Jenkintown, PA - Managing Editor Inc. (MEI), an Adobe premier development partner and a leading provider of software solutions for the publishing industry, today announced the immediate availability of Version 6 of the vjoon K4 Cross-Media Publishing Platform. MEI, the exclusive distributor of K4 in the Americas, has already installed the latest version of the world's leading editorial management system integrating Adobe InDesign and InCopy at several publishing sites.

With increased support for cross-media input and output, a revolutionary task-based workflow model, more options for remote users and enhanced flexibility in the system's behind-the-scenes architecture, Version 6 is the most versatile and robust update to K4 yet.

Cross-Media Input and Output
More than ever before, users can take advantage of K4's database and workflow-management capabilities with a wide variety of both input and output options. The latest version of K4 is specially designed to handle virtually any content type in addition to Adobe InDesign CS4 layouts and Adobe InCopy CS4 articles, including Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, images, rich media, PDFs, XML files, Flash movies, podcasts, PowerPoint presentations and more. The system is also built to facilitate publishing to multiple media, making it easy to push content to as many unique channels as needed, such as print, Web, iPhone and other mobile devices, eBook readers, social networks, syndication and multiple languages. Version 6 easily manages all types of content, regardless of its source or eventual destination, and allows publishers to define unique workflows for each type of content.

Task-Based Workflow
K4 Version 6 introduces an innovative workflow model in which users are presented with tasks that explicitly describe what has to be done. When a task is accepted, K4 automatically presents users with what they need to do the job, such as a text file or picture to edit, a layout to work on or a metadata field to fill in. Once all tasks associated with a particular stage of the workflow have been completed, the associated files move forward in the pipeline. This model provides a high level of transparency, easily allowing users and supervisors to see exactly what has been done and what still needs to be done in the workflow.

The latest version optimizes productivity by allowing more users to collaborate and complete tasks simultaneously. For example, an editor can edit the body text while another user works on headlines and pull-quotes for the same story; meanwhile, a Web editor can add keywords to the story's metadata while a researcher approves the accompanying photo.
The system's new Web-based graphical workflow editor allows administrative users to map out the steps of their site's production processes. These efficient, configurable task-based workflows are then applied to different objects as they are brought into the system.

Remote Connectivity
To provide more flexibility for the growing number of users logging into the system from outside the office, K4 offers expanded Web-based interactivity in Version 6. The new built-in K4 Web Portal provides a platform for remote connectivity, which can be extended with server-side plug-ins. The K4 InCopy Editor lets writers and editors work on K4 articles with no InCopy client necessary. The Web CMS Editor provides WYSIWYG authoring and editing for native HTML content. And the K4 File Manager gives K4 users Web access to tasks for a wide variety of content in the system, allowing them to open files in their native applications. With the Web Portal, staff can stay connected from anywhere with just a browser and an Internet connection.

Enterprise Technology
K4 Version 6 is a multi-tier solution that supports Oracle, Microsoft SQL and MySQL database platforms and runs on Mac OS X, Windows, Linux and SUN Solaris operating systems.

MEI is looking forward to providing Version 6 and its powerful features to customers, whether they are current users looking to upgrade their existing systems or new sites seeking to streamline production with revamped workflows.

"The enhancements in Version 6 make it easier than ever for K4 users to publish content to various media channels efficiently and cost-effectively, while at the same time expanding the capabilities to grow revenue," said Linda Bruce, vice president of enterprise sales at MEI. "This latest version includes some of the most exciting features the industry has ever seen."