Management of print publications &
Adobe InDesign automatic page layout
Active Publishing is a product catalog production automation solution that can be linked to Adobe InDesign. Very easy to use, this solution will save you production time and increase reliability..
What is Active Publishing ?
Active Publishing is an automatic layout solution that can be connected to all PIM and MDM solutions on the market (Pimcore, MaPS System, Akeneo, Quable, Stibo System). In this case, Active Publishing is used as an extension to the PIM or MDM, known as PIM-to-Print.
The solution can also be used as a stand-alone solution, i.e. importing Excel files or a database directly into Active Publishing without a PIM or MDM, in order to automatically generate the layout of product catalogs..
This revolutionary tool interfaces with your Adobe InDesign layout and integrates with your Product Information Management/Master Data Management system, Excel file or database for effortless, automated catalog creation..
Active Publishing integrates with Adobe InDesign page layout software, the reference software for creating product catalogs, brochures, publications, etc., but also offers highly advanced features that enable you to do without it. Using Active Publishing, you can produce up to 1000 catalog pages in less than a week, which represents a considerable advance in terms of production speed and efficiency..
The solution allows files to be exported to Adobe InDesign, PDF HD Print or Flipbook SaaS.
Easy to use and install, this no code platform will enable you to optimize your production processes for multi-page product catalogs, brochures and publications, saving you production time, reliability and money.
Data is automatically placed in your template. Tables of contents are automatically generated in PDF catalogs, e-catalogs or print catalogs.
Once your initial catalog has been created, Active Publishing makes it easy to create a multitude of customized versions. So you can adapt content and layout to suit your different needs.
What business issues does Active Publishing address?
The challenge of the digital age lies in the efficient management of vast quantities of product information – up to hundreds of thousands – in near real time. For companies with a scalable offering, the frequency of updates can approach fifty a month.
Despite the rise of digital technology, product catalogs remain a crucial tool for marketing and sales forces. While printed versions have a shelf life of around a year, e-catalogues require regular updating.
How do you reconcile the production of high-quality catalogs, ranging from a few dozen to several thousand pages, with the need for speed and accuracy?
The Active Publishing solution meets this challenge by optimizing marketing production, offering great flexibility, enabling catalogs to be created on demand, and guaranteeing data centralization and security.
The Active Publishing solution addresses a number of business issues, enabling brands and agencies to :
- Manage a multitude of catalogs or large catalogs and update the associated product information efficiently..
- Meet the challenges of multilingual publishing by enabling rapid adaptation of documents in multiple languages and currencies, thus meeting the needs of companies operating on a global scale.
- Stand out from the competition by providing an ever more personalized customer experience through marketing materials (brochures, catalogs, point-of-sale displays, etc.), which is particularly useful for providing tailored marketing resources to resellers.
- Accelerate time-to-market by optimizing production times for promotional materials for a product, range or catalog, making them more effective and adaptable to the specific needs of brands and agencies.
- Secure publication production and limit the risk of errors throughout the production chain and at every stage of the project.
Active Publishing can be used to create a wide range of documents:
- Product catalogs (paint, DIY, small tools, large tools, food products, etc.), price catalogs, advertising catalogs, tourist catalogs (travel agencies, B&Bs, etc.)
- Brochures
- POP displays
- Reports
- Directories (lawyers, notaries, etc.)
- Product data sheets
- Etc
Active Publishing offers many advantages:
Reduce production costs and lead times
Active Publishing saves you time and money. Active Publishing automates the repetitive, time-consuming tasks involved in catalog production, so that your teams can concentrate on operational and strategic tasks.
Compatible with all PIMs and MDMs on the market
Whether you’re using Pimcore, MaPS System, Akeneo or Stibo, for example, Active Publishing integrates seamlessly. All you have to do is choose which PIM and MDM solutions are right for you.
Single or double page
Active Publishing lets you choose between single- and double-page formats, depending on your specific needs and the density of your content.
Multilingual versions
Active Publishing lets you simplify multilingual publishing by quickly adapting your documents to multiple languages and currencies.
Easy to use
Active Publishing is a 100% no-code solution. The interface has been designed to be simple to understand and easy to use. It requires no special integration and no specific knowledge or skills.
Real time update
Active Publishing gives you peace of mind by automatically updating your product catalog in real time, even in the event of last-minute changes. So you always have access to reliable, comprehensive data.
SaaS or OnPremise
Active Publishing is a headless solution, available as a subscription, but can also be installed in your own infrastructure.
Instant performances
Active Publishing automatically generates indexes, summaries and chapter headings. Active Publishing also lets you generate up to 1,000 catalog pages in less than a week. This automatic page management accelerates your time-to-market.
Included Adobe InDesign plug-in
Active Publishing includes an InDesign plug-in that allows users to take advantage of the power of InDesign while working in the Active Publishing environment. With Active Publishing, simply export your chapter, catalog or page from our solution and import the file into InDesign for automatic page generation.
Minimized risk of error
With Active Publishing, the risk of errors is zero, as there is no human input to generate errors. In fact, as the information that feeds the platform comes either from Excel files, databases, PIM (Product Information Management) or MDM (Master Data Management), the marketing department is certain that the data is reliable and complete.
No graphic restrictions
The Active Publishing platform offers its users great creative freedom. In fact, you can easily create customized layouts for your catalogs, using drag-and-drop tools and advanced customization options. You can also create your own graphic elements. Finally, you can modify the images, text and other elements of your catalogs using tools provided in the application, and import PDFs (advertising inserts, editorial info) or free images.
Active Publishing: for which sectors?
Active Publishing is not limited to specific business sectors; rather, it is suitable for a wide range of companies with multi-page catalog management needs. However, to demonstrate the diversity of companies that have already adopted this successful solution, we’ll mention just a few of their customers.
Active Publishing can benefit all types of company, whether industrial, retail, brand or agency, B2B or B2C, and regardless of size or sales, looking to optimize catalog management.
Active Publishing is suitable for a variety of business sectors, including:
Retail
Industry
Agencies
Active Publishing for which professions?
The solution is particularly well-suited to businesses involved in catalog production:
Graphic designers
Designers
Marketing
Where does Active Publishing fit into the company’s ecosystem?
Active Publishing works in tandem with Adobe Indesign. Active Publishing integrates with Adobe InDesign page-layout software, but also offers highly advanced features that can free you from it.
Active Publishing can work equally well with Excel-type files, databases or PIM/MDM solutions. The solution is therefore suitable for companies that have centralized and structured their product data, as well as for organizations that are less advanced in this area.
When Active Publishing is integrated with a PIM/MDM solution, the plug-in makes it possible to produce high-quality product catalogs containing thousands or even millions of references.
An MDM solution formalizes and secures product data. It ensures that a product is presented in the right format, with appropriate, high-quality visuals, the right sales pitch, the right price and its specific characteristics, for each of a company’s SKUs, which can number in the millions.
Active Publishing makes it possible to re-use all this data rapidly, producing catalogs ranging from a few dozen pages to over a thousand.
How Active Publishing works
Active Publishing works as follows:
Bidirectional links
Active Publishing creates bidirectional links to synchronize source data and InDesign documents.
Automation functions
Active Publishing adds automation functions for page layout, pagination and content control. This function also automates repetitive and time-consuming tasks.
Data quality
Active Publishing gives you permanent control over your data.
What are the features of Active Publishing?
Creation of templates and layouts
Create and configure customized templates for all your product catalogs.
Data import
Easily import data from Excel, CSV, XLML, PIM and MDM files and other formats.
Real-time update
You can change data (text, photos) at the last minute, because Active Publishing allows these changes to be automatically reflected in your external data sources in real time.
Advanced features
Active Publishing offers an extensive library of advanced features to facilitate the creation and customization of product catalogs.
Manage print briefs
Plan and monitor the production of your product catalogs by defining the various stages and deadlines, then track the progress of your project in real time.
Display mode
You can choose different display modes when you open a catalog or chapter.
Automatic proofreading
Active Publishing offers an automatic proofreading function. This checks the accuracy of information within a catalog, and also detects spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors.
Data management
Active Publishing allows you to import any information stored in xls, csv or txt format. You can also import information from your PIM or MDM. And if your documents are made up of data from separate sources, Active Publishing can manage them simultaneously with a relational module.
Workflow management
Active Publishing offers a complete workflow, covering status, approvals, notifications and reporting, providing optimum visibility at every stage of the publishing project.
What types of data are managed by Active Publishing?
Active Publishing manages all types of data used to create product documents or catalogs:
- Product data (descriptions, sizes, volumes, prices, etc.)
- Visual content (photos, diagrams, plans, maps, possibly videos for interactive catalogs, PDFs, etc.)
- Pictograms
Why Active Publishing?
Choosing Active Publishing is more than a choice of technical features. Choosing Active Publishing means choosing strategic advantages such as enhanced collaboration, cost optimization, market responsiveness, reliable customer support, data security and assured scalability. Imagine smoother collaboration between your marketing, design and sales teams, facilitated by a platform that intelligently centralizes the management of your catalogs and content. Consider the possibility of automating previously tedious processes, which not only saves operational costs, but also frees up time for more strategic initiatives. Add to this reliable customer support, first-rate data security, and scalability to keep pace with your company’s growth..
Active Publishing in figures:
- Founded 2014
- Used in over 35 countries by groups such as La Redoute, Kverneland, Kubota, Delta Plus, etc
- > 100 customers since 2014 in marketing, communications, administration, industry, distribution, etc.
They selected Active Publishing
