Convert Inspire Designer WFD to PSL

Moving a print job from Quadient Inspire Designer to Jetletter PSL Page Builder is a rebuild. You don't import a WFD file and press a button. You document what each job does, rebuild it in PSL, and prove the new output matches the old before a single piece mails. This plan breaks that work into eight steps your shop can schedule and track.

1. Inventory every WFD

A WFD workflow file bundles a job's data inputs, data processing and scripting, layouts and output settings. All of that has to be written down before you rebuild anything. For each project, record the input files, field mappings, business rules, page layouts, barcodes, outputs, file naming and schedule. Note who sends the data and who receives the output.

Rank the jobs by volume, revenue and complexity. Start with a simple, high-volume job so your team learns PSL on something predictable. Our guide to inventorying Inspire WFD workflows includes a full checklist.

2. Prepare the data

Collect sample input files for every job, including the odd ones. Pick records that hit every condition: foreign addresses, long names, missing fields, multiple versions and the largest record you can find.

Then decide where the data will come from in PSL. It merges from CSV and delimited files, or through ODBC from SQL Server and Excel. If your Inspire workflow does a lot of cleanup or reshaping before layout, consider doing that work in SQL Server or PowerShell before the merge. Clean, flat input files make PSL projects simpler and easier to maintain. Run CASS and NCOA ahead of the merge as you do today.

3. Rebuild the layouts

Recreate each page in PSL's drag-and-drop designer. Bring over the static artwork as high-resolution PDFs or images, then place the variable text boxes, image boxes and barcodes on top.

Work from a printed proof of the current Inspire output, not from memory. Match fonts, margins, line spacing and fold or window positions. Envelope windows are unforgiving, so measure address placement against the envelope spec, not just the old PDF.

4. Rebuild the logic

This is where most of the effort goes. List every rule the job applies, in plain language, then build each one in PSL.

Page and version selection goes in the Condition Manager, which uses compound statements to choose pages.
Swappable paragraphs, offers and images go in Dynamic Content Management (DCM).
Calculations, formatting and anything the drag-and-drop tools don't cover go in the PSL language through the four "bridges to PSL."

Don't try to copy Inspire scripts line for line. Translate the business rule. Our article on translating Inspire scripting to PSL logic covers this step in detail.

5. Set outputs and postal formatting

Match what the press and the post office expect today.

PDF settings. We recommend PDF 1.4 for digital presses. Match page size, bleed and color handling.
Imposition. N-up, Dutch cut and presort-order output are built in PSL, so you may be able to drop a downstream imposition step.
Address block. The Address Box applies USPS address formatting and places the IMb correctly. See Address Box vs formatted text box.
Barcodes. IMb, QR, Data Matrix and PDF417 are native and drawn without fonts. Confirm your IMb tracking codes and serial numbers come from the same source as before so Full-Service rules still hold.
File naming and splits. Reproduce the file names, batch sizes and splits your press operators and downstream systems rely on.

6. Automate the run

A PSL project is saved as a .PJB file that can be run from the command line or PowerShell. That lets SQL Agent, a scheduled task or your postal software start the merge as soon as data is ready. PSL Page Builder Pro adds hot folder automation, so a file dropped in a folder produces print-ready output with no one at the keyboard. See .PJB file automation.

Rebuild the same upstream and downstream connections the Inspire job had. That includes data pickup, CASS and NCOA, presort, the merge, the hand-off to the press and any job tickets or reports.

7. Run both systems in parallel

Run the same frozen input file through Inspire and PSL and compare the results. Check record counts, page counts, visual PDF differences, data on selected records, IMb and address blocks, presort order and run times. Keep a written log of every difference and how it was resolved. The full method is in our parallel run testing guide.

Plan for more than one cycle. A job that runs weekly should pass several real cycles before you trust it.

8. Cut over and keep a way back

Set sign-off criteria before testing starts, and have the client or job owner approve them. When a job passes, switch production to PSL on a planned date and keep the Inspire job ready to run for a set period in case you need to roll back.

Move jobs in waves. Each wave goes faster because your operators learn PSL patterns and reuse layouts, conditions and DCM content from the jobs before it.

How MhetaData helps

Our Inspire to PSL conversion service covers the full plan, from inventory to cutover, including the automation around each job. We sell and support Jetletter PSL Page Builder and train your operators as the jobs move. Call (800) 625-0369.

Quadient and Inspire are trademarks of their respective owner.

How to Convert Inspire Designer WFD Projects to PSL Page Builder