Can someone refer pagination software?

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Permalink Reply by Paul Chernoff on September 12, 2008 at 6:17pm

For layout planning we use Managing Editor's Ad Layout System for Magazine (ALS). We use it to plan the magazine and to track which pages we are placing the ads. You can do a lot more with it, such as automating placement of ads into QuarkXPress or InDesign layouts, automatic distribution of ads with rules (e.g. any car dealership ads should be at least 10 pages from each other), etc. We are simple users in that we have time to decide manually which ads go on which pages. We do flow in advertising insertion orders from our internal Insertion Order system into ALS. There is even a multiuser version of ALS available.

So ALS does having information on which articles are on what pages, this isn't layout. This is an overview of each issue and is used in helping us create our editorial page budget.

We use K4 for workflow, tieing together our designers and editors and writers, controlling who can do what. We used QPS previously. K4 has some options that we don't use that helps provide an overview of your publication.

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Permalink Reply by David Cardillo on September 23, 2008 at 2:38pm

Kimberly, sometimes the old ways are the best ways. Is everyone involved in the same location? Print the pages, scan the ads, put them all up on a wall and move them around.

If your staff is large enough, and your locations diverse enough, software will help people in remote locations see what you're seeing, while keeping people who aren't familiar with your guidelines apprised of the rules. Otherwise it's just a digital attempt at a paper workflow.

...not that there's anything wrong with that. I would kill someone for a good (i.e. cheap enough for corporate to pay for) workflow management system. K4 (nee QPS) is not the silver bullet many people would like it to be - it introduces as many issues at it fixes - but it's nice to be able to see, at a glance, where every page is in the process (and who has it). (But that wasn't your question.)

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Permalink Reply by Kathryn Lymburner on September 24, 2008 at 4:04pm

For planning magazine layouts we use a low-tech/no tech solution: big white board with the different pages delineated by a permanent marker grid, each page is also numbered in permanent marker. Ads then get placed on the board with a whiteboard marker (allows for quick and easy changing of ad placement if needed) this also allows us to flush out where articles are going.

When layout starts the graphic designer just refers to the board which has a permanent home above her desk. Saves paper and is very cost effective. This being said we're a small company so it may not meet your needs.

InDesign does our actual electronic pagination.

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Permalink Reply by Sal on August 13, 2009 at 3:08pm

What pagination software did you choose?

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