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Open Standards and the Future of Publishing

Open Standards and the Future of Publishing. John Parsons, Senior Editor Seybold Publications. Introduction. Challenge of developing standards for ANY industry Publishing industry’s unique challenges: entrepreneurial business model no single “right answer”

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Open Standards and the Future of Publishing

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  1. Open Standards and the Future of Publishing John Parsons, Senior EditorSeybold Publications

  2. Introduction • Challenge of developing standards for ANY industry • Publishing industry’s unique challenges: • entrepreneurial business model • no single “right answer” • originally craft-based, not IT-based • extremely consumer-driven • Seybold’s role

  3. Standards or Specifications? • All standards are specifications, but... • All specifications are not standards! • PDF is an open, published specification • PDF/X is an internationally recognized standard • Vendors/developers/manufacturers have a vested self-interest in the process • Users are the long-term beneficiaries of true, open standards

  4. Conflicting Forces • Specifications (de facto ‘standards’):“Let’s all do it my (our) way.” • Standards (accredited):“Let’s determine how everyone does it.” • New technology is harder to standardize • BOTH ELEMENTS ARE CRUCIAL TO ESTABLISHING TRUE INDUSTRY STANDARDS...

  5. PRO Rapid development Responsive to real-world needs Backed by develop-ment & QA resources Immediate practical application Can become standards CON Proprietary nature More barriers to integration of different systems Potential for hidden costs Can become obsolete Specifications

  6. CON Slower development (political problems, lag time, etc.) Initial product scarcity Cost of integration Difficult to standardize and innovate PRO Broader application Greater security Greater potential cost savings Extend/enhance value of investment Long-term solution Standards

  7. What Makes Publishing Difficult? • Conflict between vendors’ desire for dominance and industry’s need for efficiency (common to all industries) • Low level of governmental interest (exception: environmental sustainability) • Fragmentation of “industry” • Rapid (arbitrary?) technological change • Fundamental rift between print & Web

  8. The Nature of Publishing • Print • Incredibly diverse, not “one industry” • Conservative: seeks efficiency, not innovation • High impact – low public perception • Non-print (“cross-media”) • Also diverse, but untried (pioneering stage) • Following historic path (rapid innovation, speculative period, bust, steady build-out) • Easier to standardize – harder to control

  9. Print Specs & Standards • Pre-digital (governing physical behavior) • Digital Content: • Graphics (TIFF, PICT, JPEG, EPS, WMF, etc.) • Fonts (Type 1, TrueType, OpenType, Unicode) • Pages (PostScript, TIFF-IT, PDF, PDF/X) • Variable content (PostScript forms, FDF, PPML) • Digital Metadata • Component (XMP, XML Metadata, PRISM) • Job-related (PJTF, PPF, PrintTalk, JDF)

  10. Online Specs & Standards • No pre-digital legacy • Digital Content & Metadata • Graphics (BMP, JPEG, Flash, SVG, etc.) • Fonts (OpenType, Unicode) • Content (HTML, XML, PDF) • Output device (browser) is digital, so standards are theoretically more attainable than those with analog requirements

  11. The Real Problem Publishing has two, fundamentally different delivery models – print and online – with two different standards paradigms: PRINT = manufacturing modelONLINE = information systems model

  12. Publishing = a Convergence • Craft skills and values (bound by tradition, customer expectation, and “old-fashioned” business & manufacturing models) • Consumer-driven desktop technology = “print is a commodity” • Information technology (modern business & manufacturing models) • Standards must accommodate all three!

  13. The Real Solutions • The publishing “industry” (print and non-print) must embrace the idea that content and form are separateentities • Successful publishing standards will clarifythat distinction, and make interaction between the two transparent and universal. • Those that don’t will remain specifications.

  14. What It Means for Users • Standards are only a framework for bringing traditional production and IT closer together – real work is essential • Print proponents must recognize the value of the data itself (not just its printed results) • Non-print proponents must recognize the value of high-fidelity content data

  15. How Will It Work? • Standards bodies must have proper user/vendor balance • Specifications (de facto ‘standards’) must be acknowledged for what they are, but not given undue weight • Vendors must be continuously held accountable

  16. It’s the Profits, Stupid • Real costsavings, and real revenueincreases, are the only justification for the cost of developing and implementing standards. • The efficient creation, sharing, assembly, delivery and re-use of data is the goal of every valid publishing standard.

  17. Questions & Answers

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