Now XML can be beautiful - Single source XML publishing is practical for the first time in QuarkXPress.

Easypress Technologies has released Atomik Roundtrip 1.0, for the first time enabling QuarkXPress to be fully included in an XML workflow.

Atomik Roundtrip 1.0 is the only tool to bring full, bi-directional XML support to QuarkXPress. By preserving XML structure throughout the pagination process, Roundtrip redresses the balance between structure and creativity, taking the design flexibility of QuarkXPress and combining it with all the benefits of an XML pagination tool. This new product is expected to transform print publishing enabling a single source of XML content to be used for both print and Web.

Download demo version of Atomik Roundtrip for Mac and Windows

Endorsement from prominent publishers
Many prominent publishers around the world have been involved in the development and beta testing programme for Roundtrip including such prominent names as Nature Publishing Group, Harvard Business School Publishing, Nelson Thornes and Holt Rinehart and Winston. Nature Publishing Group has played a key role in the development process and understands very clearly the importance of Roundtrip to their future production process.

"Nature Publishing Group has been pleased to help in the development and testing of Atomik Roundtrip," said Heather Rankin, project manager at Nature Publishing Group. "By providing seamless conversion from XML to QuarkXPress and back again, it promises to fill a critical gap in our current production workflows. We have always been forced to keep our print and web content separate. Now, they are one in the same."

Similarly, Nelson Thornes, a leading educational book publisher and part of the Wolters Kluwer Group, has been looking for a solution that enables them to move to an XML workflow based on the DocBook standard (www.oasis-open.org) but still have full integration of their print publishing. This is something that has not been possible until now and as an Atomik Roundtrip early adopter, they recognise the huge benefits that it will bring to their workflow.

"Today, the ability to reuse educational content online and in other digital media is critical," said Paul Farnworth, Publishing Technology Manager at Nelson Thornes. "To do this efficiently, we are moving to a content-centric workflow where XML is created at source. Atomik Roundtrip is the only software available that enables full XML support for QuarkXPress and will bring significant efficiencies to our production process."

Integration with Content Management Systems
Another benefit of Atomik Roundtrip is that through XML, QuarkXPress can now be tightly integrated with content management systems, most of which have XML at their core. One of the leading companies in this field is Documentum, who have been working with Easypress Technologies to provide enhanced print publishing support in their systems by XML-enabling QuarkXPress with Atomik Roundtrip.

"Atomik Roundtrip represents a huge step forward for cross-media publishing," said Mark Arbour, director of products and marketing for Documentum's Digital Asset Management business unit. "Documentum's native XML support combined with Easypress Technologies' XML-enablement of QuarkXPress further enhances our ability to provide customers with an enterprise content management solution for cross-media and collaborative publishing, eliminating the challenges typically associated with publishing content to print and the Web."

This viewpoint is backed up by content management system integrators that have also struggled to provide this crucial link between print and Web publishing.

"Companies have invested heavily in content management systems that previously were unable to deliver content to print," said Joseph Bachana, CEO of DPCI, a professional services company based in the United States. "Atomik Roundtrip adds value to any CMS on the market by building QuarkXPress files directly from valid or well-formed XML. Nothing on the market comes remotely close."

Demonstration Versions of Atomik Roundtrip
Fully functional demonstration versions and full documentation for Atomik Roundtrip Mac and Windows are available for download from www.easypress.com. The only restriction in the demonstration version is that some of the XML content will be reversed when imported into QuarkXPress. Otherwise users can fully evaluate the product with their own XML files and QuarkXPress pages.

Pricing and availability
Atomik Roundtrip is available direct from Easypress Technologies and resellers and system integrators worldwide. The suggested retail price for a single user licence of Atomik Roundtrip 1.0 is £3,495, $4,495 or Euro 5,662 depending on the country of purchase. The suggested retail price for a 5-user licence of Atomik Roundtrip 1.0 is £9,950, $13,500 or Euro 16,119 depending on the country of purchase. Further pricing for 10, 50, 100 and 500 user licence packs are available upon request.

Download demo version of Atomik Roundtrip for Mac and Windows

Published on the 21st January 2003