Active layout engine: Algorithms and applications in variable data printing

Variable Data Printing (VDP) refers to the process of generating and printing dynamic or personalized contents. A core technology required by highly customized VDP applications is the automatic document layout design engine, whose task is to adjust the original design or generate a new layout to present variable contents. This paper presents a novel document layout design engine, called Active Layout Engine (ALE). ‘Active’ reflects several unique features of the engine: first, through linear text block modeling and two-pass constraint solving algorithm, it supports a rich set of layout operations, such as simultaneous optimization of text block width and height, integrated image cropping, and non-rectangular text wrapping. Second, it does not rely on a particular layout description language and thus can actively pursue emerging formats and standards. This paper describes the various technical aspects of ALE: linearization of the text block modeling, two-pass constraint solving algorithm, format-neutral Active Layout Template (ALT), system optimization, and typical VDP applications around the core engine.