Digital pen shown at Drupa promises to ease paperwork burden for printers

Variable-data software provider Objectif Lune has created a "digital pen" that bridges the gap between pre-printed forms and online communications.

Objectif Lune regional sales manager Bruce Creighton told ProPrint that the PlanetPress Capture device, which works like a typical ballpoint pen, records data written on transactional documents and converts it into a PDF.

Couriers receive an immediate soft copy while customers retain the hard copy. The workflow can be adjusted so that customers also receive a soft copy, he said.

Printers that want to use the PlanetPress Capture need to add 'digital sign fields' to their documents, which can be printed on ordinary A4 paper. Only the data written in these fields gets captured by the pen. The courier then connects his pen to the computer and the data gets uploaded to the saved document, thereby eliminating the need for scanning.

The pens are priced at about $800 to $900, while it costs about $25,000 for 10 pens, software and installation, according to Creighton.

Regional marketing coordinator Marina Ali told ProPrint that the pen had been demonstrated at Drupa and used to fill in more than 500 forms.

"The interest in PlanetPress Capture for the ANZ region exceeded any other Objectif Lune product," she said.

Objectif Lune is partnering with Canon, Fuji Xerox, Konica Minolta and Océ to market and supply the pen in Australia and is also speaking to the banking, insurance, retail and logistics industries, according to Ali.

She said 1,200 pens had been sold to the Lewis Group in South Africa and another 2000 to a Japanese company.