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Express-Expansion Group to Adopt Quark Publishing System 7

Political weekly L'Express to upgrade to Quark Publishing System 7 to realize new benefits in its editorial workflow system

PARIS - 1/10/2008 -

The Express-Expansion Group has announced that the editorial team at the weekly magazine L’Express is currently testing Quark Publishing System® (QPS®) 7, the latest version of Quark’s editorial workflow system, with the intention of adopting it permanently in the next few months.

Founded in 1953, the magazine started using QuarkXPress layout software in the early days of desktop publishing. To maintain consistency and ensure the publishing process was both well run and secure, in 1998 the Express Group adopted Quark Publishing System. Since its original implementation of QPS, the Express-Expansion Group has adopted regular updates of QPS. L’Express and Styles, its magazine supplement, are created using QPS 3.6.

QPS 7: A Strategic Vision
Given the confidence the Express-Expansion Group had in the original publishing system, they decided to test QPS 7, which has been re-engineered and re-architected to offer its users a new level of freedom in the way they approach their work.

"It’s an evolution, not to mention a revolution because [QPS 7] is just what we’ve been waiting for", explained Thierry Bérard, IT director for the Express-Expansion Group. "Thanks to the system’s open architecture, it’s at last possible to have an interface between QPS 7 and other systems." In fact, the Group is looking to use Journal Designer, a Dataplan solution, for managing thumbnails with QPS 7 [in order] to have a global application that can manage production flows that include page layouts, thumbnails, and follow up. The Dataplan tool is due to be used either with QuarkXPress for all the other publications equipped with Quark[XPress] 7 or as an automatic interface with QPS 7 for L’Express."

QPS 7: Technological and Operational Benefits
QPS 7 affords its users a host of new benefits. "First, it’s a great time saver because of the automation", Bérard said. "We can incorporate [existing systems] into its open architecture, in particular integrating it easily with the Dataplan interface", Bérard added. He also emphasised the stability of this new platform for users who are working with QuarkXPress 7 on Mac Intel machines. "The combination of Mac Intel, OS X, QPS 7, QuarkXPress 7 and Dataplan is a huge ‘value add’ for the Express-Expansion Group in terms of technological and operational benefits", Bérard said.

The magazine’s numerous contributors also appreciate the flexibility of the new system, citing its enhanced layer and transparency management, the redesigned user interface, and the fact that content providers can work on the layout through a simple client or a Web browser.

"Today, L’Express employs about 120 people, and QPS 7 is the solution for the secure management of all our workflows", concluded Bérard.

"The challenge of L’Express magazine, and of its supplement, Styles, was to keep an editorial workflow as close as possible to the one the customer has used for several years while providing new opportunities in the publishing process", explained Gildas Duval, Quark sales manager for Southern Europe. "Opportunities include cross-media publishing, a collaborative workflow, and easy integration with page planning, ad booking, and other systems. QPS 7 offers all of these benefits, based on an open, flexible architecture and an intuitive Web interface."

About the Express-Expansion Group
The Express-Expansion Group produces 20 publications - magazines and internal newsletters - as well as numerous special issues. The Group also organizes forums and trade fairs. Its online activities include eight Web sites with free or subscriber services that offer advertising opportunities. It also produces approximately 100 practical guides every year in a variety of fields, including training, professions, recruitment, management, and asset management.

www.groupe-expansion.com

About Quark
Quark Inc. (euro.quark.com) is an innovative software company providing design, production, and collaboration solutions that are transforming the business of creative communications. Quark has provided award-winning software for professional publishers since its flagship product, QuarkXPress, changed the course of traditional publishing. Denver-based Quark Inc. is privately held.

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