From your mom’s waffle maker to that old drill collecting dust in the garage, every manufactured product must ship with a user manual. This is a simple rule that every company follows, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.

      Product documentation is one of the biggest challenges that manufacturing companies face. It might sound easy to print some manuals and drop them in a box, but anyone who keeps a hectic manufacturing schedule knows better. Product documentation can be a logistical nightmare.

      Most companies simply do not have the resources to do all of the writing, translation, updates, printing and delivery by themselves. So they end up with several outside contracts handling these different tasks. While coordinating all this wastes engineering time and costs a small fortune, most companies just accept it as part of the cost of doing business.

      Panasonic, however, has a different idea. The electronics manufacturer contracts International Technoprint to manage all user manual printing and logistics for its entire line of televisions made in Tijuana. As part of the Yamagata Printing Group, International Technoprint is a company that offers complete, end-to-end documentation services.

      “Panasonic is really benefiting from our full range of services,” said Mark Caleb, International Technoprint business development manager. “We handle all of the writing, last-minute engineering changes, printing, warehousing and delivery.”

Content development

      At Panasonic, content development starts with technical writers who know all about the products. George Kuzhivelil and Lee Hooks work on-site and take full responsibility for writing clear, concise user manuals. They free up engineers to spend more time developing quality products, rather than running around trying to write manuals as an afterthought.

      “If something comes up, these guys handle it immediately,” said Rafael Ahumada, Panasonic product engineer. “All I have to do is give them the schedule, and they take care of everything. They save me a ton of legwork and allow me to concentrate on developing quality products.”

      “Our number one goal is to make product documentation run as smoothly as possible,” said Kuzhivelil. “When the TVs have last-minute engineering changes, we’re right there to learn all ... 

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