Abstract

Layouting items in a 2D-constrained container for maximizing item value and minimizing wasted space is a 2D Cutting and Packing problem. We consider this task in the context of layouting news articles on fixed-size pages in a system for delivering personalized newspapers. We propose a grid-based page structure where articles can be laid out in different variants for increased flexibility. In addition, we have developped a fitness function integrating aesthetic and relevance criteria for computing the value of a solution. We compare exhaustive, greedy and simulated annealing methods for generating personalized and aesthetically pleasing layouts of newspaper pages. Our results show that for the complex fitness function advanced C&P algorithms obtain nearly optimal values while the basic algorithms underperform.

@inproceedings{Strecker-OR-2008,
author = {Thomas Strecker and Leonhard Hennig},
title = {Automatic Layouting of Personalized Newspaper Pages},
booktitle = {Operations Research Proceedings 2008},
month = {September}
year = {2009},
isbn = {978-3-642-00141-3},
pages = {469--474},
location = {Augsburg},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-00142-0_76},
publisher = {Springer-Verlag},
address = {Berlin, Heidelberg},
}