New Contenders in the Editorial Systems Market - Impressed

and a roadmap has been created that calls for the addition
of significant new functionality.
No details have been disclosed about future developments,
nor will much more be shown at Ifra, where
nxEditorial will make its European debut showing the
same basic functionality as at Nexpo.
Basic features. By way of background, nxEditorial is
built around browser clients, the use of XML to store
data, and a broad array of editorial and production
features for both print and Web publishing. It is characterized
by comprehensive capabilities for production
planning and workflow, with integrated production
tools to manage press configuration and ink density, as
well as workflow automation and output management
for CTP. InDesign is used as the pagination engine, a
change from Seinet’s original choice of Xpress.
Since licensing the Seinet technology, Net-linx has
made a few changes, including enhancing the data
structure to give the system a “basket-and-desk”
appearance and adding instant messaging. In addition,
although the main editing program is still Seinet’s
XML Editor, Net-linx is adding optional support for
InCopy and will offer similar support for CopyDesk if
customers request it, Net-linx said.
With the new features, reporters and editors who
want to write text to fit the layout will have three distinct
choices. The first is to use InCopy, which will provide
an exact H&J match. Another option is to use the
Xtent XML Editor, which runs in a browser, and compose
text using Seinet’s own composition engine. In
this case, although the results won’t be identical to the
H&J on the InDesign page, they are likely to be closer
than using Microsoft Word as the editor, since the
composition program was designed for use specifically
with the XML Editor in the Xtent environment.
The third copyfitting option, available to users
logged into the system, is to use the XML Editor configured
with an InDesign server to perform composition
over the network and achieve true H&J line endings.
Since many Nexpo visitors were seeing the Seinet
system for the first time, Net-linx made note of features
of particular interest. One was a “pay-per-view”
option that enables a Web site to present different content
to subscribers and nonsubscribers from the same
content database, producing new options for revenue
generation. The Web publishing module can be integrated
into the core editorial system to enable the reuse
of content on a 24-hour basis.
Workflow tools. Another popular item, Net-linx said,
was the workflow automation software, which was of
particular interest to newspapers that have already
achieved the cost benefits of pagination and are banking
on process automation as one of the few remaining
areas where additional savings can be achieved. This
tool was developed by Seinet as a separate module
from the Xtent system and is being sold by Net-linx for
use with other editorial or production systems.
Net-linx reported that ABC in Spain, a large Unisys
Hermes customer, uses it with Seinet’s output management
module to automate its production of about
3,000 pages a week in 13 editions across six printing
sites. Net-linx plans to offer this same capability as a
product to all Hermes customers.
The workflow automation software also has been
interfaced to the Print4 inking system, Harlequin RIPs
and several brands of CTP devices.
Pricing. NxEditorial pricing depends on the configuration
but typically runs between $3,500 and $5,000 per
simultaneous user license, not counting the cost of
third-party software. The browser-based nature of the
XML Editor enables Net-linx to offer concurrent-user
licensing, which helps to lower capital expenditure
requirements and increase flexibility.
Looking forward … and back. When Net-linx signed the
deal, Seinet had six customers using the version of
Xtext that was current at the time. One of those, located
in Spain, is implementing the version shown at
Nexpo, which includes the Net-linx enhancements.
(About 20 other Seinet customers date back to the days
of Seinet’s predecessor company, ESE. Many of them
should be good candidates for upgrades to nxEditorial
systems.)
The arrival of nxEditorial in the Net-linx product
line has important implications for the already-beleaguered
customers with earlier generation systems from
Net-linx, SII, CText and Computext. “We basically
consider nxEditorial as being Insiight V3,” said Albert
deBruijn, Net-linx’s VP of marketing. “We are currently
finalizing the first Insiight-to-nxEditorial upgrade.”
Although nxEditorial is the only editorial system in the
product line, Net-linx still sells Coyote terminals and
Coyote Layout to SII customers.
Editorial Systems
Workflow design
with nxEditorial. In
the main window,
designers plot
a workflow
graphically either by
dragging previously
designed steps from
the library (left) or
by creating new
steps. The behavior
of each step is
defined in the
properties window
(middle).
Volume 4, Number 13 • The Seybold Report • Analyzing Publishing Technologies 17