Digital publishing solutions provider Aquafadas unveiled a new, simplified workflow solution this morning at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Called AQ Cloud Authoring, the program streamlines the publishing process for a variety of content developers. From magazines and newspapers who may have large volumes of content to distribute, to small press publishers who don’t have an in-house designer team to develop Adobe InDesign files, Cloud Authoring alleviates much of the labor-intensive process by working directly from a PDF, even those converted in a program like Microsoft Word.
Allison Reber, Communication Manager for Aquafadas, sat down with Good e-Reader to explain how the process is more directly useful and what specific types of content creators could most benefit from the platform.
“Cloud Authoring is another tool to create your content,” Reber explained. “You can create dedicated versions for iPad, your computer, etc. With Cloud Authoring, you can do it automatically online. You drag your PDF file and you can choose the export format you want. You can create ePub fixed layout for Kobo or Amazon, a format for an app, or for a web reader. It’s very easy because you just take your PDF or JPEG [of a print edition] and convert it.”
One incredible new feature that Cloud Authoring provides is Guided Reading, which allows readers to move across the text of a newspaper or magazine article or the column print of a scanned print edition without having to move the text around on their screens. By tapping the next arrow, the text automatically shifts to the next block of text, then moves on to the next page once that text is completed. This feature is a simple tool in Cloud Authoring, and can be used by any content developer
A year in the making and based on seven years of experience in digital publishing needs, Aquafadas’ goal with Cloud Authoring was to simplify the process as much as possible without sacrificing any of the end products’ features. Reber made note of a French newspaper who published regional editions, thereby producing 53 different editions of its newspaper daily. Now that content can be optimized for digital reading, as all that is needed is the same PDF file the publisher would work from to create the print edition. Of course, the paper’s 2 million readers can benefit from the Guided Reading feature that enhances columnar reading.
Aquafadas announced a partnership with Kobo earlier this year to produce the digital versions for the Kobo digital magazine store, and another launch is expected from the partnership in the near future in the arena of self-published children’s books and graphic novels.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.