Xplor International

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Xplor International [1] also known as The Electronic Document Systems Association is an international trade association specifically focused on the issues of transaction documents. Transaction documents are legally relevant documents that are either printed and mailed or are electronically delivered e.g. bills, bank statements, insurance policies etc. The goal of the organization is to promotes "best practices for the design, production and delivery of electronic documents." [2]

Contents

The acronym XPLOR was derived from Xerox Printer Liaison ORganization, the original association name. Xplor expanded its mission in 1983 to include other vendors' technology and adopted the acronym as the organization's name.

History

Xplor International was founded in 1980 as a trade association specifically for transaction document applications, due to the difference in emphasis on variable data. Originally a user group for the Xerox 9700 laser printer, they reshaped their mission in the early 1980s to address the entire transaction document industry. Hardware companies like IBM, Siemens (later Océ), Hewlett Packard, Pitney Bowes, Bell & Howell, Ricoh, [3] and Xerox have been actively involved as have software companies like Image Sciences (later Docucorp International), Document Sciences, Cincom Systems, GMC Software Technology, Xenos, Crawford Technologies, supported Xplor in order to promote a venue for the issues that are unique to the creation of transaction documents.

In the 1990s, Xplor began to shift from solely document “printing” to document “printing and presentation”, as transaction documents came to be presented on the Web.

As of 2018 Xplor hosts an annual conference with presentations on topics such as "Communication Design, Technologies, and Customer Experience". [4]

Membership

Xplor’s membership of users and vendors is worldwide, with approximately 45% of the membership in the early 2000s being outside the US. [5]

Electronic Document Professional

Xplor manages the Electronic Document Professional (EDP) certification program for people experienced in electronic document systems and/or application development. [6]

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References

  1. "Technology Trends: Xplor Directions Survey", Dr. Keith Davidson PhD, edp, Enterprise Journal, 1998. Example of Xplor industry research on transaction documents and laser printing trends http://esj.com/article.aspx?ID=10229843143PM
  2. Henry, Patrick (May 9, 2018). "Dimensions of Data Management". PrintingImpressions. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  3. "Ricoh to Unveil Enhancements to Web Enablement Solutions Suite". PrintingImpressions. April 17, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  4. Curcio, Tony (October 11, 2017). "Xplor International calls for presentations for its 2018 Conference". Graphic Arts. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  5. William J. 'Bill' McCalpin edp, former General Manager of Xplor International, 2008
  6. "A BRIEF HISTORY OF EDP". Xplor International. Retrieved 15 August 2023.