Sheridan Magazines, a US-based provider of magazine and special interest publication printing, binding, comailing and distribution services, has announced the launch of a new cloud-based production and management service, Virtual Publisher. The tool, developed by Blanchard Systems Inc. and supported through Sheridan's Digital Services Team, is an online publishing production system. It seeks to empower publishers to effectively plan, create, collaborate and approve all elements of a publication's multichannel production – for print, web, mobile and tablet access.
The new tool comprises four major modules. These include Planning, which covers easy-to-use layout and planning tools for both print and mobile publications, and Editorial, which includes story synchronisation through Adobe InDesign, definition and management, editor approval, and finished page / folio delivery. The other two modules are Layout, which includes import/export, flatplan creation, online ad-to-editorial "stitching", ad-to-editorial ratio tracking, paper stock/weight/trim management, online dummy generations, versioning and A/B splits; and Advertising which covers full integration to SendMyAd online ad submission /verification portal and ad booking integration for digital IOs.
Virtual Publisher is projected to seamlessly connect editorial, advertising, traffic, premedia, and digital departments into a single real-time project management, production and delivery portal. This integration is expected to not only streamline production time, but also extend advertising deadline windows, thus providing additional revenue opportunities.
