Adobe's Digital Publishing Suite Makes It Easy

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a couple of Adobe experts in conjunction with their support of the new Amazon Kindle Fire platforms using Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. This support was available at launch of the new tablets.

First, I spoke with Lynly Schambers-Lenox, Group Product Marketing Manager, Digital Publishing, who said, "We take our cues about what platforms to support from our publishing customers, and they are telling us iOS and Android are the OS's of choice for now. We are also looking at Windows 8, but Blackberry is not in scope. We are definitely supporting Kindle, which uses a proprietary version of Android. Our publishers think the apps are a good thing, that they allow people to have different channels for buying content, giving them more reach. Adobe has good relationships with both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and we are continuing to support those relationships.

With Adobe's Digital Publishing Solution, publishers can create folios that are consumed in branded applications. Starting with an InDesign layout, a digital magazine can be created for one or more target tablets fairly simply. I also spoke with Colin Fleming, Worldwide Digital Publishing Evangelist, who was kind enough to give me a demo.  I left the session feeling that even I, who use PowerPoint as my graphics package of choice (I should be blushing, right?), could do this.

Depending on how publishers handle their content, a magazine targeted for print can easily be converted to tablet format. If images have already been converted to CMYK, it becomes a little trickier, but if you stay with an RGB workflow up to the point of publication, it is easier to use the same content for both digital and print versions.

As a print service provider, you are already handling customer assets when you create brochures, signage, newsletters and other printed media.  Why not extend the range of services you can offer by also providing them with digital versions of these pieces, which can be interactive and enhanced with rich media. Rich media is simply another layer in the InDesign file.

Most people are probably starting with a vertical publication for the Apple iPad.  Of course, you will want to have both vertical and horizontal views available in the file. Creating a horizontal view from a vertical view is just a few mouse clicks, and perhaps a few minutes fine-tuning how the content will flow.

Uh-oh, now Apple has the iPad Mini!  No problem.  You simply create another tablet form factor, and again, with a few clicks of the mouse and some content flow fine tuning, you now support the Mini … or the Google Nexus 7, or any of the Amazon Kindle Fire versions, or Samsung Galaxy … it really is as easy as that!

What's even easier is that Adobe TV has free online tutorials that allow you to see for yourself how this works.

And if you are a member of Adobe's Creative Cloud, the Digital Publishing Solution, Single Edition, is now available, allowing publication of single-issue content at no charge. This could include marketing material, brochures, product guides or personal design portfolios. These can be used to promote your own business or as revenue-generating projects for customers. Members of Adobe's Creative Cloud can also submit an unlimited number of apps to the Apple App Store for publication, at no additional cost. Plus, membership is only $29.99 per month for anyone who has purchased CS3 or later.

About a year ago, I wrote an article on WhatTheyThink entitled Is There an iPad in Your Future? It reviewed Adobe Digital Publishing Suite in a little more detail, as well as Twixl Media. It may be worth reviewing again, or reading if you missed it the first time

So now there is really no excuse to delay experimenting with tablet app creation and the value these apps can bring to you, your customers and your revenue stream.