Desktop changes reshape publishing environment - Folio: Special Report

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Sept 1, 1993 by Jean Marie Angelo

But respondents to FOLIO:'s 1993 desktop trends survey are undaunted--nearly 60% say that they've converted to desktop in the last three years, and 7% plan to make the change this year.

There is one quality above all others required of today's production director--the ability to thrive on change. Why? Because the desktop publishing revolution has affected the production department more dramatically than any other. With computer manufacturers introducing new models at least once a year, and software being upgraded just as often, the production director can ill-afford to sit still.

"In the past, production directors were generalists," notes Joanne Harap, production director for Hanley-Wood, Inc., the Washington, D.C.-based publisher of Builder and six other business titles. Today, a production director has to be a technology specialist. Creating an efficient production department requires constant attention to ever-changing computer operating systems, networks, storage capacity and other media, such as CD-ROM and laser-disc technology.

According to respondents to FOLIO:'s survey on desktop publishing trends, during the past three years, 58.6 percent of magazine companies have set up desktop and electronic publishing systems. Seven percent installed their first DTP hardware this year.

The relatively recent transition from traditional methods to electronic systems has forced new job descriptions on production directors and all who work for them. In fact, managing the people who drive the technology is the biggest challenge, observes Bill Gallagher, director of pre-press for Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, Inc., New York City, the publisher of Woman's Day and other titles.

"Much more education is needed today," he notes. Only a few years ago, an entry-level production editor was someone who kept track of galleys, he says. Today, that same person is sitting at a computer and doing the typesetting functions once handled by an outside vendor. Proofreading, once provided as a service by an outside typesetter, is now handled in-house. Electronic page-layout even has staffers doing stripping. Bringing these functions in-house saves money, but also places additional demands on the production staff, Gallagher notes. Because computer literacy is so important, he makes sure his production staff is trained on XyWrite word-processing software used by the editors, and the QuarkXPress program used by the designers.

Production staffers who learn to push the technology are the ones with a future in production, says David Hall, director of pre-press at Conde Nast Publications, New York City: "The workflow has changed. The emphasis now is on training and expanding responsibilities."

Many companies have created new positions and titles for those responsible for the DTP system, a move that takes the burden off the staffers handling the traditional responsibilities. Conde Nast, for example, has systems managers who make sure the electronic network runs smoothly. "We don't expect the production staffers to design computer systems," says Hall. "We have a separate group to do that."

Harap, on the other hand, uses a consultant as her systems manager, but sees the virtue in having a full-time staffer dedicated to the system. "It is great to have someone who can keep up with the technology and supervise the training," she says.

According to respondents, slightly more than one-third of those who have added DTP systems have created new positions, including systems-manager jobs and other titles. On the average, about three jobs have been added to production staffs. Fewer companies, about one-fourth, claim to have eliminated staffers since computerizing the production department. They report eliminating an average of five staff positions.

Bringing color in-house will create the need for yet more specialized staff positions, adds Harap, who envisions the inception of an "in-house color center."

The impetus to bring color separation work in-house is supported by Kodak's Photo CD technology, introduced last year as a consumer product, but which may have significant impact on publishing.

The art director at Builder has already experimented with the technology, says Harap. Five CD images ran in the August issue. "It is a matter of time before we eliminate the step of going to pre-press to get separations," she declares.

Photo CD technology can transfer a 35mm slide onto a CD. The cost to transfer one image to disc is typically no more than $5--far less than the $30 service bureaus charge for making a four-color separation. When the CD comes back in-house, images can be edited with photo manipulation software to create a usable digital image.

Who controls the purse strings?

According to those surveyed, the top production executive, whether that be the director or manager, is the one who makes the final purchasing decisions on DTP equipment at 28.9 percent of the companies represented. At another 27 percent of the companies, the publisher or the president is the one who decides what to buy.