magnet 2013 - pr1 2013
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PR1 - Efficient Magazine Workflow for Production and Editorial These slides are from my presentation this morning at MagNet, Canada's Magazine Conference.TRANSCRIPT
PR1 Efficient Workflow for Production and Editorial Kim Latreille, Digital Media Consultant @kim_elle
Here is today’s topic:
Learn how you can integrate and streamline the process to make the whole magazine produc:on cycle easier and more efficient, preven:ng nail-‐bi:ng stress for everyone as deadlines begin to loom.
My best advice:
The only way to prevent nail-‐bi:ng is to get a good manicure.
Why listen to me?
• 20 years experience in a rapidly changing environment
• Magazine hoarder • Closet geek/technology lover • Prefers to do things once • Pet peeve – backtracking • Capable of the odd joke
Some publica:ons I’ve worked on:
Screen size varia,ons Delivery file format varia,ons No file standards
What makes workflow difficult?
It’s the stuff nightmares are made of.
Another problem is language.
• “Print side” versus “Web side” • CMYK versus RGB • 300 dpi versus 72 ppi • Inches versus pixels • PDF versus PNG • Which route is be^er? • Where do tablet edi:ons fit then? They are a digital product…
What’s common to both?
HTML (or HyperText Markup Language) Defini,on: a set of standards, used to tag the elements of a hypertext document. It is a text descrip:on language that is used for electronic publishing, especially on the web. So what about publishing in any format isn’t electronic?
Who has heard these terms to describe magazine workflow?
• Print-‐Centric • Web-‐Centric • Mobile-‐Centric • Content-‐Centric • Any thoughts on which of these might make the most sense?
It depends on who you ask.
• A print produc:on person – Print-‐Centric • A interac:ve webby guy – Web-‐Centric • A few industry analysts – Mobile-‐Centric • An idealist – Content-‐Centric
In fact, this slide claims to represent a “prac:cal HTML5 magazine workflow”:
Source: h^p://www.slideshare.net/mkowalski1/developing-‐a-‐prac:cal-‐html5-‐magazine-‐workflow
Uh, where’s the printed magazine?
Where then, do we go from here?
• Unfortunately, the idealist’s Content-‐Centric workflow does not exist
• Print-‐Centric workflow is the one being used by most publishers
• Publishers are either: – Too heavily invested in exis:ng technology – Unwilling to shid to a new way of thinking
• Or both
Let’s dig into Print-‐Centric.
• Most publishers are knee-‐deep in legacy systems and technology – CMS such as K4, Woodwing – Adobe InDesign – QuarkXpress
• Publishers s:ll rely on print for almost 90% of their revenue
• Not surprising they think “print first”
Condé Nast and Adobe
h^p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34f13csGLIs • Condé Nast uses Adobe Digital Publishing Suite to produce enhanced digital edi:ons of their printed magazine
• Their approach is typical of many publishers who think “print first”
The typical digital edi:on is sta:c.
• Most publishers have edi:ons on digital newsstands
• Many publishers choose print circula:on distributor rela:onships to get onto digital newsstands
• CDS Global • Dis:cor
• More oden than not, these edi:ons are replicas of print edi:ons created from single page PDFs
Alterna:ve solu:ons:
• Solu:ons exist that allow publishers to use print PDF files to create digital edi:ons – Issuu – 3Dissue – Uniflip – Zinio – VirtualPaper – Turnit – Adobe Publishing Suite – Texterity
• DIY advantage – maintains control of your product
• Pricing and tools vary
Great digital DIY examples:
• The Kit h^p://www.thekit.ca/ – Started as a digital-‐only publica:on – Originally built in partnership with Texterity
• Covet Garden h^p://covetgarden.com/ – A digital magazine accessed on their website – Uses an embedded viewer or open on iPad – Created using Issuu
Delivering files for digital edi:ons:
• The majority use print PDF files to create the digital edi:on
• Re-‐rip the PDF to tablet viewer specifica:ons – Resolu:on, RGB colour-‐space – Create a jpeg file – Two files delivered for each page
• PDF for zooming in • jpeg for fast view
To find efficiency, I start here.
• Build a smart workflow – Address requirements for all edi:ons/plalorms
• Automate pain points – Sodware and script within applica:ons
• Share resources across plalorms – Mul:purpose content as much as possible
Finding efficiency across plaYorms requires a bit more crea,vity.
Crea:ng PDF files is the easy part.
• Using any design applica:on: – PDFX-‐1a is a standard senng – Customized job op:on senngs can be imported to accommodate digital edi:on vendor’s PDF file specifica:ons
• If your premedia process is automated, both print and digital edi:on files can be created simultaneously
• PDF files can be created, named and delivered to each vendor/supplier
Now the job is done, so what?
• We have two iden:cal sta:c edi:ons of the magazine, one print and one digital
• Enhancing the sta:c digital edi:on pages happens once the PDF files are uploaded to the vendor
• Typically, you can enhance by adding: – URL links – Sound clips – Embedded video
Some might call that boring or a waste of the plaYorm’s biggest asset – digital capability.
Evidence of the boring factor. Source: h^p://deadtreeedi:on.blogspot.ca/
Some applica:ons are more flexible.
• Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, Woodwing and Virtual Publisher are all print/digital edi:on Content Management Systems
• Each works with InDesign within the CMS and allows the designer to: – create versions for mul:ple plalorms – view on mul:ple device templates
• CMS can manage internal workflow and integrate editorial with ad material
Be^er controlled expecta:ons.
Allows designer to view the layout on various screen sizes and tweak if necessary.
Some magazine content is published on websites.
• There are a few ways to make that happen: – You can cut and paste – Someone else can cut and paste
• Unfortunately, with all this terrific technology, and the whole publishing process being digital, in a Print-‐Centric workflow – this is the best cross-‐plalorm solu:on we’ve got.
To bridge the gap.
• Some website developers have created sodware to help you manage content: – Agility CMS – Wordpress – Squarespace
There are several more, but Agility is very ac,ve with publishers, will customize their solu,on and help clients get rolling.
S:ll, it’s cut and paste.
• To avoid cut and paste, there are ways to take copy from InDesign and plop it into Wordpress. – PageZepher from Markzware indexes content and exports to Wordpress
– Export from InDesign as XML and import into Wordpress (this ac:on can be automated)
But it ain’t pre]y. A lot of work needs to be done by the web editor.
Images are another thing.
• Automa:on can be used share resources between print and web
• Scrip:ng sodware such as Enfocus Powerswitch can be set up to convert image files, then deliver them to web editors – CMYK to RGB – 300dpi to 72ppi (or whatever is required) – Determine flow based on file type
• .ai goes through Illustrator • anything else through Photoshop
Could it be easier?
• Yes • A content-‐centric approach could benefit all plalorms, but applica:ons to support that workflow for print edi:ons do not exist
• Not to men:on dyed-‐in-‐the-‐wool print tradi:onalists – convincing them to change is like pulling teeth
Is it possible to work another way?
• Who knows what responsive design is? • Consider responsive design templates and how that works
• HTML5, CSS and tagging content – HyperText Markup Language – Cascading Style Sheets
• Different styles can be applied depending on the output device being used
• Digital versions can be different from printed versions, designers can tailor the presenta:on of elements for each plalorm
Responsive – you’ve been served.
Elements are served depending on screen dimensions, pixels per inch.
Torontoist website is responsive.
• Elements are reconfigured depending on what device you are viewing the website on
• Try it on your desktop, mobile device, tablet • Try Chatelaine.com too
And why not a page of a magazine?
• Depends on who you ask • Allows for content focus, i.e. Content-‐Centric • Some edi:ng would be required
– Audience considera:ons • Yet, for moving content around in a workflow for mul:ple devices, tagging would be an ideal solu:on
• Thoughts?
Ques:ons?
• Fire away • Who is seeing Wes Bos this adernoon? • Thank you for listening • Keep in touch:
[email protected] Twi^er: @kim_elle h^p://kimlatreille.tumblr.com