Volume 17, Number 1 • January 2000 |
SoftBook Press Introduces Automated Publishing Software |
SoftBook Auto Publisher
SoftBook Auto Publisher is a server-based application that allows immediate
conversion of documents (text and graphics) from the industry-standard
Open eBook HTML format into a compressed and encrypted SoftBook Edition
for fast, secure distribution over the Internet without manual intervention.
According to the company, the primary benefit is the dramatically reduced
cost of preparing electronic content for commercial publishers and business
applications.
SoftBook Auto Publisher reportedly is ideal for applications that involve regular distribution of recurring information. The company says it is especially effective for periodical content, allowing virtually simultaneous production of both conventional and electronic versions of magazines, journals, and other ongoing published materials. In addition, SoftBook Auto Publisher can be implemented to automatically compress and encrypt electronic documents for distribution to SoftBook Readers, allowing an immediate production and distribution system for electronic content that can be integrated seamlessly into conventional content preparation processes.
“SoftBook Auto Publisher allows us to produce secure, electronic versions of TimesFax, the eight-page digest of The New York Times, automatically and simultaneously with the transmission of the publication,” said Dan Barber, sales director of TimesFax. “In less than 1 minute from the moment that an issue is completed, we can convert the content into a SoftBook Edition for delivery to our subscribers. This gives us the ability to provide TimesFax to readers, in effect, instantaneously. This immediate availability of our content is exactly what we want to achieve in terms of spectacular customer service.”
SoftBook Auto Publisher often works in conjunction with the Electronic
Newsstand feature of the SoftBook Reader. Users can plug the SoftBook Reader
into a phone jack or Ethernet network connection at night and have the
latest magazine, newspaper, or corporate report in the morning. SoftBook
Auto Publisher allows any organization with ongoing publishing needs or
dynamic mission-critical business information to immediately distribute
it to authorized users in a secure, cost-effective manner, according to
the company.
SoftBook Database Publisher
SoftBook Database Publisher is a server-based application that allows
automated conversion of database information (text and graphics) into SoftBook
Editions for distribution to SoftBook Readers. Applications that require
timely distribution of dynamic database information to field offices, remote
sales and service staff, and others can be integrated into existing work
processes with SoftBook Database Publisher. According to the company, it
is especially effective for near real-time updating of business-critical
information, such as sales reports, delivery schedules, inventory systems,
and other rapidly changing data. The SoftBook Database Publisher is designed
to replace bulky, insecure “greenbar” reports and can be integrated into
a comprehensive paperless publishing system that may include training materials,
operating procedures, and other large reports.
The Arizona Republic is an early adopter of this new application. “SoftBook Database Publisher is an important part of our electronic route delivery management system that utilizes SoftBook Readers and the SoftBook Network,” said Chris Christian, circulation director at The Arizona Republic. “Updated route information for The Republic is extracted directly from our database and transmitted nightly to our carrier force.”
SoftBook Database Publisher also works in conjunction with the automatic download features of the SoftBook Reader and the SoftBook Express Internet distribution network. The system can operate in both Windows NT and UNIX-based operating environments and integrates easily into Oracle Reporting Systems and other Oracle-based systems. All SoftBook publishing tools are compliant with the Open eBook Publication Structure for incorporating third-party tools.
Source: SoftBook Press, Inc., Menlo Park, CA, 800/222-5861, 650/463-1800; http://www.softbook.com.
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