Technology

Are You Getting the Most Out of EPUB 3?
May 1, 2013

When EPUB 3.0 was officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, 2011, it was taken by many as the spec to end all specs.

At last, we could really get to work creating ebooks with all the things we’d always wished for — basic things like the sophisticated typography and layout we can do in print, and beyond-print features like video and interactivity — as well as some things we hadn’t thought to want, like global language support and rich metadata. Not to mention something we knew we should do but that was “too hard” before: real accessibility. Best of all, we could make just one file that would work the same everywhere…

The euphoria didn’t last long. Sure, EPUB 3 told us how to do all those things; but did they all actually work anywhere?

That was 18 months ago. Guess what? Progress happens.

GinkgoTree
May 1, 2013

As the Book Industry Study Group report "Student Attitudes Toward Content in Higher Education" suggests, things are changing, and fast, for higher education publishing. And the Supreme Court's decision in Kirtsaeng V. Wiley is only going to hasten the speed at which higher ed publishers move to digital platforms for course content.

Enter GinkgoTree, a fresh-faced start-up from a group of former academics who, after bemoaning the lack of a cheaper alternative to expensive textbooks and a more elegant alternative to online course packs, decided that theirs was the solution they were waiting for.

Rethinking the Monolith
May 1, 2013

The era of the monolithic print textbook is coming to a close. The Kirtsaeng decision is the latest indication that it is not sustainable.

Atavist
May 1, 2013

Atavist, a multimedia storytelling platform which launched in January 2011, has received acclaim for its unique mix of longform journalism and an innovative content management system. In fact, the company has already received high-profile investment backing from the likes of Marc Andreessen and Google's Eric E. Schmidt. Co-founder, CEO and editor Evan Ratliff says: "We are this kind of hybrid outfit in that we're not solely focused on software or publishing. We are a media and a software company."

This media/software combo wasn't in the original plan. The initial goal was to be an innovator in the space called longform journalism, pieces of 5,000 to 30,000 words meant to be read in one sitting. "We started as an outfit that just wanted to do publishing, and a certain type of publishing: These short [pieces] between book and magazine [length]," says Ratliff — books that would be "multimedia" and "enhanced." "In order to that, we ended up developing our own publishing software to publish to multiple devices at the same time."

AEP Publishes Guides on Emerging Education Data Initiatives
March 20, 2013

WILMINGTON, DE, March 20, 2013 – The Association of Educational Publishers (AEP), the professional organization for the educational resource industry, is excited to announce the publication of two new resources: The Content Developer’s Guide to the Learning Resource Metadata Initiative and Learning Registry and The Smart Publisher’s Guide to LRMI Tagging. AEP is co-leader of the LRMI, which is working to create and implement a standard tagging specification to improve the online discoverability of learning resources. With contributions from Educational Systemics and inBloom (formerly the Shared Learning Collaborative), the Content Developer’s Guide offers an overview of the ways that metadata and paradata (a specialized type of metadata that can be used to describe how a resource has been used, when, and by whom) are changing the educational landscape, with a specific emphasis on why—and how—to effectively implement the LRMI and participate in the Learning Registry. Additionally, the guide aims to break down the complex pieces that intersect various education metadata initiatives and bring clarity to their respective missions.

HP Indigo Sites Report Significant Efficiency Gains Using Enfocus Switch and PitStop Products
February 22, 2013

February 14, 2013 – Ghent, Belgium – HP Indigo owners at Dscoop8 in Nashville, Feb. 21-23, can see, first-hand, the quick turn-around and quality benefits that HP SmartStream Solution Partner Enfocus delivers in its Switch automation and PitStop preflight and optimization products. Enfocus representatives will demonstrate the integrated HP Indigo and Enfocus solutions in Dscoop8 exhibit #819.

“Software that helps print shops realize the promise of such powerful and finely tuned digital print systems is in great demand among HP Indigo sites,” says Alex Hamilton, Director of Business Development at Enfocus.

RSuite CMS Joins the Association of Educational Publishers
February 4, 2013

RSuite CMS a content management system for publishers, recently joined the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) as an affiliate member. The AEP serves the diverse needs of the entire educational resource community, including publishers, content developers, IT professionals, service providers, researchers, instructors, and communication experts from around the world.

2013 Publishing Business Conference & Expo Call for Speakers
January 29, 2013

The Publishing Business Conference & Expo, the nation's largest conference and expo for book, magazine and journal publishers, will take place September 23-25, 2013, at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square. The Publishing Business Conference & Expo is produced each year by the Publishing Business Group and Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines.

Pub Ex Machina: The Revolution Will Be Digitized
January 8, 2013

This article will appear in the January issue of Book Business.

Mark Z. Danielewski, the author of mind-bending, paradigm-busting works House of Leaves and Only Revolutions, has made a career of turning the novel on its head. So it should come as no surprise that he’s attempting the same with ebooks.

The digital version of the Los Angeles-based author’s The Fifty Year Sword (Pantheon)—which in print features elaborate stitched illustrations—came out late last year and is neither a print replica nor a reflowable document. Rather, the fixed-layout epub takes the fastidiously constructed ghost story for grownups to another level, incorporating an original score and a collection of text effects that are triggered as the reader turns pages .