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NIST

PUBLICATIONS

Computer Systems

Technology

NIST Special Publication 500-164

Electronic Publishing:

Guide to Selection

Lynne S. Rosenthal

' QC

100

.U57

500-164

1989

C2
rheNational Institute of Standards and Technology1 was established by an act of Congress on March 3, 1901. The Institute's overall goal is to strengthen and advance the Nation's science and technology and

facilitate their effective application for public benefit. To this end, the Institute conducts research to assure international competitiveness and leadership of U.S. industry, science and technology. NIST work involves development

and transfer of measurements, standards and related science and technology, in support of continually improving

U.S. productivity, product quality and reliability, innovation and underlying science and engineering. The Institute's technical work is performed by the National Measurement Laboratory, the National Engineering Laboratory, the National Computer Systems Laboratory, and the Institute for Materials Science and Engineering.

The National Measurement Laboratory

Provides the national system of physical and chemical measurement;

coordinates the system with measurement systems of other nations and furnishes essential services leading to accurate and uniform

physical and chemical measurement throughout the Nation's scientific community, industry, and commerce; provides advisory and research

services to other Government agencies; conducts physical and chemical

research; develops, produces, and distributes Standard Reference

Materials; provides calibration services; and manages the National

Standard Reference Data System. The Laboratory consists of the following centers: The National Engineering Laboratory

Provides technology and technical services to the public and private

sectors to address national needs and to solve national problems;

conducts research in engineering and applied science in support of these

efforts; builds and maintains competence in the necessary disciplines

required to carry out this research and technical service; develops engineering data and measurement capabilities; provides engineering measure ment traceability services; develops test methods and proposes engineering standards and code changes; develops and proposes new

engineering practices; and develops and improves mechanisms to

transfer results of its research to the ultimate user. The Laboratory

consists of the following centers: The National Computer Systems Laboratory

Conducts research and provides scientific and technical services to aid Federal agencies in the selection, acquisition, application, and use of

computer technology to improve effectiveness and economy in Government operations in accordance with Public Law 89-306 (40 U.S.C. 759), relevant Executive Orders, and other directives; carries out this mission

by managing the Federal Information Processing Standards Program,

developing Federal ADP standards guidelines, and managing Federal

participation in ADP voluntary standardization activities; provides scien

tific and technological advisory services and assistance to Federal

agencies; and provides the technical foundation for computer-related

policies of the Federal Government. The Laboratory consists of the following divisions: The Institute for Materials Science and Engineering

Conducts research and provides measurements, data, standards, refer- • Ceramics

ence materials, quantitative understanding and other technical informa- • Fracture and Deformation3 tion fundamental to the processing, structure, properties and perfor- • Polymers mance of materials; addresses the scientific basis for new advanced • Metallurgy

materials technologies; plans research around cross-cutting scientific • Reactor Radiation

themes such as nondestructive evaluation and phase diagram development; oversees Institute-wide technical programs in nuclear reactor

radiation research and nondestructive evaluation; and broadly disseminates generic technical information resulting from its programs. The

Institute consists of the following divisions:

headquarters and Laboratories at Gaithersburg, MD, unless otherwise noted; mailing address Gaithersburg, MD 20899. ^ome divisions within the center are located at Boulder, CO 80303.

3 Located at Boulder, CO, with some elements at Gaithersburg, MD.

• Basic Standards

• Radiation Research

• Chemical Physics

• Analytical Chemistry

• Computing and Applied

Mathematics

• Electronics and Electrical Engineering2

• Manufacturing Engineering

• Building Technology

• Fire Research

• Chemical Engineering3

• Information Systems

Engineering

• Systems and Software

Technology

• Computer Security

• Systems and Network

Architecture

• Advanced Systems
Computer Systems

Technology

GLctoo

NIST Special Publication 500-164

Electronic Publishing:

Guide to Selection

Lynne S. Rosenthal

Information Systems Engineering Division

National Computer Systems Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD 20899

June 1989

NOTE: As of 23 August 1988, the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) became the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) when President

Reagan signed Into law the Omnibus Trade and

Competitiveness Act.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Robert A. Mosbacher, Secretary

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Raymond G. Kammer, Acting Director
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 89-600734

National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 500-164

Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Spec. Publ. 500-164, 37 pages (June 1989)

CODEN: NSPUE2

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON: 1989

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402
ABSTRACT

A primary challenge to Federal agencies and industry is the effective and consistent use and dissemination of information. Electronic publishing can help to meet this

challenge by reducing the growing costs and increasing the efficiency and quality of

producing documents.

Electronic publishing is the use of computer tools to create and combine different

types of information and process them electronically rather than as pieces of paper

to be assembled manually. As these tools have evolved, so has the number of

publishing systems and potential applications. Managers and users must choose

from literally hundreds of electronic publishing systems for the system that meets

their organization's publishing needs.

The purpose of this report is to assist managers and users in making informed

decisions on which systems are best for them. The report presents the technical and

managerial choices and implications associated with selecting and using electronic

publishing systems. A matrix of publishing capabilities and features is presented in

the appendix to illustrate one method of comparing and selecting a publishing sys- tem.

KEYWORDS: composition; desktop publishing; electronic publishing; fonts; page

layout; typography

Contents

I. Introduction 1

II. General Discussion 2

A. Terminology 2

B. Historical Background 5

C. Current Status 5

D. Benefits of Electronic Publishing 7

III. Choosing a Publishing System 8

A. Examine and Analyze Organization Needs 8

B. Examine Current Publishing Methods 8

C. Examine Production Requirements 9

IV. Electronic Publishing Issues 12

A. Information Integration 12

B. Document Printing 13

C. Document Quality 14

D. Document Management 17

E. System Capabilities and Features 18

F. System Configuration: Components 19

G. System Components: Functionality 21

H. Networks 21

V. Summary 23

VI. References 25

Appendix A: Evaluation Matrix 27

Example Matrix 28

v

I. Introduction

Electronic publishing has become an important technology in office automation and

publication management. It can be used to improve the appearance and impact of

documents while lowering publishing costs. However, the proliferation of publishing

systems and potential applications makes it difficult for managers and users to make

informed decisions on which systems are best for them.

Electronic publishing encompasses a broad range of technologies, computing services, and areas of expertise. By selecting the appropriate technologies and matching these with the appropriate applications, electronic publishing will improve

productivity and reduce costs. The key to selecting the best publishing system begins

by understanding your organization's publishing needs and goals along with an understanding as to how the different pieces of technology fit together in a publishing

system.

The purpose of this report is to inform users and managers of the technical and

management choices and implications associated with selecting and using publishing

systems. The report defines electronic publishing, explores the advantages for using

electronic publishing, presents selection criteria and concludes with a discussion of

publishing issues.

The nature of this report requires citing vendors and commercial products. The

presence or absence of a particular product or vendor does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor does it imply that the products identified are necessarily the best available.

1
II. Genera! Discussion

A. Terminology

In general, publishing consists of the following processes (fig. 1):

• Creation: including the gathering, authoring, editing, and illustrating of

information.

• Composition: including document design, page makeup, typesetting, and

pagination.

• Reproduction: including printing as well as storage on electronic media

such as magnetic tape or CD-ROM.

• Distribution: including handling of printed copies and electronic delivery

systems.

Electronic publishing is the use of computer tools to perform these processes and

produce documents. The tools are a result of the synthesis of word processing,

graphics, electronic typesetting, software, information management, and communications services. The documents, which can range from simple letters or forms to indepth technical manuals may contain text, tables, scientific notation, photographs,

graphics, and/or line art.

Electronic publishing systems encompass a broad range of technologies ranging

from personal computers to main frame computers, printing systems, scanners,

storage devices, and software to integrate all these components. (Figure 2 shows the

technologies that can be part of a publishing environment.) Text and graphics can be

created on different input devices and output to one or several different types of output devices. Within a single publishing system any or all of these technologies may

be used to produce and distribute documents.

2
Process 1: CREATION

Source Source 1 j Source

Writing

Research m

Graphics & Illustration Preparation

Review & Edit

Process 2: COMPOSITION

Figure 1 . Publishing processes and workflow.
Wordprocessor Personal Computer Workstation

o C

CD ROM Scanner

|

Micro &

Mainframes

Graphic Workstation CAD Systerr

mm ^

Videotex Low Resolution

Printer

High Speed

Printer Typesetter

Figure 2. Examples of publishing technologies.

Underlying these publishing technologies are the infrastructures and services that are necessary to connect, integrate and manage the different publishing pieces.

• Communication systems (e.g., local and wide area networks, and private

and public telephone networks) to provide connectivity.

• Database structures (e.g., information management systems and production management and tracking software) to manage information

workflow.

1 2

• Document interchange formats (e.g., ODA , SGML to integrate different types of information.

Office Document Architecture and Interchange Format, ISO 8613:1988. ODA has been

proposed as a Federal Information Processing Standard (FTPS).

Standard Generalized Markup Language, ISO 8879:1986 has been issued as FIPS PUB 152.

4
B. Historical Background

Before 1985, publishing was the purview of specialized practitioners in the publication, graphic arts, pre-press and/or printing organizations. For many, publishing a document meant providing these specialists with a prepared manuscript and then

proofing document galleys and final pages prior to printing. There was little understanding or interest in the activities these specialists performed to produce high

quality final products.

However, by 1985 technical advances in the form of workstations with increased

computing performance, cheaper storage media, improved graphics displays, and

new technology for reproducing images allowed for the introduction of desktop

publishing (DTP). Capabilities that were once available only on specialized

proprietary systems were now available on computing systems found in every office.

Virtually every personal computer user could become a publisher. Authors of documents began to take an interest in the different aspects of publishing a document,

performing many of the tasks themselves. Moreover, they began to look for

methods of streamlining the publishing process to be more efficient and effective.

At first, most publishing products were categorized as either desktop publishing or

professional publishing products. The distinction between the two categories was

based on the number of users or publishers and the type of computer platform.

Desktop publishing products were single-user software packages used to develop

low to medium quality products such as newsletters, reports, and proposals for laser

printer output. Professional publishing products were multiuser products that offered more sophisticated typographic and composition control for the production of

large complex documents such as technical manuals, books, and newspapers. Figure

3 presents a generalization of the differences between these two publishing

products.

C. Current Status

Today, the distinction between desktop publishing and professional publishing is disappearing as the products become more sophisticated in capabilities and/or available on a wider range of computer platforms. For example,

Ventura 2.0 can be used in a multiuser environment, can handle large,

complex documents, and can produce typeset quality documents.

Interleaf Publisher, which was once only available on minicomputer networked workstations, is now available on the Apple Macintosh II and

IBM PS/2 Model 80.

Additionally, other software applications, such as word processing packages, have

embodied limited publishing capabilities in their newest software releases (e.g.,

WordPerfect 5.0, Word 4.0, and Wordstar 5). These word processors, sometimes

known as word publishers, continue as authoring tools but may eliminate the need

5
Category Desktop Publishing Professional

Publishing

Number of users single user multiple users

Document size 1-1000 pages unlimited pages

Document complexity simple to moderate

complexity

high degree of

complexity

Typographic simple typography high quality

typography

CY>TTvno^itinna1 rirhnp<;<; limitpd T"iphnp<;<i fnll-fpjitnrpH hi^Vi quahty

Graphics capability limited capability full capability

Kevision control none lnciuaea in uie

system

cost low cost higher cost

Figure 3. Generalization of differences between desktop and professional publishing systems.

for a separate publishing package by enabling the author to produce near typeset

quality final products. These new publishing products, including new versions of old

favorites, are a result of increased user sophistication and demand for additional

capabilities as well as continued advances in computing technology.

Since publishing activities may be performed by several people using different ven- dor systems it has become apparent that networking and integration is essential to

the success of publishing. Consequently, emphasis is being placed on enabling users

to exchange data between different computers and applications and to access a

variety of input or output devices [20],

6
D. Benefits of Electronic Publishing

Electronic publishing can reduce the gi owing costs of producing documents and in- crease the efficiency and quality of final products. The benefits can be realized by

organizations who do their own in-house publishing, use service bureaus, or are ser- vice bureaus. The benefits include:

• Cost savings due to a reduction in labor and production time, resulting

in a faster turnaround time in getting information from the author to the

reader.

Document elements can be processed electronically eliminating the need

to recreate information and correct errors from reentering the information.

Use of outside service bureaus may be minimized or eliminated because

the work can now be performed in-house.

• Improved quality of content, document design, and finished products,

resulting in professional looking documents.

Improved readability and clarity of visual relationships between information.

Improved reader impact and impression.

In-house control over the quality and appearance of the document.

• Improved efficiency in the document production process, resulting in a streamlined process and greater control over the process.

Using information in electronic form eliminates redundancies by enabling

users to share and reuse information.

Improved document accessibility.

Text and graphics can be merged electronically.

Disseminate information in either printed or electronic forms.

Ability to continually update and distribute current versions of a document.

Flexibility in scheduling when work is performed.

• Increased security of information resulting in improved integrity and control over confidentiality of information.

7
Hi. Choosing a Publishing System

The guidelines presented in the following sections are intended to assist the reader

in choosing an electronic publishing system. The guidance is intentionally general in

nature since the answers are dependent upon many factors, including the type of application and user. This is not a checklist or a cookbook approach to evaluating

electronic publishing, but rather a discussion of key issues that need to be addressed.

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible issues but rather a starting

point. It should be noted that a complete requirements analysis methodology is not

included. The reader is referred to Section V, References for additional information on requirements analysis.

A. Examine and Analyze Organization Needs

To build a system, we need to think beyond the technology to how publishing works

within the organization. As with the selection of any software application product, at least a minimal requirements analysis should be performed. Considerations should

include: a determination of application requirements, a review of current and/or re- quired hardware and software, and an evaluation of candidate publishing systems

and alternatives. The benefits to be gained from electronic publishing should be

compared to the benefits of not using electronic publishing as well as the benefits of

implementing a partial system and using outside contractors to complete the job.

Keep in mind that the benefits of electronic publishing are not achieved overnight.

Electronic publishing may reduce costs and improve the quality of the document,

but will take time to master and apply.

Each organization has different needs and publishes different types of publications.

Each situation must be judged individually. It is necessary to examine existing

production methods, production requirements, and management style. An organization needs to consider current needs as well as future needs. Since organizations publish different types of documents, a study of each major document type should be

performed. The results of this analysis may call for either a single publishing solution or a combination of different publishing solutions.

B. Examine Current Publishing Methods

The goal of examining existing methods is to discover how current documents are being produced and determine how an electronic publishing system can improve

upon existing methods. Moreover, an understanding of the current processes forms

the basis for comparison with new system proposals. Areas to investigate include:

8
• Application: The type of publishing tools, personnel skills, and output

media depend on the application.

What are the types of publications, (e.g., manuals, reports, books, newsletters, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, presentations)?

Who is the audience and what is the intended message (e.g., inform, sell)?

What image do you want to leave in the reader's mind?

• Workflow: Improvements in efficiency can be achieved by understanding

the processes that lead to the final published product and automating

the process in the appropriate places.

Who will be doing the work?

Where do the documents originate?

What are the steps or processes for producing the document and what are

their purposes?

Are there bottlenecks, redundant steps, duplication of effort?

• Current Systems: Since incompatibilities can exist between different

hardware and software components of a system, it is essential to know

the current inventory of hardware and software as well as the system configuration and connectivity.

What software application programs are used to create information and

what file formats are produced?

Where are the systems located?

Are systems networked together?

Are information and/or peripherals shared through networking?

C. Examine Production Requirements

The goal of examining the production environment is to determine the characteristics and life cycle of the documents being produced.

• Document Attributes:

What is the length of the document?

Are the pages unique, one of a kind or a standard design?

What mix of information comprises the document (e.g., text, graphics, raster

images, tables, CAD illustrations)?

How complex are the graphical elements (e.g., line art, charts, photographic

halftones, 3-dimensional drawings, variable image rotation)?

How many original designs will the document contain?

9
Is input being generated by multiple sources? by multiple people?

Where does the information originate?

What file format is the information in?

Quality:

What degree of typographic control and composition quality is required?

What level of output quality is acceptable (laser output, typeset output)?

How many fonts and what font sizes are needed?

What level of typographic quality and control is required (e.g., minimal or

extensive line and word spacing)?

Is color required and if so, what type (e.g., one color, two colors, full color,

named color)?

Life Cycle:

How often is the document produced?

What is the turnaround time for producing the document?

What are the document review and proofing procedures?

How often will the document be revised?

Is the document updated and reissued periodically?

Will there be derivative products produced from the master document?

Document Production:

How many documents are being produced each month?

Are several documents being produced at the same time?

What is the printing volume of the document (e.g., 10 copies, 100 copies,

1000 copies, etc.)?

Will the document be a collaborative effort involving several writers, editors,

illustrators, etc.?

Are the production tasks divided among several people and if so, across

different organizational divisions?

What are the storage requirements for maintaining and processing the document?

Will documents be printed on demand?
• Organizational and Procedural Strategy:

Will there be an organizational division responsible for producing all finished

document?

Will users prepare documents for publishing and/or publish their own documents?

Is quality control an important issue?

11
IV. Electronic Publishing Issues

To select and effectively manage the publishing system, it is necessary to examine

and understand the technological, managerial, and design issues related to publishing. The issues presented are general in nature, pertaining to general principles and

directions. An explanation of each issue is followed by a discussion of some of the

current and potential ways of dealing with the issue. The list of issues is not exhaustive, but contains many of the more salient concerns with respect to choosing and

operating a publishing system.

A. Information Integration

Basic to electronic publishing is the ability to integrate different types of information

into a single document. The information, whether it be character, graphic, tabular, or mathematical in nature, may be created on a variety of text and graphics systems.

The different text formatters, graphics drawing packages, CAD systems, and scanner

software, have their own conventions for representing data, formatting instructions,

and organizing the structural relationships among its components. This variety of

representations presents an obstacle to integration. The publishing system must be

able to understand the different data formats and either manage the different formats or incorporate the information into its own internal data format.

Currently, we deal with incompatible data formats by using converters or filters to

translate the information into a form understood by the publishing software. These

converters may be an integral part of the publishing software or available separately

by the vendor or third party vendors. However, this method of converting formats

may be inadequate and uneconomical because:

• the appropriate conversion software is not available,

• the conversion software does not handle graphics,

• the conversion process may cause some loss of data and format information, or

• the conversion process may be cumbersome, requiring several conversions before the information is in the appropriate format.

One solution to overcoming the conversion problem is to provide an information interchange mechanism that is independent of any system, device, application, or data.

Standards are such a mechanism. Using standards, information can be effectively

shared among dissimilar systems and integrated together. Moreover, the quality and

consistency of the information is assured. One standard, commonly referred to as ODA (references [1,8,11,16]), provides for the representation and encoding of text and graphic information so that it can be transferred between different systems ir- respective of their manufacture [8]. As a proposed FIPS, ODA will be used by

12
Federal Government agencies when acquiring document/text processing systems.

Moreover, each system acquired by Federal agencies shall include appropriate ODA

translators [11].

Until implementations of ODA are readily available, conversion and import filters

will continue to be the method of achieving information integration. To ensure a successful conversion, one in which your information is understood by the publishing

system, you must:

1. consider the type of information you use and its data formats,

2. determine if conversion software or import filters are available from

these formats to the publishing software, and

3. evaluate the effectiveness of the converter or filter (e.g., How easy is it to use? Is there any loss of content or formatting information?).

B. Document Printing

Once completed, the document is either printed, displayed, or stored electronically

for future presentation. In order to print the document, it must be represented

electronically in the language of the printer

3

. This language, referred to as a page

description language (PDL) or printer command language (PCL), is used to describe

to the printer how the finished page should appear. The most well known languages

include PostScript, Interpress, and HP PCL. These printer languages are device

specific. This means that the document can only be printed on output devices that

understand the particular language.

Typically, the publishing software will automatically create the document in the

printer language that was specified during installation. A problem arises if either:

1. the type of output device that will be used is unknown, or

2. the document will be printed on several different output devices, each

with a different PDL or PCL.

These problems may occur when your organization supports several different output

devices, uses a service bureau to print your documents, and/or prints on-demand.

On-demand printing allows the document to be stored and interchanged for presentation (i.e., printing or display) at a later time and/or at other locations. The document printing could be distributed to the various sites that need the document.

They, in turn, print only the number of copies and/or sections of the document that are needed. This would reduce the need to warehouse thousands of copies of a document and eliminate the problem of being temporarily out of print.

Printer is used generically to describe any output device, including laser printers, typesetters,

and film recorders.

13
The most common method of solving this problem is to:

1. declare a single PDL or PCL as the only printer language that will be

used, or

2. represent the document in several PDLs or PCLs.

Solution 1 requires that a specific class of output devices

4 be designated as the official or in-house standard device and the only device that will be used. Although solution 2 will allow an organization to support a variety of output devices, representing

the document in several printer languages requires large amounts of storage and re- quires the document to be reformatted and repaginated for each device. Moreover,

a document processed by one device may not be formatted correctly and may alter

the font characteristics when processed by another device5. The differences may be

in appearance, accuracy, and composition and are due to differences in the output

device's font representation, resolution, and ability to handle graphics.

Currently, work is being conducted to produce a standard page description language,

SPDL (references [10,14,16]). The SPDL6

will be device-independent and enable a document represented in SPDL to be output to any display or printing device. It will

be capable of representing all types of information, intermixed in any way, as well as black and white, multi-level monochrome, or full color documents. Moreover, the

SPDL will neutralize any output device differences that may affect the quality of the

document.

C. Document Quality

Electronic publishing systems have provided users with the technology to design and

produce high quality, aesthetically pleasing documents. However, just having the

technology does not guarantee quality results. Producing quality results requires

knowledge and skills in areas such as page design, graphics arts, and typography.

This is not to say the user is incapable of producing good-looking documents. But

rather, the potential for producing low quality, aesthetically unsatisfactory documents exists. Moreover, since everyone has his or her own idea of what looks good,

Class of output devices are all output devices that understand the same PDL or PCL.

Fonts may appear differently even when printing the document on devices that use the same PDL. This is due to the method of representing fonts and his or her metric information (i.e., the size of the font, number of characters to place on a line, and the character spacing and

kerning [2]). For example, on the Apple Macintosh, fonts are assigned an ID number. Due to the limited number of ID's, the ID number may be shared by different fonts, causing conflicts

[18]. Apple is addressing this problem.

Work on SPDL is being conducted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO),

the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST). It is estimated that SPDL products will be available by the late 1990's.

14
the same type of document may have several different looks, each reflecting the artistic taste of the producer (e.g., fig. 4). This inconsistency among documents prevents

readers from differentiating documents by their format (e.g., fig. 5).

February 29, 1989

MEMORANDUM

TO: All staff Members

FM: Personnel

RE: Work Schedules

All staff will report to work on Monday

according to schedule A.

To: All staff Members

From: Personnel

Subject: Work Schedules

All staff will report to work on Monday according

tn Schedule A

Figure 4. Examples of different document designs of the same document.

15
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nobis cleifend option congus nihil imperdiet doming id quod mazim piaceraL

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Hendrerit in vulputate vel it esse molestie conseqaat, vel 31am dolore eu feugial

£ac fl bis at vero eroa et accumsan et ioato odio digniasim qui blandit praeaentExecutive Report

Document Style

Figure 5. Examples of different document types with standardized publication styles. From the document format, the reader can easily recognize the company bulletin from the executive report.

One method to ensure document quality is to establish a publication style and re- quire everyone to use it. Publication styles, often called templates or style sheets, are created for a class of documents (e.g., memoranda, technical manuals, executive

summaries, product catalogs). The basic premise of a publication style is the separation of the document content from its layout and format. The author or artist

creates the content and a document designer controls the design. Tags, markup, or

styles represent the various elements of the document (e.g., paragraphs, headings,

subheadings, bulleted items). Associated with each tag are formatting specifications

such as:font and font sizes, margins, alignment, indentation, vertical spacing,

tabs, columns, rules, boxes, pagination parameters, and graphic placement preferences.

16
The use of publication styles should be considered for documents that are:

• structured,

• reuse the same design,

• separate the design and editorial responsibilities, and/or

• require a consistent look.

The International and proposed Federal standard, Standard Generalized Markup

Language, SGML (references [1,12,13,16]), is another method to ensure document

quality. Although SGML is not a publication style, it can provide the same effect.

SGML is more comprehensive than a publication style. It provides a syntax for

describing the content and structural elements of a document through markup and

the document type definition (i.e., a definition of all document elements and their

relationships). Formatting specifications are associated with the markup when the

document is processed by a publishing system or formatter.

D. Document Management

The publishing process is often divided among several people and across several

departments. This distributed approach can make managing the production process

difficult. Successful document management starts with a management plan. Taking

into account all phases of the document development cycle, the plan should at least:

• define the workflow and job responsibilities,

• establish file naming and organization conventions so that information

may be known and shared among contributors,

• specify revision methods and control, and

• specify the job tracking information that is desired and the method by

which tracking will be accomplished.

Document management tools can aid in managing the process by:

• tracking the information workflow and status of projects,

• providing revision control and an audit trail of all changes and annotations, and/or

• providing file management capabilities including retrieval of documents

by key words, dates, and other criteria, preview images at low resolution

(to confirm identity), and file security and access control.

These tools may be part of the publishing software or a separate software utility.

Most minicomputer-based publishing systems (e.g., Context, Interleaf, HyperScribe)

have built-in document management tools. However, until recently, dedicated document management tools were unavailable for desktop systems. Typically, the document manager and contributors would track and manage documents either manually, using job tickets, status reports, and the like, or electronically, using database or

17
spreadsheet software. Today, document management tools are being included in

desktop systems (e.g., IMSI PagePerfect) as well as being available from third party

vendors (Odesta's ODMS/Matrix and New Riders Publisher's Desktop Manager).

The use of document management tools should be considered for publishing applications that:

• involve multiple people and/or multiple organizations,

• consist of several document pieces, and

• undergo extensive review and revision cycles.

E. System Capabilities and Features

As expected, each publishing system is designed to achieve different objectives and

stress the power and importance of different capabilities and features. Consequently, each has its strengths and weaknesses and is appropriate for a variety of users and

applications. Two factors that influence which capabilities and features are offered

by the publishing system are where the content is created and how the system is oriented.

Content Creation: Not all publishing systems have the ability to create and manipulate content (e.g., text, graphics, tables, equations, raster images, etc.) within the

publishing environment. Many publishing systems lack extensive writing or drawing

tools such as word processors, draw and paint tools, and spell and grammar checkers.

Although limited editing and graphics capabilities may be provided, content is generally imported from word processing and graphics applications. Legend, Context, Interleaf, and Scribe are examples of publishing systems with extensive writing/drawing tools, whereas, Pagemaker, Ventura, and Xerox 701 System provide

limited writing/drawing ability.

System Orientation: Publishing systems may be layout oriented or document

oriented. Layout oriented systems are most suitable for preparing short documents

with unique designs, where flexibility and attention to graphic details are important.

These systems allow the user to manually place and visually adjust the document elements and their design. In contrast, document oriented systems are most suitable for

preparing long, structured documents, or multiple documents with the same design.

These systems offer automatic capabilities for laying out the document according to a specified design and paginating the document with headers/footers, automatic

page and paragraph numbering, footnotes, table of contents, indexes, etc.

18
Since many systems list the same capabilities and features, comparing the lists of one

system to another may be futile in determining the best system. When comparing

capabilities and features of publishing systems, not only is it important to find out if the system performs the function but also:

• how important is the function to your application,

• how well is the function performed,

• how is the function implemented,

• how powerful are the automatic functions,

• how much control does the user have,

• how easy is it to use, and

• will you be more productive with this function.

To conduct this comparison and evaluation, it may be helpful to construct a matrix

listing the capabilities and functions and assign a weighted value to indicate the

desirability, degree of user control, and ease of use. Appendix A provides a sample

evaluation matrix.

F. System Configuration: Components

A publishing system is not a single technology or piece of hardware, but a synthesis

of computers, input devices, output devices, and software. The system may consist

of a personal computer, mouse, laser printer, and publishing software, or be a con- glomeration of personal computers, workstations, minicomputers, CAD systems,

scanners, laser printers, typesetters, CD-Rom devices, and software. Users have the

ability to tie different types of computers together and/or purchase the system components from different vendors as their system needs evolve or as new products

emerge. However, this freedom to mix and match systems and peripherals can

create configuration problems such as incompatible hardware and/or software, non- working systems or systems that produce erroneous results.

The system integrator must configure the system so that the hardware and software

work together. This is accomplished by:

• understanding the requirements, capabilities, and limitations of the

hardware and software,

• acquiring all the appropriate components and required subcomponents

such as a serial port, cables, mouse, graphics monitor, additional

memory, fonts, printer toner, paper, etc. to set up the system,

• ensuring that the appropriate versions of software are used,

• acquiring the necessary device drivers and conversion software to support the different components, and

• installing, initializing, and tailoring the system.

19
With so many different components and possible configurations, the system

integrator's job is not always an easy one. Depending upon the components selected

and the vendor's commitment to promoting a heterogeneous publishing environment, the system configuration task may be as easy as following an automated menudriven procedure or as complex as programming device drivers and translators, diagnosing and soldering cable pin connections, and reconfiguring existing system

parameters. The user may wish to do the integration, hire a consultant or valueadded retailer to do the work, or purchase a turnkey system in which all the components work together in a seamless manner (e.g., AST and Xerox publishing sys- tems).

The key to this configuration confusion is to purchase products that adhere to or promote the use of international, national, or government standards as well as industry-standard hardware and software. Use of these products facilitate the use of

off-the-shelf components and system extensibility as well as the ability to achieve a seamless integrated environment. These products, often called Fourth Wave sys- tems, encompass application software programs, input and output devices, computer

systems, networking, and information management and data exchange services. Examples of standards used in Fourth Wave systems are listed in figure 6.

Component Standard

Operating System POSIX

DOS, VMS, UNIX

Macintosh

Data Interchange

and Data Formats

SGML, ODA/ODIF

CGM,GKS, IGES,

ASCII, TIFF, PCX

WKS (Lotus 1-2-3)

Database Access SQL

Data Communications OSI, TCP/IP, SNA,

DECNET

Network File Access NFS, RFS

User Interface XWindows, Microsoft Windows,

GEM, Macintosh

Figure 6. Examples of Fourth Wave system standards.

20
G. System Components: Functionality

In addition to configuring the system components, the system integrator must ensure

that the system will consist of all the appropriate and necessary components. In fact,

the success of performing a publishing task and achieving the desired results

depends upon this. For example, to include a black and white photograph in a document, not only is a grayscale scanner needed, but also:

• software to manipulate the pixels of the scanned image, in order to cleanup or enhance the image,

• publishing software that understands the format of the scanned image

needed,

• a high resolution monitor that can distinguish the different levels of

gray,

• sufficient memory in the computer system to store and process the

image, and

• an output device with sufficient memory to represent the document with

the embedded image and that can produce continuous tone output (e.g.,

phototypesetter).

Time and effort should be spent ensuring that the publishing system will perform the

necessary functions. Start by reviewing each component's specifications and requirements and plan to configure the system accordingly. A demonstration of the components and system is helpful in knowing which components are necessary and how

they work together. Moreover, a demonstration provides assurances that the

desired results are attainable.

H. Networks

As stated earlier, publishing is a group activity. Rarely does the publishing environment consist of one individual. Rather, there are likely to be several authors, artists,

editors, reviewers, and designers working together to publish a document. Through

networking, the publishing processes and information can be distributed across a collection of computer systems and people. This improves productivity by allowing

users to collaborate through electronic file sharing and mail capabilities as well as distributing the work among the different publishing systems.

However, networking the various computer systems may not solve all the connectivity needs. Issues such as information integration and file access and control must

be addressed to successfully share and exchange information.

Information Integration: As discussed in section IV.A, each application program represents data in its own file format. Consequently, we can transfer the information between the different networked systems, but the information is useless in its present

21
form. It cannot be read, manipulated, edited, printed, etc. until it is converted into a format understood by application programs on the receiving system.

File Access and Control: In a networked environment, problems may arise when

users have access to the same files and/or all files. For example, if two users try to

edit the same file at the same time, an editing conflict occurs. A file locking

capability is needed to prevent users from simultaneously accessing the same file and handling other problems of contention. Additionally, access controls should be

imposed to limit user access to files (e.g., preventing a user from accessing a particular file or allowing a user to read a file, but not edit it).

The solution to these issues is found in both the networking and publishing software.

Most publishing systems provide conversion software for importing information

created by other software programs. Since desktop publishing systems were

designed as single-user systems, most desktop publishing systems lack file access and

control capabilities. However, many publishing vendors have network versions of

their publishing software. These networked versions allow several users to invoke

the publishing software at the same time and provide file locking and access controls. Moreover, the network software may also provide file locking and user access

controls.

22
V. Summary

Electronic publishing offers a wide range of opportunities for effective and cost effi- cient production of documents and publications. It can reduce costs by eliminating or minimizing the need for outside vendors for copy preparation, typesetting, and

composition. It can increase productivity by streamlining the workflow and providing greater control over the publishing processes. And, it can improve document

quality by providing users with the tools necessary to create professional looking

documents. However, these potential benefits can only be realized if the appropriate

electronic publishing system is installed in the proper manner with the proper

management.

Many factors must be considered in the selection and planning of an electronic

publishing system. These factors encompass not only the equipment and publishing

software, but also the structure of the organization, its needs, and the type of publications it will be producing. There are two major areas that require investigation: existing methods and publishing issues.

1. Existing Methods: The organization's current needs and methods for

producing documents must be understood. This involves examining:

the publishing procedures including the nature of the publications, workflow,

and current systems in use,

the production requirements including the document attributes, quality,

and life cycle, and

the organizational strategy including the policies and procedures for publishing documents.

Only by understanding these aspects of the current publishing environment can the

manager or user know what is needed to improve the way publishing is currently performed.

2. Publishing Issues: The technological, managerial, and design issues re- lated to publishing must be understood. This involves examining:

information integration - the ability to combine different types of information from different systems,

document printing - the ability to print or display the document on a variety

of devices,

document quality - the ability to produce high-quality, consistent-looking

documents,

document management - the ability to control and keep track of the document throughout its development cycle,

23
system capabilities and features - the ability to evaluate and select an

electronic publishing system,

system configuration - the ability to create an integrated publishing environment with all the appropriate hardware and software components, and

networks - the ability to interchange documents or parts of documents

among the document contributors and between systems.

Only by understanding these issues can a publishing system be selected and configured with the appropriate components as well as operated and managed in a consistent and productive manner.

In summary, a successful electronic publishing system is the result of a selection

process supplemented by management direction and a defined structure for its implementation.

24
VI. References

[I] Adler, Sharon. "SGML and ODA: Two Standards for the Interchange of Documents." TAG The SGML Newsletter. Vol. 1, Issue 4.

[2] Barcroft, Taylor. "Accessing Large Font Libraries." MacWeek Graphics Arts. October 10, 1988.

[3] Barkley, John. Personal Computer Networks. NBS Special Publication 500-140.

July 1986.

[4] Bloomfield, Craig. "Choosing a Page Composition Program That's Right for

You." PC Publishing. April 1988.

[5] Doebler, Paul. "Who's the Boss?: Sorting Out Staffing and Workflow Issues." EP&P April 1988.

[6] Edwards, Stephen E. "Hyphenation and Justification: The Foundation." The

Seybold Report on Desktop Publishing. April 4, 1988, Vol. 2. No. 8.

[7] Hansen, Rebecca. "Navigating the Murky Waters." CG Magazine. Spring 1988.

[8] Hunter, Roy, Per Kaijser, and Fran Nielsen. "An Overview of the Office Document Architecture (ODA) Standard." Computer Communications, Special

Issue: Office Systems Standards. April 1989, Vol. 12. No. 2.

[9] Haugland, Henry. "Debunking the Myths of EP&P For the Serious Buyer."

EP&P. March 1988.

[10] ISO JTC 1/SC 18/WG8 N715. Text and Office Systems: Standard Page Description

Language (SPDL), 4

th Working Draft. 1988.

[II] ISO 8613:1988 (E). Information Processing Text and Office Systems: Office Document Architecture (ODA) and Interchange Format.

[12] ISO 8879:1986. Information Processing Text and Office Systems: Standard

Generalized Markup Language (SGML).

[13] Moline, Judi. Document Interchange Standards: Description and Status of Major

Document and Graphics Standards. NISTIR 88-3851. September 1988.

[14] Polk, William Timothy. PDLs: A Technology Assessment. DRAFT NISTIR. October 1988.

25
[15] Rankin, Christine. "Making the Right Connections: LANs." Datapro Reports on

Electronic Publishing Systems. September 1988, Vol. 3, No. 9.

[16] Rosenthal, Lynne. Text and Graphics Standards in the CALS Publishing Environment. Draft NISTIR. October 1988.

[17] Rosenthal, Lynne, Elizabeth Parker, Ted Landberg, and Shirley W. Watkins.

Guidance on Requirements Analysisfor Office Automation Systems. NBS Special

Publication 500-147. March 1987.

'

[18] Rupprecht, Gene. "Working with a Service Bureau." PC Publishing. November

1988.

[19] Seybold, Jonathan W. "Publishing Joins the Mainstream." The Seybold Report on

Publishing Systems. January 31, 1988, Vol. 17, No. 9.

[20] Seybold, Jonathan W. "Desktop Publishing 1988: A Conference Perspective."

Seybold Desktop Publishing Conference. September 14, 1988.

[21] "The 1988 Guide to Desktop Publishing for PC-Compatible Systems." Personal

Computing.

26
Appendix A: Evaluation Matrix

The sample evaluation matrix is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of all possible capabilities and features or an evaluation criteria. The objective of the ex- ample is to present one method of comparing capabilities and features. The reader

is encouraged to modify this matrix or create his own to accommodate his application requirements and user preferences.

The capabilities and features listed in the matrix are divided into sections to assist in

the evaluation. Each section focuses on a particular aspect of electronic publishing

systems. The capabilities and features are evaluated against four criteria:

• importance level (IMPO): Is this capability or feature required to

produce the type of documents the organization generates?

• ease of use (EASE): How easy is it for the user to implement this feature?

• user control (USER): How much control does the user have in adjusting or fine-tuning this capability/feature?

• performance indicator (PERF): How well is the overall performance of

this capability/feature?

The rating values are derived from the requirement of the capability or feature to

meet the specific needs of the organization. The values used in these examples are

hypothetical, meant for illustration purposes only.

It is assumed that the reader has a general understanding of publishing terminology.

Consequently, little if any explanation of the terminology is included with the matrix.

27
A. Example Matrix

The Bogus organization is producing long, structured documents that undergo multiple revisions and are the result of collaborative work. To meet this need, the Bogus

organization has compared two publishing systems, A and B.

The evaluation process to select a publishing system for the Bogus organization

produced the following matrix. The columns are divided in two, showing the evaluation scores for systems A and B, side by side. The matrix columns are defined by:

Column Id Rating Explanation

IMPO

PRES?

EASE

USER

PERF

SCORE

0-3 0=nonessential

3=essential

X X=present

=not present

E,D E=easy to use

D=difficult to use

0-3 0=no control

3=high degree of control

0-3 0=low performance

3=high performance

0 0=no preference

A,B, A,B=strong preference

a,b a,b=weak preference

indicates the weighted requirement

of the feature to meet the specific

needs of the organization

indicates that the feature is/is not

present in the system

indicates the ease or difficulty of

using the feature

indicates the amount of control the user has to adjust the feature to specifications

indicates the system's ability to perform the feature and meet user's expectations

indicates the preferred product

28
IMPO Features PRES? EASE USER PERF SCORE

A B A B A B A B

User Interface

2 icons X X E E 0 0 2 2 0

2 menus X E 0 2 A

3 keyboard shortcuts X X E E 1 1 3 3 0 screen view:

3 full page display X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

1 magnify X X E E 1 2 3 3 b

3 WYSIWYG X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

3 user defined macros X E 3 3 A

Input Formats/Filters

Graphics:

3 IGES X E 0 1 A

3 CGM X X E E 0 0 2 2 0

2 TIFF X X E E 0 0 2 2 0

0 PCX

0 PICT

3 Lotus WKS X X E E 0 0 2 1 A

Text

3 SGML X X E E 2 1 2 2 A

1 DCA X X E E 0 0 1 1 0

3 ASCII X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

Output Formats/Filters

Page Description Lang.:

3 Postscript X E 0 3 A

3 Interpress X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

3 PCL

Text Editing

1 conventional text editor X X E E 0 0 1 1 0

3 copy X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

3 delete X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

3 paste X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

1 rotate X D 3 3 b

3 search/replace (text) X X E E 0 0 1 1 0

3 search/replace (typespecs) X E 0 3 B

3 undo X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

Graphics Editing

2 copy X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

draw tools:

3 Arrowhead X E 0 3

r>D

2 Boxes X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

0 Circles X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

3 Lines X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

29
Features PRES? EASE USER PERF SCORE

A B A B A B A B

2 paste X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

3 rotate X X D E 0 0 3 3 B

1 fill patterns X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

1 fid 1 fill colors X E 0 3 a

1 line width X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

0 pixel editing X E 0 2 b

Document Design

2 interactive document design X X E E 0 0 2 2 0

3 structured documents X X E E 2 2 3 3 0

page size:

3 8.5 x 1

X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

0 11x17 X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

1 custom X X E E 1 2 3 2 a

3 templates X E 3 3 A

3 style sheets X X E E 3 3 3 3 0

1 irregular shaped text blocks

1 irreg shaped graphics blks X E 2 2 b

Composition

1 character spacing X E 2 1 a

1 word spacing X E 2 1 a

1 kerning X E 2 1 a

justification:

3 justified X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

3 flush left X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

3 flush right X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

3 folio X X E E 0 0 3 3 0

hyphenation:

3 expandable dictionary X E 3 1 AA

3 algorithm X X E E 0 0 1 1 0

2 characters before/after - X E 1 1 B

2 consec. hyphenated lines X E 1 1 B

tabular matter:

3 automatic adjustment X X E E 0 0 2 1 A

3 across pages X E 0 2 A

mathematical notation:

3 adjust spacing X D 2 2 B

3 levels of super/subscripts X X E E 1 2 1 1 B

3 symbol character set X X E E 0 2 2 2 B

30
Ili'iliU PRES? EASE USER PERF bUUHc

A B A B A B A B

ray II IdllUi 1

1 inici aOllvt? X X E E 0 0 2 2 U

3 Dal(J II X X E E 0 0 2 2 U a2 Uocl UcIlilC/U icylUMb X X E E 1 2 2 2

p

3 VcTXICal JUSllTICallun X E 2 3

A 3 rnuiiipie columns X X E E 2 2 3 3 U

2

iA/iHrviA//^rr\hd WIUUW/UI n control pi lal 1 UUllllU! X X E E 3 2 3 3 u 3 page Tioenty X X E E 2 2 3 3 0

riGciaers/Tooiers.

A3 rnuiiipio X X E E 0 0 3 3 u 3 Uoci jJUoiuuriiny X X E E 2 2 2 2 u

nurTiuciii iy/i tJitJi ci ion ly

.

a2 X X E E 0 0 2 2

r\u 3 page X X E E 0 0 3 3

nu 3 IUUIIIUIc X X E E 0 0 2 2 u 3 figure reierences X X D E 0 0 3 3 DR

3 cross reierences X X D E 0 0 3 3 D

3 taDie ot contents X X E E 0 0 3 3 U

3 index X X E E 0 0 3 3 u

uocument Management

3

L>^ 1 • a/*% /"\ a imAnte nuge aocumenis X X E E 0 0 3 3 u 3 merge aocument sections X X E E 3 3 3 3

nu 3 retrieve section oy reterence X X E E 3 3 3 3 u

1 iioranes ot text X X E E 3 3 2 2 u 2 iioranes ot grapnics X X E E 3 3 2 2 u

version control: u 3 multiple version X E 3 3 MA 3 oocument status X E 3 3

A

r\

3 imc ocuui iiy X X E E 1 0 3 3 A

SELECTION = PRODUCT A

j^U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICEl 1989-242 — 203/00015

31

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW PUBLICATIONS ON

COMPUTER SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY

Superintendent of Documents,

Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC 20402

Dear Sir:

Please add my name to the announcement list of new publications to be issued in the

series: National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 500-

.

Name

Company

Address

City State Zip Code

(Notification key N-503)

NBS-114A (REV. 2-8C) U.S. DEPT. OF COMM.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA

SHEET (See instructions)

1. PUBLICATION OR

DCDHDT KtrUK m C\

1 IN<J. NIST/SP-500/164

2. Performing Organ. Report No. 3. Publication Date

June 1989

4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Electronic Publishing: Guide to Selection

5. AUTHOR(S)

Lynne S . Rosenthal

6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION (If joint or other than NBS, see instructions)

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

(formerly NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS)

US. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

QAITHERSBURQ, MD 20899

7. Contract/Grant No.

8„ Type of Report & Period Covered

Final

9. SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NAME AND COMPLETE ADDRESS (Street. City. State, ZIP)

same as item 6

10. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 89-600734

| | Document describes a computer program; SF-185, FIPS Software Summary, is attached.

11. ABSTRACT (A 200-word or less factual summary of most significant information. If document includes a significant

bibliography or literature survey, mention it here)

A primary challenge to Federal agencies and industry is the effective and consistent use and dissemination of information. Electronic publishing can help to meet this

challenge by reducing the growing costs and increasing the efficiency and quality of

producing documents.

Electronic publishing is the use of computer tools to create and combine different

types of information and process them electronically rather than as pieces of paper

to be assembled manually. As these tools have evolved, so has the number of

publishing systems and potential applications. Managers and users must choose

from literally hundreds of electronic publishing systems for the system that meets

their organization's publishing needs.

The purpose of this report is to assist managers and users in making informed

decisions on which systems are best for them. The report presents the technical and

managerial choices and implications associated with selecting and using electronic

publishing systems. A matrix of publishing capabilities and features is presented in

the appendix to illustrate one method of comparing and selecting a publishing sys- tem.

12. KEY WORDS (Six to twelve entries; alphabetical order; capitalize only proper names; and separate key words by semicolons)

composition; desktop publishing; electronic publishing; fonts; page layout; typography

13. AVAILABILITY

[Xl Unlimited

| | For Official Distribution. Do Not Release to NTIS

[X~l Order From Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.

20402.

[ 1 Order From National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, VA. 22161

14. NO. OF

PRINTED PAGES

37

15. Price

USCOMM-DC 8043-P80



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