Jenkintown, PA -- Managing Editor Inc. (MEI), an Adobe premier development partner and a leading provider of software solutions for the publishing industry, today announced new releases of Ad Layout System (ALS) for Magazines, AdForce, and ALS Direct. MEI has also released ALS XT for QuarkXPress 8. These upgrades for MEI's popular issue-planning tools complement the recent release of Page Director ALS 5.4, the industry standard for ad layout.

ALS for Magazines 5.4 and AdForce 5.4 include the same new features found in ALS 5.4, including the print designer, which allows users to design and print custom ad dummies. The releases are packaged with new versions of MEI's ALS XT and Ad Import plug-in, compatible with QuarkXPress 7.x and 8 and Adobe InDesign CS2, CS3 and CS4, respectively.

ALS for Magazines, an ad placement solution built specifically for magazines, allows users to create fully paginated, accurate and functional ad dummies that can be opened in QuarkXPress or InDesign. Through its electronic issue-planning and ad-mapping capabilities, ALS for Magazines allows publishers to eliminate manual processes, shorten the cycle time from ad dummy to editorial page production, automatically import digital ads to editorial pages, reduce prepress production costs and lengthen the time to ad close.

AdForce is a cost-effective, easy-to-use ad placement and issue-management system for small to mid-size newspapers. Users quickly build ad pages using drag-and-drop or semi-automated flow tools; finished sections can be opened in QuarkXPress or InDesign.

ALS Direct, now optimized for compatibility with ALS and ALS for Magazines 5.4, creates a real-time direct database connection with the vjoon K4 Publishing System. ALS Direct allows ALS and K4 users to integrate advertising and editorial workflows into one shared system. Updates are communicated directly to K4, alerting editors, art directors, designers and production staff when changes occur in the ad department, and at the same time dynamically updating the page folios and ad positions as the issue plan evolves.

"These new releases offer more options for customers in different markets to enhance their workflow with MEI technology," said Steven Haught, vice president of sales at MEI. "Now, different types of publications and even different departments can benefit from our industry-leading ad layout solutions."

Availability

ALS For Magazines 5.4, AdForce 5.4, ALS Direct, and ALS XT are available now. Upgrades are free for customers in MEI's Premium Site Support Agreement program. Other customers should call their MEI salesperson for upgrade pricing. For more details, contact MEI at 215-886-5662 or an authorized MEI distributor. More information can be found on Managing Editor Inc.'s Web site at http://www.maned.com.