The second report is now at OhmyNews

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=4&no=286471&rel_no=1


I am getting feedback on the first one. I think I have got a few things wrong about Scribus. I tried it out on Windows and I definitely needed Ghostscript for this. But I am told that on Linux it uses purpose built methods to create PDF. There is a Windows pc at Life Bytes waiting to sacrificed in the cause of Linux. Enough hesitation. Meanwhile, suggest you check the Scribus site and then test it.

http://www.scribus.net/

OhmyNews have now edited and published my report on XML and open source from IPEX.

It also appears on Google News.

Very reasonably they did not use my own photo from the Dalim press conference with the actual penguin slide. I have put this on the Watford site. WWWatford.co.uk

Any feedback will be repeated in this blog. Not sure what Gee Ranasinha will make of it. I quoted most of his email and then added some comments. Maybe blog interviews are a way forward over time.

Now back in Exeter sorting stuff out.

I am working on two stories for Ohmynews so there will be links later.

Probably over the weekend.

I am still curious as to how Adobe is structured. There was not much sign of the 'classic publishing' business unit as such. Apparently the new PDF Print Engine is developed in San Jose. Maybe it will be an office product eventually.

Checking out through Google News there is some perceptive reporting coming from India. Like this from The Hindu.

"There is an amber sign along this route: go digital — or die."

That just about sums it up.

The Printweek Panel was mostly about innovation but part of this was an answer to the question 'what is "integrated communications vehicles" all about?'

Nicholas Green from Tangent Communications explained a recently launched service to add email and mobile messaging to direct mail. "Tangent is in the messaging business. Print will continue to be a huge part of that. Just not the only area."

This was in response to a question about "print's illustrious future".

Lawrence Wallis closed the meeting with regret that there was not enough time to discuss the timescale of future changes though he stated that in outline, "we are in a declining market".

Plenty to discuss here. The IPEX Daily records that Haymarket have now undertaken to publish Printing World as a monthly. Barney Cox will be the editor as well as group online editor. There may be some form of discussion board, I guess.

Yes it was my imagination, or else comments has been turned back on again at the 'Comment is Free' site.

I have added this in

------------------

This is significant article, with the statement that the online bit of the Guardian is now in profit.

My impression is that the Guardian has larger plans for the web than comes over in the prionted version. Jeff Jarvis on Buzzmachine sometimes repeats views from Alan Rusbridger that may be surprising. Recently there was a speech claiming the Guardian has a larger American web audience than the LA Times. Last year there was a suggestion that the Man Roland kit bought for the Berliner format would be the 'last presses' ever purchased.

I spoke about this with some people at IPEX ( still on till Tuesday ). One suggestion was that the next Guardian print purchase might be a DICOweb, good for variable print in low volumes for newspapers such as 20,000, ideal for a regional version of the Saturday guide.

Blogging is only one aspect of what is happening. Jeff Jarvis talks about 'news organisations', a business model with online and print aspects. Maybe this sort of thing will find more space in the Guardian on a Monday.

-----------

another recap of the story so far. One day soon the Guardian will explain in print for the UK paying audience what Jeff Jarvis is leaking to the blogosphere...

There are some files created at Life Bytes on Friday and Saturday where we installed a copy of Open Office 2 and Scribus for Windows.

Questions for IPEX stories
PDF
Open Document

Test Scribus sheet
PDF

So far seems to be working ok. Open source could be very strong in print. The JDF approach is based on XML. Next step is to check out the level of support for open source in other areas.

It strikes me that the case for e-paper is probably stronger than has come across in the discussion so far.

There is a fairly expensive series of reports from AFAICS.

An extract has been leaked by 'The Hunky Mouse'.

Not all information from the Hunky Mouse turns out to be reliable. There was a suggestion of meeting readers in a pub after a wifi trade show and then managing to name a pub that was closed.

Is it my imagination or is there no way to comment on this post?

Emily Bell on last week,

includes an actual statement that the online bit is in profit

surely worth a headline somewhere.

My guess, the reason they don't explain a business model is that actually they still don't know what is happening.

Andrew Tribute blog turns up as part of in The Balance.

He reckons things are looking good, with attendance up on expectations.

Next week Life Bytes upgrades to 8megs

Things get better

The following text comes from an open document via Adobe Reader and PDF.
I have done 20 printed copies for next week so there could be more info later.

----------------


Questions for IPEX 2006

There has been one article for OhmyNews. Also a blog started with IPEX 2002.

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=4&no=236662&rel_no=3
Look for Sci & Tech.

Http://ipex2002.blogspot.com

It turns out Global Graphics and Founder both offer support for JDF and PDF so maybe there is a follow up story.

There may be two more stories about newspapers and open source.

a) Newspapers
The Guardian bought MAN Roland kit last year for the new Berliner format. According to Jeff Jarvis, editor Alan Rusbridger has said they may be the last. What can this mean for a timescale guessing when online will be recognised as significant for 'news organisations'. Apparently printing machines may last 30 or 50 years so the statement is not revealing much. Can the printing industry offer something new? DICOweb for example could make it possible to offer many variations of regional editions for something like the Saturday guide. The Guardian leaks some thoughts to the blogosphere but there is almost no public information to indicate income online compared to print. The ABC decision to allow circulation certificates for 'digital editions' had not been followed by any newspapers deciding to 'opt in'. Something to discuss in the Webline Cafe.

http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2006/03/27/your-homework/
http://www.buzzmachine.com/index.php/2005/12/05/the-last-presses/


b) Open Source , JDF and XML
Gee Ranasinha at the Dalim press conference spoke about Linux and open source. Also about JDF and XML. Obviously Dalim offer one way of getting JDF intent information from a browser. But thinking about this presentation later it seems possible that there are many ways of working with XML. Once JDF is better known there could be more choices at the user level. Apparently Dalim are now working with brand managers, not just agencies and publishers. The input is getting closer to the final customer. It is welcome that Quark offer Job Jackets and Adobe are explaining more about JDF in Acrobat 7 but this may only be useful for some people.
Are there more examples of a JDF interface to capture information on job intent?
Would any XML approach fit in?

Photos at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ipex2002/

Feedback welcome
Will Pollard
will.pollard@gmail.com

posted from Life Bytes, Sidwell Street, Exeter

Lori De Furio has responded to my recent comment on her blog.

Also she has started a new topic on the PDF Print Engine.

Suggest you start adding comments there if something seems to apply. (I still can't find a way to enable comments here....)

I have now opened a Flickr account

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ipex2002/

It was a bit confusing that photos went to the 'wi-fi Exeter' blog.

Suggest "IPEX2006" as a tag.

Today I am at Life Bytes in Exeter. This is a bit calmer than IPEX and a chance to get some perspective. So far i have asked about their scanning resources. There is an Epson CX3200 for the customers but I am told the Agfa one is still round the back somewhere when required.

Apparently my Flickr name is now 'ipex2002'. This is just to tie in with the blog.

Test to see if comments is on.

Sorry about this, can't see where to change it.

Suggest you add comments at In The Balance where most issues are covered.

Test to see if comments is on

This blog was found through In the Balance.

Blogito Ergo Sum includes a sensible appraisal on e-books and the Sony Reader.

It is fairly convincing that the kind of people who might adopt an e-book reader are also more intersted in sound and video. So some device that covered all media would be the one to wait for. Text will still be part of the mix though.

A check on Adobe blogs suggests there is not much interest in JDF from an everyday point of view. Sorry, still can't work out how to load photos into this blog. I have got Picasa started but it defaults to "wifi exeter", another blog another story. Still,have a look or do your own search.

It is very welcome that Adobe are promoting PDF as part of print at IPEX. However, having said that it is also the case that most of the time Acrobat is promoted for 'knowledge workers' who seem to be imagined as uninterested in hard copy of any kind.

Just mentioning this for consideration by any other bloggers out there.

If you are interested in print, consider getting to IPEX before it closes next week. Chances to get information about print from Adobe through people may not turn up very often.

As memory serves this is the first IPEX or Drupa in recent years where there has been no presence by IBM. They concentrate on transactional print, usually coming from an enterprise database.

IBM is still in existence and still offers print, as I found on the web.

The page on 'events' starts with webcasts. Stange company, IBM.

I have done a page for photos from IPEX so far. I realise I could include them in the blog but can't work out how just at the moment.

I may have got this a bit wrong but I think a comment by Victor Keegan has been deleted. This is from 'Comment is Free' on the Guardian website. My guess is this may have something to do with whether journalists get paid. My problem is that my comments have been deleted also. I was trying to work from a comment on Google and book publishing towards a discussion on newspaers and online news. Previously on Guardain Talk I have been trying to find out more about the PDF version or 'digital edition' that seems to be almost a secret. There is a subscription model but nobody knows about it. Having now heard the official view on the New York Times subscription model I am even more convinced the Guardain future will be for free content with advertising. So a PDF with photos and illustration may not be given a chance.

I hope to get some feedback as part of the conversation. There is certainly enough material at IPEX on newspaper kit that might make sense as a future purchase. As part of a mix of course.