Apparatus for printing information automatically combined from two different sources

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention provides a system and method for extracting information from one or more corporate databases and automatically generating print production orders using such information.
In one embodiment, a set of event definitions is provided based on changes to data in the corporate database.
A set of event rules is also defined, such that a print production request or requisition is automatically generated in response to firing of one or more event rules.
The print production request or requisition contains data directly extracted from the corporate database, rather than being manually entered by an employee.
A notification can be generated that confirms that the print order was automatically generated and indicates a date by which the print order will be processed and shipped.
According to other aspects of the invention, a computer program monitors changes to one or more corporate databases and generates event data in response to such changes.
The event data is transmitted over the Internet to a centralized print production facility, where the event data is used to fire one or more event rules, which in turn automatically generate print requisitions or print production orders.
In one variation, print requisitions are routed through an existing and commercially available procurement system, such as Ariba.
TM.
, before a print production order is generated.
One variation of the invention can monitor and handle event data from multiple corporations, each having its own business-related event rules, and each potentially having its own procurement approval system.
Fields in print requisitions and orders can be mapped to corporate database schemas, such that different corporate identifiers for a particular data item (e.
g.
, employee name) are mapped to a common data item in the print production facility.
Moreover, some or all of a corporate database can be mirrored at a central facility so that information for print requests can be extracted locally rather than generating further queries in the corporate database