4.0 KiB
🖨️ PrintAuftrag - Automated Personalization & Production System
A system that automates repetitive business processes, digitizes workflows, reduces mistakes and costs, and provides an easy-to-use, universally accessible web UI.
💡 What It Does
- Automates repetitive and time-consuming business processes
- Digitizes order-to-production workflows
- Reduces mistakes and costs by eliminating manual steps and standardizing outputs
- Accessible everywhere via a simple and intuitive web interface
👥 Who Uses It
This system is in production at Wolga-Kreativ, a company specializing in personalized products such as:
- Lunch boxes
- T-shirts
- Candles
- Other custom items (primarily for children)
These are sold across multiple platforms: Amazon, Etsy, and Shopify.
🧑💻 I’m the developer and operator of this system, affiliated with Wolga-Kreativ as the owner’s son.
🔁 High-Level Pipeline
- 📦 Orders are captured from sales channels and aggregated via Billbee
- 🔄 The system pulls order data from Billbee using its API
- 🖼️ Personalized product images are generated based on order data
- 🖨️ Production-ready print files are created for each specific machine
- 📤 Files are sent to production for manufacturing and packaging
- 📬 At day's end, production sends a report → system updates statuses → customers are notified via all sales channels
✅ Key Benefits
- 🚀 Faster processing and turnaround
Saves up to two full-time employees during peak seasons - ❌ Fewer manual errors and misprints
- 🎯 Consistent, machine-ready print files
- 📍 Centralized tracking and cross-channel customer notifications
🧰 Tech Stack
- Backend: Spring Boot, PostgreSQL
- Frontend: Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
- Image Generation: Python
- Containerization: Docker
- Hosting: Self-hosted on internal server
🧩 System Components
🖼️ Image Generator
Problem
Designs were originally made manually in tools like CorelDraw or Photoshop—unsuitable for automated large-scale personalization.
Each personalized product had to be manually edited and exported—a slow, error-prone process, especially with over 150+ orders/day during peak season.
Solution
- Designs are transformed into SVG templates with embedded bitmaps
- Stored in the database
- A standalone Python program takes prefiltered order data from Billbee and generates the images automatically
Technology: Python
🖨️ Print File Generator
Problem
Different machines, product types, and practices require specific print file formats.
Manual import and layout of each image is time-consuming and inconsistent.
Solution
- Web UI allows users to configure print templates
- Templates are saved to the database
- Backend (Spring Boot) generates the correct print files automatically when processing orders
Technologies: Java, Spring Boot, HTML5, TypeScript, Tailwind, Next.js
🔄 Sales Channel Update
Problem
After production, each order had to be manually marked as shipped and customers notified—labor-intensive and slow.
Solution
- End-of-day production sheet is automatically read
- Order statuses are updated via API
- Notifications are sent to customers through Billbee
Technologies: TypeScript, Next.js
🔮 Future Work
- 🔗 Integrate the Python image generator into the core server workflow
- ⚙️ Improve system automation with deeper Billbee API usage
- 📈 Extend with more processes
🖼️ Screenshots
🎨 Web View – Print Templates
Template configuration interface – View 1
Template configuration interface – View 2
🔁 Abstract Visualization – System Flow
High-level overview of the automated order-to-production pipeline