalog in InDesign to create documents without having a PIM, since EasyCatalog can link InDesign to other data sources such as an ERP, a CSV file, or an Excel spreadsheet.
PIM and EasyCatalog: a duo that greatly simplifies document creation
Companies that already use EasyCatalog often feel the need to acquire a PIM, and conversely, organizations that use a PIM and wish to create their own catalogs and product sheets can rely on EasyCatalog plug-in to simplify document design.
Indeed, if you already use either EasyCatalog or a PIM, it means you have already implemented a fairly structured process for managing product data or creating documents. The PIM-EasyCatalog combination works particularly well because these two tools help frame the document creation process, reduce the risk of errors, and minimize typos.
You might think: “Why not simply use an Excel file containing my product data and link it to InDesign via EasyCatalog?” This can indeed work. However, the limitations of Excel quickly become apparent when dealing with large volumes of product data, numerous media files and images linked to products, multiple users editing the data, and many catalogs and publications to produce. Collaborative work and change tracking become difficult with Excel.
Moreover, for catalogs that need to be produced in multiple languages, the PIM-EasyCatalog duo is also highly effective: you can reuse the same product layouts already set up in InDesign, tag product attributes in another language, and directly populate the translated data from your PIM via EasyCatalog to quickly generate additional catalogs.
Tools at Interactiv’ Technologies
Interactiv’ Technologies can provide you with PIM software and/or EasyCatalog automation plug-in. You may choose to acquire one of the two tools and later decide whether you would like to add the other.
Whether you are interested in acquiring PIM software and/or EasyCatalog, or whether you need to outsource your catalog production through our specialized service, we invite you to contact us.
Interested in knowing whether our PIM solution Interactiv’ Database could meet your needs?
Do not hesitate to contact us by email at contact[at]interactiv.tech or by phone at 0 970 248 990.