Quark News Revolutionizing Publishing. Again.
Leading Benelux Media Group Achieves More than 80 Percent Automation with Quark’s Dynamic Publishing Technology
De Persgroep Adopts Quark Dynamic Publishing Solution to Help Drive Regional Expansion
LONDON, UK - 4/13/2010 -
Quark today announced that De Persgroep (DPG), a leading Benelux media company involved in a wide range of activities including newspapers, magazines, financial media, television, radio and Internet, is embracing Quark’s dynamic publishing vision by adopting its latest technology to extend its reach across the region. DPG is hugely influential in the Benelux region and publishes the leading daily, weekly, and monthly national newspapers across the Netherlands and Belgium including De Morgen, Het Laatste Nieuws, Algemeen Dagblad, De Volkskrant, Het Parool, Trouw, Tijd and Echo, covering a total readership of over 10 million people in the Benelux.
Regional Expansion
DPG wanted to extend its reach beyond its traditional national newspaper market by increasing the number of regional newspapers it produces. However, they needed to achieve this without expanding their current editorial team and only using their existing resources. This required a system that could not just manage its editorial workflow, but also automate the print process, repurpose content and most importantly, automate pages.
“We required a system that could accommodate almost 1,000 users and that could also help us to achieve our goal of expanding while at the same time reducing costs. The key was choosing a complete dynamic solution that would enable users to quickly and painlessly resolve publishing challenges without having to seek multiple vendors to create a complete solution. After much detailed research and analysis, we concluded that Quark is the only company in the marketplace that can provide this kind of solution,” said Guy De Bruyn, DPG Corporate ICT Manager.
Automatic Pagination
A key element of their expansion strategy was the automation of pages for the regional newspapers, as this would save time and enable them to focus their efforts on creating more titles. Using Quark’s dynamic publishing technology, they can create business rules that automate the creation of pages for the local news sections of the regional newspapers.
“Using Quark’s Dynamic Publishing Solution we are achieving 80 percent automation. This means that in many cases, no users are involved until the final touch up and this can now be done by two users, the editor and the sub editor. Previously these pages were created by up to eight people. This adds up to a significant cost savings and in terms of ROI, we estimate that this system will have paid for itself in less than one year,” added De Bruyn.
Open Technology
DPG is a self-integrator and prefers not to depend on third parties to integrate different systems used for newspaper and magazine production, like advertising, editorial, printing plant, monitoring and tracking. Therefore, it was extremely important to work with a system that was based on open standards. Quark’s dynamic publishing technology is based on open standards and its spring framework and open service oriented architecture means that it is easy to integrate with third party applications and home-grown solutions.
“Quark recognizes that we are a self-integrator and have always supported us by providing developer training. Having an open standards-based system is paramount to our expansion strategy, as it enables us to extend its capabilities by integrating seamlessly with third party solutions like PictureSAFE for example,” continued De Bruyn.
Quark’s Vision
As an innovator and leading force in the Benelux market, DPG is keen to work with cutting edge technology and sees its longstanding partnership with Quark as instrumental in its future plans.
“The level of support that we have received from Quark has been phenomenal. We have had some very specific requirements for this project and Quark has worked closely with us every step of the way to address any issues. We really understand and embrace Quark’s dynamic publishing vision. As long time users, we are confident in their technology and feel with their focused vision that they will succeed in revolutionizing the publishing industry – again,” concluded De Bruyn.
“Having a brand like De Persgroep commit to the Quark’s dynamic publishing technology is testament to its power and flexibility and demonstrates their confidence in the future potential of the solution and in Quark’s vision. DPG recognizes the importance of investing in a system that will improve productivity and efficiency now, and will also address future changes and challenges,” commented Matthew Wallis, Quark Senior Vice President of Sales in Europe and Africa.
About Quark
Quark® Inc. is a leading provider of publishing software for professional designers, small and mid-sized businesses, and large organizations in more than 160 countries. Two decades ago, our flagship product — QuarkXPress® — changed the course of traditional publishing. For more than 25 years, Quark has built on its knowledge and experience in design and publishing to provide software solutions that support collaborative workflows and automated publishing across multiple channels. Today, Quark is revolutionizing publishing again by setting new standards in XML-based publishing across print, the Web, and digital media as well as by helping small and mid-sized businesses promote their products and services easily, professionally, and affordably. Denver-based Quark Inc. is privately held.
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Contact: Sarah Rector, Quark Inc., 303-894-3753, srector@quark.com