Cole's Newswire logo Dec. 5, 2001
Vol. 7, No. 43

COLE'S NEWSWIRE is a weekly distribution of information about the sales and installations of publishing technology and the latest news on new products developed by suppliers to the industry.

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  • ADSTAR INC.
    The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) has commissioned AdStar, an applications service provider for the classified ad industry based in Marina del Rey, Calif., to provide ad insertion services to the NAA's Bona Fide Classified web site.

    AdStar has begun to equip the site with a private-label version of its Advertise123 software, through which classified ad buyers may place orders in scores of newspapers over the Web. AdStar will collect the bulk of a 15 percent fee for processing credit card payments and ensuring that the ads are delivered to the destination newspapers.

    Initially, the site will offer ad insertion services for more than 100 newspapers currently served by AdStar. Other members of the NAA may join the network for a nominal fee paid to AdStar.

    The NAA classified site is at http://www.bonafideclassified.com/. The NAA, based in Vienna, Va., is at http://www.naa.org/, while AdStar is at http://www.adstar.com/.


  • AGFA CORP.
    This U.S. division of the Belgium imaging company has announced that it has completed its acquisition of Autologic Information International Inc. (AII). The company said that 97.8 percent of the outstanding shares had been tendered by the Nov. 29 deadline. The all-cash deal was valued at $41.2 million.

    Agfa said that it would "integrate" its newspaper business into the AII business and that AII would continue to serve the newspaper market on a worldwide basis.

    Volt Information Sciences Inc., the majority stockholder in AII, said it received about $24 million for its shares and that it would use the money to pay down debt and for other corporate purposes.

    AII, a publicly held company that was controlled by Volt, provides electronic pre-press systems to the publishing industry.

    Volt, based in New York City, is on the Web at http://www.volt.com/, while AII, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., is at http://www.autologic.com/. Agfa Corp., a division of Agfa Gevaert of Belgium, is based in Ridgefield Park, N.J., is on the Web at http://www.agfa.com/.


  • ANYGRAAF OY
    This Finnish developer of asset management and publishing production systems has begun marketing its entire product line through its new U.S. agent, Anygraaf USA Inc.

    In use at more than 100 organizations throughout Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria and the United States, Anygraaf products are designed to meet all aspects of asset management and publishing production. Anygraaf applications include ad order entry, ad tracking, edition planning, layout and editorial. Pagination, archiving, image management and Internet publishing are standard features of the core product.

    Doris, the file format-neutral asset-management and publishing production system, allows for the tracking and organization of any file type, including text, images, graphics, video and audio from a common user interface.

    Anygraaf is based in Helsinki, while Anygraaf USA is based in Rockville, Md. The companies are on the Web at http://www.anygraaf.com/.


  • AUTOFX SOFTWARE
    This Birmingham, Ala.-based software company has released DreamSuite Series One, a new graphics application that works with images, type and graphics. DreamSuite includes 18 photo-realistic effects and works either as a stand-alone application or as a plug-in for image editing programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Elements and Paint Shop Pro.

    DreamSuite effects are resolution-independent and include a "memory dots" feature, an unlimited number of light sources, support for Photoshop Actions, user-defined pre-sets and support for a variety of file formats.

    The estimated retail price of DreamSuite is $299.

    AutoFX is on the Web at http://www.autofx.com/.


  • BASEVIEW PRODUCTS CORP.
    Virginia's Alexandria Journal Newspapers has installed 31 workstations of AdMangerPro. In addition, the ALEXANDRIA JOURNAL (7k) itself installed Baseview's Accounts Receivable module, Remote Merge for importing ads from bureau sites and ClassFlow, Baseview's pagination system.

    Michigan's BATTLE CREEK ENQUIRER (25k) has also installed Baseview systems, including 46 NewsEditPro IQue reporter workstations and 23 pagination stations with DragX and QTools. The ENQUIRER is also using the IQue Server with Hot Backup, Transporter with assorted plug-ins for mail, FTP and auto-HTML and WireManager IQue.

    Baseview, a division of MediaSpan Group Inc. of Research Triangle Park, N.C., is based in Ann Arbor, Mich., and is on the Web at http://www.baseview.com/.


  • COLD NORTH WIND INC.
    News Ltd., the Australian newspaper division of News Corp. Ltd., has agreed to digitize 20 years of back issues of the PORT PHILLIP HERALD, the forerunner of the MELBOURNE HERALD SUN (600k).

    This first-phase project will cover the years 1840 to 1860 and represents about 30,000 full-page images.

    Cold North Wind, of Ottawa, is on the Web at http://www.coldnorthwind.com/.


  • CREOSCITEX AMERICA
    This Bedford, Mass.-based division of Creo Products Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, has introduced ShadowFX, a plug-in for Adobe Acrobat that creates transparent shadows for PDF page elements. The plug-in is available for both Macintosh and Windows-based machines.

    ShadowFX provides control over the color, offset, opacity and blur radius of the shadows it creates. The transparent shadows can be used in any PDF workflow that supports PDF 1.4

    Creo, which will eliminate the Creoscitex brand next year, is on the Web at http://www.creo.com/.


  • ECRM IMAGING SYSTEMS
    Recoprint Impresion S.L, a Spanish newspaper group based in Madrid, has ordered eight ECRM WildCat XL180 platesetters from ECRM reseller Cyan S.A. FujiFilm, also of Spain.

    The eight Wildcats will be installed at various locations around Spain, including Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla and Lugo.

    ECRM, based in Tewksbury, Mass., is on the Web at http://www.ecrm.com/.


  • EIDOSMEDIA
    This Italian supplier of content management systems has announced Methode Printing Suite, an extension of its Methode content management system.

    A preliminary release of the application shows a pagination engine natively based on eXtensible Markup Language (XML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) that integrates with Quark XPress and Quark CopyDesk, running on either Macintosh or Windows-based machines.

    Other new features in Methode include the Knowledge Portal, which links information objects, Methode Rundow, a television news planning tool and Methode Syndication, an engine for syndicating content.

    EidosMedia, of Milan, is on the Web at http://www.eidosmedia.com/.


  • IDEALLIANCE INC.
    The former Graphic Communications Association has announced that Time Inc., CMP Media LLC and leading software suppliers including Interwoven, Active Data Exchange, 3Path Inc., Antariti.ca and Zinio Systems have developed demonstrable systems based on the PRISM metadata standard and the ICE content delivery standard.

    The PRISM (Publishing Standards for Industry Standard Metadata) and ICE (Information and Content Exchange) Working Groups are hosted by IDEAlliance.

    IDEAlliance, based in Alexandria, Va., is on the Web at http://www.idealliance.org/.


  • PUBLISHING BUSINESS SYSTEMS INC.
    New York's BUFFALO NEWS (219k) has licensed MediaPlus Circulation Management, List Matching, Insert Management and Circulation Insight products from this company.

    The new installation will replace an existing circulation system developed in-house.

    Publishing Business Systems is based in Barrington, Ill., and is on the Web at http://www.pbs.com/.


  • SOFTWARE CONSULTING SERVICES
    The MINNESOTA DAILY (31k), which serves the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, has installed three components of the Software Consulting Services (SCS) enterprise newspaper system: AdMAX, JLayout and SCS/LinX.

    AdMax is an advertising order entry, retail and classified ad management, and billing and accounting system. JLayout automates display ad dummying based on site-defined criteria and advanced dummying algorithms. SCS/LinX is a Quark XPress XTension that imports JLayout's ad geometries, edition designs and ads digitally into XPress documents for news pagination.

    SCS also said it has released SCS/Track 9.3. New functionality includes spec ad creation and tracking, Edition Manager, Graphics Manager, File Manager and Applications Manager.

    SCS, based in Nazareth, Pa., is on the Web at http://www.newspapersystems.com/.

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