Despite the many developments in the publishing industry, and a progressive move toward fluid and digital content, we still maintain a very traditional print production workflow. Why is this, and how can we progress?

1. PDF PROOF?
T H E O F T H Eend
THE FUTURE OF XML WORKFLOWS

2. EVOLUTION
publishingOF

3. The last ten years saw a dramatic transition from
print to digital in many areas across publishing:
- eRetailers/ecommerce
- eBooks, digital products
- new revenue streams

4. As a result there has been a shift in
priorities for the modern publisher.
Speed to market has never
been more pertinent than in
these days of instant access.

5. Changes in the buying process,
new models of distribution, and
an emphasis on content
creation, rather than book
creation, has changed the
shape of publishing.

6. Why then is the industry so resistant to
developing new ways to handle the
production process and, in particular, the
proofing process within publishing?

7. HISTORY
proofingOF
A BRIEF

8. Before modern developments, the
process involved a paper copy of a
manuscript being marked up with
pen, before being forwarded, via post
no less, to the author for review.
The editor and author then went back
and forth until the manuscript was
ready.

9. All changes were then manually
input into a final version, which
went to the typesetter, and back
for final proofing.
Ultimately, this was a long
and arduous process to
get one book ready before
it even went to print.

10. CURRENT
proofingSTATE OF
the

11. Developments in
technology saw authors
adapt to electronic
versions of proofs sent
by email, in the form of
the PDF.

12. As authors adapted to
the idea of electronic
proofs, we moved on
to recognise the
annotated proof as
the norm. This is still
the case.
Can we take this
further? Yes.

13. XML
centrality
THE
OF

14. There has been much debate over
when the implementation of XML
in production should occur, with
views mainly based on the sector
in which any given publisher
functions.

15. For greater benefits, the creation of XML should
be at the very core of the publishing production
process, and therefore be produced as early as
possible.
This allows for greater
automation, whether the
project is traditional print
publishing or digital or a
combination.

16. Early implementation
also allows for the
content to be built
correctly from start,
eliminating many extra
steps.
XML provides
transformative power,
giving greater scope for
content distribution in
multiple formats.

17. If we agree to the centrality
of a final proofed XML file,
we then can move on to
looking at alternative and
modern approaches to the
timely proofing process.

18. proofing
DIGITAL
publishing,
TRADITIONAL

19. The distribution of electronic formats such as
ePub, XML and XHTML is now critical to present
and future publishing revenue streams.

20. So why are we stuck within a
print based production process
that is focussed on format first
and content second rather than
seeing the former as a by-product
of valid and proofed content?

21. workflow
ideal
ELECTRONIC
THE

22. Is now the time to look at more modern and
efficient proofing methods?
If we agree that a validated XML
file is the starting point to give us
the power of transformation and
the speed of production that goes
with that format, then now is the
time to start exploring new
workflows for production proofing.
??

23. What should it look like?
Author can
update content
directly.
Publisher can review
and accept/reject
author changes.
Collaborative work
environment for
all parties.
Immediate
content
transformation
functionality.
Streamlined.
Simplified.
User friendly.

24. By working together in one space, endless phases of a
lengthy process are handled instantly.
Then if production teams can
click a button and have their
content transformed into a
finished EPUB or PDF file,
think how much time is
shaved off a cumbersome
workflow.

25. benefits?
whatARE THE

26. Greater collaboration between
author, publisher and production
teams
Capacity to immediately update
content
Dramatically reduced production
turnaround times

27. Reduced production stages
Immediate content transformation
across variety of formats
Capacity to push content to
market quicker and more
efficiently
Significant cost savings to
production.

28. Discover Deanta's publishing
production platform, LANSTAD.

29. The system features a uniquely centralised
collaborative workspace, enabling content
transformation and real-time editing of XML
within a HTML environment. The platform also
features trackable milestones, a communication
portal and DAM capacity with metadata
integration to ONIX standards.
www.deantaglobal.com

30. www.deantaglobal.com
info@deantaglobal.com
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