Multilingual Publishing

Automated publication

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Publishing today: single-source and cross-media

Content increasingly has to be published through a variety of different media – books, catalogues, brochures, mobile phone/PDA, CD-ROM, electronic (e.g. PDF file), Internet/intranet, etc.
Using manual means for such publication is susceptible to errors, time-consuming and cost-intensive.
In order to do justice to the increasingly demanding requirements of the output formats, the publication process has to be simplified and automated.
This can only be done successfully if the publication process is preceded by an information management system – a content management system (CMS), for instance – which structures the information within a single source and stores and manages it independently of publication medium.
 

One information pool – many multimedia publications

With single-source publishing,
the electronic data is re-used for multiple publications,
the content is stored and managed in one place (single source),
publications are generated from the single source for multiple target media.
With cross-media publishing, a range of appropriate media are employed to communicate specific content.
New information products in new media are generated as new combinations of existing information units. The use of single-source publishing is particularly beneficial in situations where creation of the publications is fully automated. Among the typical applications are:
Printed documentation and manuals
Interactive technical documentation
Web publications or CD-ROMs
Online help systems
Product/spare parts catalogues
Content for diagnostic systems or control desk displays
Web-enabled phones or handheld computers

One process – many benefits

The introduction of a single-source publishing process improves the publishing process in many regards:
Publication is speeded up by the use of a single output system
Quality is improved as a result of centralised data storage and management – check once, use repeatedly
Processing complexity is reduced – repeated maintenance and manual amendments are unnecessary
Updating of publications is simplified
Layout is and remains consistent and uniform because it is generated automatically
There are also advantages for editorial staff in terms of information handling:
they can concentrate on their essential tasks – creative thinking and editing,
they can be more flexible in the presentation of information, and
they can develop new information products (e.g. web or CD-based).
What is more, authorised users have immediate access to and can update all important data at the click of a mouse.

Publishing with SPIDER at the press of a button

In SPIDER, STAR offers a data retrieval and information system for fully automated publication of SGML/XML data resources based on the GRIPS concept and in which the method of information storage is entirely separate from the publication structure. SPIDER can merge information from disparate sources, structure it and selectively publish it – through any medium and in any language.
SPIDER is the fastest printing system by far. It is capable at any time of combining single-source information with layout instructions at the press of a button and publishing it at record speed – thus enabling super-fast production of, for instance, updated technical information with images, in multiple languages, on one and the same CD, as often as required and without having to save a single document.
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