Are you prepared for the Multi Channel Publishing eruption?

Picture: César Cantú – Vulcano Colima, Mexico

After the DTP and POD revolutions our industry will now be faced with the MCP eruption. This Multi Channel Publishing eruption will disrupt current business models and forever change the way we publish. Driving force behind MCP is the simple fact that content has become too valuable to publish via one channel only. Valuable content has to be brought to the reader via all possible channels. From print to app and from online publications to social media will be used to get the reader´s time and attention.

Product-wise this is no mean feat, because every media channel has its own demands as far as lay-out, typography, user interface and content length are concerned. A page laid-out for print is not suitable for a digital publication and misses the extra media possibilities such as video and social media interaction.

But, a tsunami of apps will make it possible to publish digital content. Social media, apps and online publications will be used to grab the readers´ attention. The larger print companies and publishers have been working on this for a couple of years now and use professional solutions such as Agfa, Woodwing, Quark and Adobe. These are solutions with unlimited typography and lay-out possibilities. Solutions with a clever and highly automated workflow to make the conversion from print publication to digital publication a simple one. Publications which can be used on an electronic device from smartphone to desktop computer. 

drupa magazine click to read it

For smaller companies and companies who do not yet have much call for MCP there are simpler and economical solutions available. An example of a simple solution is Instant Magazine, a Software As A Service (SAAS) solution. Blokboek.com uses Instant Magazine for its drupa magazine which was read by more than 3,000 people. A good alternative is Woodwing Inception, which, just like Instant Magazine, uses HTML5 and has the added advantage of Woodwing Enterprise being able to convert Inception publications to apps and print-ready pages. Companies such as Metro, Twixl and Chili offer similar solutions, but do make use of Adobe software for layout and design. Adobe and Quark are both working hard on a publishing suite for both print and digital publications.

click to read it

Like with DTP and POD companies can choose to not join the Multi Channel Publishing hype or postpone joining. But that would not be a wise decision. Clients will want to use the multi channel approach, with or without a partner. So, losing the option would mean you could lose the business. Luckily the investment in Multi Channel Publishing is doable. It will mean updating your knowledge, but a SAAS solution will mean you can pay per publication with no cost until the actual publication.

Which solution is the best for you and your clients will be a challenge. Blokboek.com will help you by testing out a few of the solutions and reporting on our findings. We will do this in a series of editorials which will, if all goes well, be published digitally. The proof, as always, will be in the pudding.