Prepress
DNP Launches Product Support Service for Digital Magazines Including Images and Sound
Wednesday 02. March 2011 - Supports Production of "Hütte" from Yama-kei Publishers
Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP) will launch a production support service for publishers that use Desktop Publishing (DTP) data and software when producing paper based magazines to create digital magazines that include such rich contents as video and audio.
In its initial project DNP plans to jointly produce and distribute the digital version of “Hütte,” the quarterly outdoor magazine targeting women from Yama-kei Publishers Co., Ltd. (Yama-kei). Yama-kei roughly translates as Mountain and Valley.
[Background]
In addition to mobile phones, with the emergence of smart phones, tablet terminals and e-book terminals, e-books have begun to spread rapidly. Amidst these developments, digital magazines that make it possible to add expressive elements not available with paper media have become the focus of expectations in the publishing world. However, it is difficult to edit and produce digital magazines employing rich contents such as video and audio, at the same time as performing the same functions for paper media, and the present situation with many digital magazines in circulation is that they do not go beyond merely adjusting paper media data and to the screen size of the terminal in use.
To date, DNP has supported e-publishing operations at various publishers, by producing publishing contents targeting computers, mobile phones and smart phones from DTP data, and in November 2010, embarked upon experimental digital publishing using DTP software in collaboration with Yama-kei. By using this accumulated technology and know how, it has been possible to launch a production support service for magazines that use rich contents.
[Overview of Digital Magazine Production Support Service]
By using Adobe Creative Suite(R) 5, the integrated software for use in DTP and design, and the e-book product solution Adobe(R) Digital Publishing Suite component of Adobe InDesign(R) CS5 that performs paper media editing, it is possible to produce paper media magazines and digital magazines incorporating rich contents at the same time.
It is possible to automatically adjust the layout to match the screen when turning the terminal lengthwise or sideways. It is also, possible to take functions used in rich contents, such as 360 degree views, slide shows, image streaming, animation, and hyper-links and incorporate them with ease not only in standard text, but also special topics and ad pages. In particular, by incorporating a variety of functions in ad pages, there are hopes that the amount of time the reader spends pouring over the ad pages will grow and the ad effect be increased as a result.
It is possible for DNP to offer a consistent response to the production of the materials used in rich contents, from panorama filming, and photography using a 360 degree camera to the editing of video and audio, and transfer of data.
[Digital Distribution of “Hütte”]
In our first venture into this area, in conjunction with Yama-kei, DNP produced the digital version of vol. 2 of “Hütte” in November 2010, and in March 2011 will conduct a monitor survey of readers. The digital version of “Hütte” vol. 2 was produced along two different lines; one, whereby all the pages of the magazine were digitalized as per the original layout over a short production time schedule with the partial use of rich contents, and another, which saw a number of the original pages re-edited with a unique digital version layout, with the partial use of rich contents. Both patterns will be assessed.
DNP will also produce a digital version of “Hütte” vol. 3 based on the results of the monitor survey, and plans to distribute the magazine to iPad in spring 2011.