PRODUCT OF THE WEEK PrintSoft's archiving software can help bringorderto the chaos of storing personalised data, says Philip Chadwick

With thousands and, in some cases, millions of documents being despatched every day, it can be difficult to keep track of what's going where. More often than not, those files will need to be retrieved for reprinting. Therefore, to have the personalised data ready and waiting for marketing campaigns or transactional statements is a major benefit for the client, especially with so many time-sensitive markets.

PrintSoft Systems claims that it has developed the software to enable companies to do this at the click of a mouse. Dejar - its web- based electronic archiving and document management system - has been a hit in the financial sector, as well as in the print industry, according to managing director Mike Davies.

"Dejar is an archiving software product that has been significantly growing in the UK," adds PrintSoft business development manager for Dejar, Chris Buckle. "Our traditional base is the print bureau market. This product gives them an opportunity to sell an additional service."

Online archive

In the current climate, that might prove to be an attractive proposition, especially for those companies that print transactional statements and personalised direct mail. By offering an archiving service, printers will be able to save their clients time, as well as having a tool that might just help them to extract some extra margin. It's also a sign of the times that more organisations are keen to archive their documents online. Invoices, bank statements, letters and cheques are just some of the documents that users can trace with Dejar, in a matter of seconds.

Next year, PrintSoft, a division of Australia Post, will unveil the seventh iteration of the software, which has been on the market for more than 13 years. Version 1 came out in 1996 and, since then, there have been several interim releases each year. The next one is due to be unveiled next month and the major launch of Version 4 will take place in January 2010. However, September's interim version will include an updated interface and, according to Davies, it is already "a well established piece of software on the market".

Essentially, Dejar works by allowing a client to view an archived document in a matter of seconds. For example, a customer at a bank may request information about a document sent to them. An operator will then log into Dejar, locate the document and display it online.

That's the system at its simplest.