Web-based DTP-Workflow with Contentserv’s InCopy Connector

Rohrbach/Ilm, Germany, July 07, 2011: Adobe’s® InCopy® Workflow, loved by so many distributed editorial teams, is now incorporated into Contentserv’s publishing process via Contentserv’s new InCopy Connector. This combines the benefits of Adobe’s excellent plugin with the advantages of centralized, web-based collaboration, without requiring a local installation of InDesign®. Beginning with Contentserv’s latest version, CS11.2, the new InCopy Connector will be available to all Contentserv users using the InDesign® Webeditor.
With appearance of this latest release, users will have an additional highly-effective tool for processing print documents with Contentserv. The PPM InCopy Connector (Print Publication Management) not only makes the distribution of tasks for processing InDesign documents easier, it also monitors and controls those tasks, based upon intelligent workflows.

Up to now, with InCopy’s help, individual text passages or image frames within an InDesign document could be grouped together into tasks. These could then be assigned to different users and processed by them in parallel. The InCopy tasks, like text creation or image processing, then had to be processed by the users in InCopy, external from InDesign, and the layout remained completely untouched. Once the processing of a task had been completed, it would be checked back in and shown to the main user as a modified resource, similar to the way a modified link to an image would appear. After updating the view, all of the changes would then be incorporated into the main document.

Tasks arising in the traditional InCopy Workflow were stored as files. Both the assignment and the coordination of the tasks were also purely file-based. For task distribution, all members of the process had to use a joint file system with a fixed storage structure and there was no centralized task assignment. Instead, each person had to keep his or herself up to date by searching for and finding the individual files. In this scenario, the graphic artist, as the main InDesign user, had to take over responsibility for both the process itself and for exercising control over all of the others.

Now, in contrast with the before, with the new InCopy Connector, InCopy tasks in Contentserv’s InDesign Editor can be centrally-created using the browser and benefit from a utilization of company-wide user management for task assignment to all persons involved in process completion. For each InCopy task created, a respective workflow task is automatically generated with Contentserv Workflow, which seamlessly integrates each task into the individual user’s To-Do List. Each user is then informed about the new task by E-Mail. The Workflow Manager monitors task status and controls further coordination or escalation, as needed. The users can process their tasks either locally or directly in the browser, according to their individual preference. As soon as a task has been completed, the main user is notified by a traffic signal in the InDesign Editor and the changes can be updated.

Parallel, web-based collaboration on one and the same InDesign file, with regulated transparency in all InDesign processes; this is now ensured by automatic, system-supported processes, instead of having to rely upon individual discipline. The integrated Workflow Manager greatly minimizes the otherwise required coordination and lead times for collaboration with all involved parties.
More about Contentserv is available under www.contentserv.com

About Contentserv GmbH
Contentserv GmbH is the Software-Developer for Enterprise-Marketing-Management-Solutions (EMMS). With their comprehensive and user-friendly approach, Contentserv develops its solutions to provide a creative system for marketing, sales, and communication. To this goal, it supports all media, print and communications processes. Media channels like catalogs, websites, eShops, print and online advertising materials can all be produced professionally via browser, without expert knowledge. Processes are also optimized thereby, so great savings in time and expense can be targeted. This ensures a faster and much less expensive Time-to-Market for all forms of product communication, thus creating a clear and definite competitive advantage.

Press contact:
Petra Kiermeier, Director Marketing & Event
CONTENTSERV GmbH
Werner-von-Siemens-Str. 1
85296 Rohrbach (Ilm) . GERMANY
pr@Contentserv.com
www.Contentserv.com
T +49 8442 9253 870
F +49 8442 2044

This release was published on openPR.