IntroductionWelcome| 00:04 | Hi! I'm William Everhart, and welcome
to Digital Publishing Fundamentals.
| | 00:09 | While Digital Publishing has been
around for years, it wasn't until
| | 00:12 | recently that publishers started
taking advantage of the new range of
| | 00:15 | devices on the market today.
| | 00:17 | In fact, there's been a shift in the
industry towards a digital first, or even
| | 00:21 | digital only workflow.
| | 00:22 | In this course, we'll discuss some
of the current formats, techniques, and
| | 00:26 | considerations to help you get
started with digital publishing.
| | 00:30 | I'll start by defining digital
publishing and giving you the key terminology
| | 00:34 | used in the digital publishing world.
| | 00:35 | Then, we'll look at some of formats and
tools used in creating a digital document.
| | 00:40 | We'll cover some of the various
publishing tools and available distribution
| | 00:45 | options, whether you are a publishing giant,
or just looking to publish your first e-book.
| | 00:49 | There's a lot to consider when publishing a
digital document and I'm excited to be your guide.
| | 00:54 | So let's get started with
Digital Publishing Fundamentals.
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1. What Is Digital Publishing?What is digital publishing?| 00:00 | What exactly is digital publishing?
| | 00:02 | Simply put, it's the production and
distribution of traditionally printed
| | 00:06 | materials like books, magazines,
newspapers, and catalogs in an electronic form.
| | 00:12 | These electronic documents commonly,
referred to as e-books, can be produced in
| | 00:17 | many formats, such as an ePub, PDF,
HTML or an e-book application.
| | 00:24 | Blogs, and even websites, are
considered a form of digital publishing.
| | 00:29 | For the purpose of this course, I
will be discussing the formats ePub, PDF
| | 00:34 | and e-book application.
| | 00:36 | To get a better idea of what digital
publishing truly is, let's take a look at
| | 00:40 | its evolution up to now.
| | 00:42 | Project Gutenberg is usually everyone's
first foray into the world of e-books.
| | 00:47 | It was founded by Michael Hart in
1971 when he digitized the Declaration of
| | 00:52 | Independence, creating the
first digital publication.
| | 00:56 | Since its formation, similar e-book
libraries have been established, but Project
| | 01:00 | Gutenberg will forever be known as
the original digital publishing library.
| | 01:05 | In the early 1990s, the home computer
became more of a reality for millions of people.
| | 01:11 | The CD-ROM drive was
commonplace on many of these computers.
| | 01:15 | In an effort to reach this audience and
cut production costs, encyclopedias, and
| | 01:19 | even some magazine publishers
began producing their titles on CD.
| | 01:24 | Additionally, some textbooks came
with live-action presentations and other
| | 01:28 | supplemental content on a CD.
| | 01:31 | Introduced by Adobe Corporation, the
PDF, or Portable Document Format, was
| | 01:36 | developed to convert
documents to a more universal format.
| | 01:39 | It also helped to usher in the
concept of the paperless office.
| | 01:43 | In the early 1990s, the World Wide
Web was beginning to reach into nearly all
| | 01:47 | businesses and many homes.
| | 01:50 | The web made for a perfect platform to
share content around the world, which was
| | 01:54 | its original intent.
| | 01:56 | It is also during this time that
Amazon starts to sell printed books online.
| | 02:01 | OEB, or the Open eBook, was the
precursor to the ePub format.
| | 02:06 | Much like its modern counterpart, OEB
was a ZIP file format with a manifest file,
| | 02:12 | XHTML files for the book
pages, and CSS for styling.
| | 02:17 | It was developed until September of
2007, when it was officially replaced by the
| | 02:22 | Open Public Structure 2.0, or ePub format.
| | 02:27 | In 2004, Sony introduced the first
commercially available e-book device, LIBRI?.
| | 02:33 | This device used E Ink technology,
which is said to be easier to read because
| | 02:38 | it does not depend upon any backlighting, but
rather reflected light, much like printed paper.
| | 02:44 | Also in 2004, Google announced its plans
to digitize books and offer them online.
| | 02:49 | A couple of years later, Sony's second
attempt at an e-reader device, the Sony
| | 02:54 | Reader, became available
through Borders bookstores.
| | 02:57 | In 2007, Amazon released the
Kindle and sells out almost immediately.
| | 03:02 | Over the next few years, the Kindle
gets updated with additional features.
| | 03:06 | Amazon takes the top spot in e-book
market, announcing that e-book sales
| | 03:10 | outnumber physical book sales.
| | 03:13 | Building on the ever popular iPod,
in 2007 Apple announced the iPhone.
| | 03:18 | While this device was not a major game
changer for the digital publishing world,
| | 03:22 | the following that the iPhone
received made publishers take notice.
| | 03:25 | The device was really too small for
extended reading sessions, but it made it
| | 03:30 | possible to carry a computer in
your pocket and so the sales soared.
| | 03:34 | In 2010, Steve Jobs announced the
iPad and the digital publishing world
| | 03:39 | was forever changed.
| | 03:41 | The larger screen made it much more
practical than the iPhone for reading e-books.
| | 03:45 | Being completely touch control, the
iPad brought back the active page flipping
| | 03:50 | to e-books, along with gestures for
zooming and highlighting content.
| | 03:54 | Digital publishing may be a new term to you,
but it has some 40 years of history behind it.
| | 03:59 | However you define it, digital
publishing is one of the leading markets today.
| | 04:04 | Literally millions of e-book capable
devices are in the world and more are
| | 04:08 | being sold every day.
| | 04:10 | The push now is to fill those
devices with engaging content. That is what
| | 04:14 | digital publishing is all about.
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| Exploring digital publishing terminology| 00:00 | Like anything else, digital publishing
has its own language, and it would be most
| | 00:04 | helpful to you if you spoke the native tongue.
| | 00:07 | In this video, I will be your
translator for the digital publishing language.
| | 00:11 | Many of the terms you may have already heard,
but let's make sure you understand them.
| | 00:15 | CSS, or Cascading Style Sheet, is a
coding language used to describe the look and
| | 00:21 | feel of HTML content.
| | 00:24 | It's very similar to style sheets
used in applications like Microsoft Word
| | 00:28 | and Adobe InDesign.
| | 00:29 | E-book, short for electronic-book, is
a generic term used for many forms of
| | 00:35 | digital publication.
| | 00:36 | E Ink, short for electronic ink, is a
display technology using dark gray ink on a
| | 00:43 | lighter matte gray background.
| | 00:45 | E Ink capable devices reportedly offer a
more comfortable reading experience, as
| | 00:51 | the display closely resembles ink on paper.
| | 00:53 | EPUB, short for electronic publication,
a form of e-book, coded in HTML and CSS,
| | 01:02 | these documents can be hand-coded or
converted from a desktop publishing
| | 01:05 | application, such as Adobe
InDesign or Microsoft Word.
| | 01:08 | E-reader, short for electronic
reader, is a portable device capable of
| | 01:15 | displaying digital publications.
| | 01:17 | DPS is the abbreviation of Adobe's
Digital Publishing Suite. This is Adobe's
| | 01:23 | solution for creating digital
publication apps for tablet devices.
| | 01:28 | HTML, hypertext markup language, is a
programming language behind most websites.
| | 01:35 | iBook is Apple's own proprietary e-book
format exclusively for the iPad tablet.
| | 01:42 | PDF, or Portable Document Format, is
Adobe's answer to the universal file format
| | 01:48 | for sharing documents across
multiple operating systems.
| | 01:52 | Tablet, or tablet PC, is a generic term
for a mobile computer with a touch screen
| | 01:58 | and no physical keyboard.
| | 02:00 | XML, or Extensible Markup
Language, is a close relative of HTML.
| | 02:06 | It is a markup language that defines a
set of rules for encoding documents in a
| | 02:10 | format that is both human
readable and machine readable.
| | 02:14 | So there is a short list of terms you
will want to be familiar with before
| | 02:17 | diving into the world of digital publication.
| | 02:19 | Of course you will also want to brush up
on your desktop publishing and perhaps
| | 02:23 | even your web development skills, but
that is beyond the scope of this course.
| | 02:27 | Instead, take a look at lynda.com
library and you will find a wealth of
| | 02:31 | information on these topics and more.
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| Consuming digital content| 00:00 | No matter the format, digital
publications are viewed on digital devices.
| | 00:05 | Perhaps the most popular device for viewing
digital documents currently is the tablet.
| | 00:10 | These devices were
designed with ease of use in mind.
| | 00:13 | With their extremely long battery life,
internet connectivity, and most of all,
| | 00:17 | portability, tablets allow their users
to interact with their digital content
| | 00:22 | how they want to, when they want to, and where.
| | 00:26 | Most digital publications require an app
to be installed on the tablet, but with
| | 00:30 | an active Internet connection,
this is just a matter of a tap or two.
| | 00:34 | Many of these e-reader apps are
designed for a specific format, though some,
| | 00:38 | like Apple iBooks, can read
multiple digital publication formats.
| | 00:43 | Personal computers are used
for displaying digital documents.
| | 00:47 | Just like devices personal computers
use an application to display the content
| | 00:51 | and some even allow you to manage your
digital content across multiple devices.
| | 00:56 | Of course desktop and even laptop
computers are not as portable as a tablet
| | 01:01 | and thus are less popular for viewing
digital magazines and books. Instead
| | 01:06 | these platforms are primarily used
to view electronic publications like
| | 01:10 | business reports, product specification sheets,
human resources publications, and the like.
| | 01:16 | Not to be left out of the mix, mobile
devices such as smartphones can also be
| | 01:21 | used to view digital publications.
| | 01:24 | Their smaller screen size can be a
pain point for some digital publishing
| | 01:27 | formats, such as PDF or the Adobe DPS apps.
| | 01:32 | The fixed layout nature of these formats
make text extremely difficult to read
| | 01:37 | on smaller devices unless they are
designed specifically for small screens.
| | 01:43 | The user can zoom in on the content
to read the text, but they're left with
| | 01:47 | having to scroll in both
directions to view more content.
| | 01:51 | This is not optimal for
delivering large amounts of content.
| | 01:55 | On the upside, these devices are very
portable and most everyone has a mobile
| | 01:59 | phone capable of opening a digital
publication of one format or another.
| | 02:04 | So if care is taken to either develop
a DPS app for the smaller screen, or an
| | 02:10 | EPUB format is chosen over PDF, your
content will be warmly accepted by users
| | 02:15 | on their smartphones.
| | 02:16 | Viewers consume digital publications
on various devices and many times across
| | 02:21 | multiple devices. One may start reading
a publication on their desktop computer
| | 02:25 | and then continue reading on a tablet
or smartphone during the commute home.
| | 02:29 | There really is no place you cannot go
without a digital device for consuming
| | 02:33 | digital content. Well, say maybe scuba diving.
| | 02:37 | Now that you know how digital
publications are consumed, how do you decide which
| | 02:41 | digital format is right for you?
| | 02:43 | In upcoming videos, I will discuss
the various digital publication formats
| | 02:47 | pointing out the good, the
bad, and the ugly of each.
| | 02:50 | I will also offer my recommendations
for publishing in each of these formats.
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| Why the push to digital publishing?| 00:00 | While you will still find plenty of
paper publications currently available,
| | 00:04 | the trend today is to offer a digital version
instead of or in addition to the printed one. Why?
| | 00:10 | Primarily, because the content has
never been so easy to acquire, online
| | 00:14 | marketplaces like Apple iTunes, the
Amazon Kindle Store, Barnes & Noble's Nook
| | 00:19 | Book Store, and many others are just
a tap away from any mobile device.
| | 00:25 | Subscribe to a digital publication, and
when new issues become available, you are
| | 00:29 | a sent a notification so that you can
download them instantly to your device.
| | 00:33 | No more waiting for your magazine
subscription to be delivered or perhaps even
| | 00:37 | lost in the mail, and you never
even left the comfort of your couch.
| | 00:42 | Another reason for the shift to digital
publications is the number of engaging
| | 00:45 | features that ink on
paper simply can not provide.
| | 00:50 | Features like hyperlinks that connect
viewers to additional content, or allow
| | 00:54 | them to share their experience through
social networks. Movies and animations
| | 00:59 | incorporated within a digital
publication to enhance the reader's experience or
| | 01:04 | just further illustrate a complicated
topic, and, of course, photography, is even
| | 01:09 | more impressive when viewed on a backlit device.
| | 01:12 | As an instructor who travels a lot, I
like the portability of having my entire
| | 01:16 | library of textbooks on a device
that weighs little more than a pound.
| | 01:21 | I can highlight and make notes on the
digital versions of my books, just as I
| | 01:25 | would on the printed ones.
| | 01:27 | Because I can carry the entire
library with me, I have all of my reference
| | 01:31 | material immediately available wherever I go.
| | 01:34 | Paper publications may not completely
disappear from news stands in the next
| | 01:38 | year, but the push to digital is on.
| | 01:41 | With all the wonderful features that
digital publications offer it is no wonder
| | 01:45 | more and more people are
preferring digital over print.
| | 01:48 | As technology improves and devices
become even more widespread, digital
| | 01:52 | publishing will be the standard, not
only for recreational reading, but for all
| | 01:57 | forms of documentation.
| | 01:59 | It is a brave new world for
content creators and consumers alike.
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| Is print dead?| 00:00 | I have spent the better portion
of my career as a print specialist.
| | 00:03 | I have seen my share of changes to the
publishing industry over the past couple
| | 00:06 | of decades, but nothing like
what's happening right now.
| | 00:10 | Should print professionals
be looking for another career?
| | 00:12 | Well, don't dust off your resume just
yet folks, but certainly take the time to
| | 00:17 | educate yourself on
digital publishing solutions.
| | 00:20 | In fact, I'm going to bet
that's exactly why you're here.
| | 00:23 | Even if you're not currently tasked
with converting your printed content to an
| | 00:26 | eBook, you very soon will.
| | 00:29 | It is inevitable, as sales of tablet
devices increase daily and thus the demand
| | 00:34 | for digital content skyrockets.
| | 00:36 | Back in the early 90s I began hearing, "print is dead," being preached from every
| | 00:40 | corner of the digital publishing world.
| | 00:42 | As a printing professional this
statement struck a nerve with me and still does.
| | 00:47 | This was a time when the PDF document
was first introduced and everyone was
| | 00:50 | convinced that it would revolutionize
the publishing world. And in a way it did,
| | 00:55 | but not in the way that the
doomsayers were suggesting.
| | 00:59 | In fact, PDF made professional printing
easier and thus helped to solidify the
| | 01:03 | industry for a number of years to come.
| | 01:05 | Certainly there was a contingency of
business professionals who used the new PDF
| | 01:10 | format to go green and
develop a paperless office.
| | 01:14 | But it would be some time before
there was a significant decline in
| | 01:17 | professional printing.
| | 01:18 | Commercial printers were the first
to see this decline in the form of
| | 01:21 | printed product catalogs.
| | 01:23 | As the World Wide Web crept into our
homes, consumers could simply download a
| | 01:27 | PDF catalog for free.
| | 01:29 | Manufacturers began to see the
potential for this new form of media and started
| | 01:33 | developing an online version of their catalogs.
| | 01:36 | These online catalogs could be freely
distributed to anyone and everyone who wanted them.
| | 01:42 | They were easier to keep
current, thus less costly than their
| | 01:45 | printed counterparts.
| | 01:47 | Very soon consumers could order directly
online with the advent of the eCommerce
| | 01:51 | site, and the demand for a catalog diminished.
| | 01:54 | Today it's difficult, though not
impossible, to find a printing catalog.
| | 01:58 | As the Internet developed, the
technologies behind websites and the tools
| | 02:02 | to create them did as well, making
it easier for designers to create
| | 02:06 | beautiful, easy to read pages.
| | 02:09 | This let a few newspapers to start
thinking about moving to a digital format.
| | 02:13 | Order a subscription to the New
York Times is one of several major news
| | 02:17 | publications now, and you get a
choice between digital, print, or both.
| | 02:22 | That is where the trend seems to
have stay for the past decade or so.
| | 02:26 | Most any subscription to a magazine includes
access to a digital form of the same magazine.
| | 02:32 | I think with the popularity of tablet
devices, we will see a slow dissolve of
| | 02:36 | this hybrid offering to a digital only, or a
print on demand option, in the near future.
| | 02:41 | Many literary and textbook publishers
are joining this hybrid offering of both
| | 02:45 | digital and print versions of their books.
| | 02:48 | Public schools and colleges are
experimenting with tablet devices in place of
| | 02:52 | textbooks, allowing students to not only
read the assigned text, but make class notes.
| | 02:56 | If you had recorded lecture or discussed
a topic via Instant Messaging or Online
| | 03:02 | Forum, Apple has partnered with a few of
the major textbook publishers to create
| | 03:06 | and offer many new titles as iBooks.
| | 03:09 | These digital publications have the
most current data and are considerably
| | 03:13 | cheaper to produce than a printed book.
| | 03:15 | There is also no fear of the
student damaging or losing their books.
| | 03:19 | I think that we'll see a decline in
promotional printing as large-screen signage
| | 03:23 | develops and becomes more affordable.
| | 03:25 | Electronic billboards are already popping up
all over the interstates of most major cities.
| | 03:31 | Modern movie theaters are forgoing
the movie poster for large monitors that
| | 03:35 | deliver more than a static image.
| | 03:38 | Even a communication standard, the
lowly business card, is slowly becoming
| | 03:42 | a thing of the past. So is print dead?
| | 03:45 | In my honest opinion, no.
| | 03:47 | It is evolved, as it is the process by
which we published this new printed word.
| | 03:52 | There will always be a need for ink on
paper when it comes to packaging, so the
| | 03:56 | technology of printing is not going away.
| | 03:59 | There is also a large population that
prefers the tactile sensation and smell of
| | 04:04 | ink on paper when it comes to literature.
| | 04:07 | This leaves me to believe that there
will be presses cranking out publications
| | 04:11 | for sometime to come.
| | 04:13 | Yes, there is a definite trend to put
print to death, but it will not go gentle
| | 04:18 | into that good night.
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2. EPUB ExplainedWhat is an EPUB?| 00:00 | Perhaps you've heard the term EPUB
and thought oh yeah, that's an eBook.
| | 00:04 | Well, yes it is one form of an eBook,
but the EPUB format is actually a
| | 00:08 | compressed folder of many different files.
| | 00:11 | EPUBs can be opened on most
any device with an EPUB reader
| | 00:15 | application installed.
| | 00:17 | The application interprets, then
displays the compressed files one at a time in
| | 00:22 | a linear fashion, though you can navigate
between them with an interactive table of contents.
| | 00:28 | The content of an EPUB is re-flowable,
which makes it easy to read on any
| | 00:33 | size screen EPUB supports some basic
interactivity, images and even movie and audio content.
| | 00:40 | Typically EPUBs are used for
text heavy documents like novels.
| | 00:44 | Each chapter or section of an EPUB is
represented by a single HTML file, that's
| | 00:50 | right, the very same coding
language used by most websites.
| | 00:53 | So is an EPUB a website?
| | 00:56 | Well, they can be considered more of
a "micro site," rather than a website.
| | 01:01 | You see, EPUBs lacks many of the
features of a traditional website, but if
| | 01:05 | you were to decompress an EPUB file,
you would see a folder structure similar
| | 01:09 | to that of a website.
| | 01:11 | You can even create or edit an EPUB
with web development software like
| | 01:16 | Adobe's Dreamweaver.
| | 01:17 | Let's take a closer look at an eBook
document to see what's going on behind the curtains.
| | 01:22 | So here I have an EPUB, it looks and
behaves like any other single file.
| | 01:27 | If I double-click, it opens in the
appropriate software to display the file.
| | 01:32 | To the untrained eye it would pass as
an ordinary document, but there is more
| | 01:35 | here if you know where to look.
| | 01:36 | I'm going to decompress this EPUB.
| | 01:41 | I'm left with a folder.
| | 01:43 | So if I open this folder, I
have two more folders and a file.
| | 01:48 | The file is called mimetype.
| | 01:49 | This file tells the devise that this is an EPUB.
| | 01:53 | If we look in the META-INF folder,
we'll find two XML documents.
| | 02:00 | These files describe the contents of the EPUB.
| | 02:05 | Opening the OEBPS folder
reveals a list of xhtml pages.
| | 02:10 | These pages are the pages of the
document or the sections of the document.
| | 02:15 | There's a font's folder that
contains the fonts that were used in this
| | 02:19 | document, and there's an image folder that shows
all the images that were used in this document.
| | 02:30 | There is even a css folder,
opening it reveals the css page.
| | 02:36 | The CSS or Cascading Style Sheet
controls the display of these xhtml pages.
| | 02:43 | The code describes things like fonts
and color and positioning of text and
| | 02:47 | images contained within those pages.
| | 02:50 | There are two more files located here.
| | 02:52 | The first is the content-opf;
| | 02:55 | this file tells the EPUB reader
what is inside the EPUB document.
| | 02:59 | You'll also find the toc.ncx file.
| | 03:04 | This is the interactive table of contents
readers use to quickly navigate your EPUB.
| | 03:10 | There are EPUBs that don't act like EPUBs;
| | 03:12 | instead they seem to be empowered
with features reserved for other forms of
| | 03:15 | digital publications.
| | 03:17 | Features like movies and audio
tracks, embedded scripts, and even
| | 03:21 | object positioning.
| | 03:22 | Historically, EPUBs with features like
these have been described as Enhanced
| | 03:26 | EPUBs because they were
more than your average fare.
| | 03:29 | Many of these enhanced features are now
included in the EPUB 3 Standard, though
| | 03:34 | you may still hear it occasionally
the term Enhanced EPUB has fallen to the
| | 03:39 | wayside and been replaced by EPUB 3.
| | 03:42 | For the latest information on the EPUB
3 Standard visit the idpf.org website.
| | 03:48 | There is more to an EPUB that meets the eye;
| | 03:51 | a lot goes on behind the scenes to make
even the simplest of EPUB's function the
| | 03:55 | way we have come to expect.
| | 03:57 | Peeking out of the hood of an EPUB
reveals its website like construction with
| | 04:00 | HTML and CSS files abound.
| | 04:03 | Knowing, what's at the core of an
EPUB will hopefully give you a better
| | 04:06 | understanding of the features and limitations
this digital publishing format has to offer.
| | 04:11 | If you intend to publish EPUB documents
on a regular basis, I strongly suggest
| | 04:16 | you learn a little more about the
underlying code languages, HTML and CSS.
| | 04:21 | You may never have the time a single
line of code, but it would not hurt you to
| | 04:25 | understand these core
components of the EPUB format.
| | 04:28 | For more information, about HTML and
CSS, I recommend James Williamson's CSS
| | 04:33 | Fundamentals and Bill Weinman's,
XHTML and HTML Essential Training here in
| | 04:39 | the lynda.com Library.
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| The benefits of an EPUB| 00:00 | EPUBs have many advantages, including OS
independence, re-flowable content, and a
| | 00:05 | relatively small file size.
| | 00:07 | The EPUB 3 Standard allows for more
immersive experience with support for audio
| | 00:11 | and video, text to speech, scripting, and more.
| | 00:16 | There's a lot of digital
goodness in a neat little package.
| | 00:19 | Let's dig a little deeper
into the benefits of the EPUB.
| | 00:22 | Due to their html core, EPUB pages can
be read on any device with any operating
| | 00:27 | system, including mobile.
| | 00:29 | The only requirement is an
application capable of interpreting and
| | 00:32 | displaying the EPUB format.
| | 00:35 | Fortunately there is a plethora of
such apps for every operating system and
| | 00:39 | mobile or a tablet device.
| | 00:41 | There are even plug-ins that allow
you to read EPUBs directly inside your
| | 00:45 | favorite web browser. That means that
there is a huge market of potential EPUB
| | 00:50 | consumers in the world today.
| | 00:52 | By far, the greatest advantage of the
EPUB format is it's re-flowable content.
| | 00:56 | This feature empowers the EPUB to
automatically resize its contents based on the
| | 01:01 | dimensions of the viewer screen.
| | 01:03 | The text itself can be resized by the
viewer to make reading on smaller devices
| | 01:07 | like smartphones much more palatable.
| | 01:10 | Visually challenged readers can take
advantage of this feature as well, to make
| | 01:14 | reading more comfortable on any screen.
| | 01:16 | Not only can they change the text size,
but the text and background color as
| | 01:20 | well, to give it more or less contrast.
| | 01:23 | With the release of EPUB 3 standard,
readers can now enjoy features like
| | 01:27 | embedded audio and video.
| | 01:29 | This brings a whole new level of
experience to the reader, much like bonus
| | 01:33 | content or special features offered on
a DVD or Blu-ray disc, only for books.
| | 01:39 | Audio can be added as a
background track or narration of the text.
| | 01:43 | The EPUB format also has support
for interactivity, such as hyperlinks.
| | 01:47 | Media overlays allow us to highlight text.
| | 01:56 | We can copy the text.
| | 01:59 | You can even highlight
some text and make a note.
| | 02:08 | As you see there are some impressive
benefits of choosing the EPUB as your
| | 02:12 | digital publishing format.
| | 02:14 | The rich media features of the EPUB 3
Standard are beginning to rival those of
| | 02:18 | other digital publishing formats.
| | 02:20 | The re-flowable content makes a
strong case for flexibility across multiple
| | 02:24 | screen sizes, and reaches out to
the visually challenged audiences.
| | 02:28 | No matter how you feel about it, the
EPUB format is a strong contender in the
| | 02:33 | digital publishing market.
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| The shortcomings of an EPUB| 00:00 | Now for some of the
shortcomings of the EPUB format.
| | 00:03 | Just as webpages are susceptible to
variational different web browsers, EPUB can
| | 00:07 | display differently on
each EPUB reader application.
| | 00:10 | Some of the applications only support
basic EPUB functionality, while others,
| | 00:15 | like Apple iBooks, support the
very latest in EPUB advancements.
| | 00:19 | Readers may get a completely
different, and perhaps unflattering, reading
| | 00:23 | experience than what you had intended.
| | 00:25 | For example, I have the same EPUB
open here in Digital Editions on my right
| | 00:30 | and Calibre on my left.
| | 00:32 | As you can see, there are some differences here.
| | 00:35 | Take a look at the heading: certainly
a different typeface and certainly much
| | 00:40 | more bold over here in Digital Editions.
| | 00:42 | The text of the body itself is different.
| | 00:45 | Notice that it wraps maybe a little
differently, different font, different size.
| | 00:50 | And lastly, take a look at the margins,
or the lack thereof, over here in Digital
| | 00:55 | Editions. But over in Calibre I
get plenty of margin space over here.
| | 01:00 | Now these are just some of the
differences between these two applications with
| | 01:04 | this particular EPUB.
| | 01:05 | But no matter what, you should
expect these types of changes, and perhaps
| | 01:10 | more, when you're using the EPUB format,
because there are so many different
| | 01:15 | EPUB readers out there.
| | 01:17 | So what does this mean for you? That
you had better take notes from the folks
| | 01:20 | over in the web development world and
construct your EPUBs with web standards in mind.
| | 01:24 | Remember EPUB is built on
HTML, so similar rules apply.
| | 01:29 | This may mean forgoing some of the
more advanced EPUB features in lieu of
| | 01:33 | consistency across multiple devices.
| | 01:35 | It also means you will be editing the
underlying HTML and CSS code to ensure
| | 01:40 | consistent results in the
majority, but not all of EPUB apps.
| | 01:45 | Now don't let this scare
you off of the EPUB format.
| | 01:49 | Just familiarize yourself with
HTML and CSS and web standards.
| | 01:53 | It's not as bad as it sounds and it
will prove very beneficial for your
| | 01:56 | continued success in the digital
publishing world, no matter what format you choose.
| | 02:01 | EPUB's greatest feature, the re-flowable
content, can also be considered somewhat
| | 02:06 | of a weakness. Because the content can
reflow, it's difficult for designers to
| | 02:11 | control object positioning, and thus,
complex layouts are not common in EPUBs.
| | 02:15 | Content in an EPUB typically flows in
a linear fashion from top to bottom in
| | 02:21 | the order in which it was added.
| | 02:23 | Images and graphics must be inserted as
in-line or anchored elements in order to
| | 02:28 | have them appear in the
text that addresses them.
| | 02:31 | Another drawback of EPUBs is
the lack of page numbering.
| | 02:35 | This is due to the fact that the content
reflows based on the size of the screen
| | 02:39 | or, if the reader has applied
adjustments to the text, such as font size.
| | 02:44 | When either of these attributes changes,
the number of pages in an EPUB will
| | 02:48 | increase or decrease accordingly.
| | 02:51 | This can make for some interesting
problems when it comes to referencing
| | 02:54 | content by page number.
| | 02:56 | If the pages are consistently
shifting, how does one make references?
| | 03:00 | One method is to use hyperlinks
that point to your intended content.
| | 03:04 | The fact that the EPUB 3 Standard now
supports embedded video and audio is no
| | 03:09 | doubt a great feature.
| | 03:10 | Of course, discretion must be taken
when introducing such content as it can
| | 03:14 | interrupt the storyline, and does
detract from the reader's experience.
| | 03:19 | Adding rich media also adds to the
file size of your published EPUB.
| | 03:23 | This translates to longer download times
and less available space on tablets and
| | 03:28 | smartphones for other content.
| | 03:30 | The recipe for adding rich media to
any digital publishing format is that the
| | 03:34 | media should add to the user's experience.
| | 03:37 | Never add media or
interactions just because they're cool.
| | 03:40 | EPUB offers a lot of the digital
publisher, but it's not without its drawbacks.
| | 03:46 | They offer little control
over layout of the content.
| | 03:49 | In fact, the display of an EPUB may change
depending on what device it is being viewed.
| | 03:54 | Not only is consistency a real
concern, but support for interactivity
| | 03:58 | also varies by device.
| | 04:01 | Simple EPUBs are easy to create and
supported by most devices, but trying
| | 04:05 | to control layout or adding
additional features will require some code
| | 04:09 | writing experience.
| | 04:10 | So if you intend to use EPUB as
your digital publishing format,
| | 04:13 | it would be a good idea to get
caught up on your HTML and CSS code.
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| Who is an EPUB for?| 00:00 | The role of EPUBs has traditionally
been relegated to tech-centric publication,
| | 00:04 | such as commercial books and textbooks.
| | 00:06 | Now that the EPUB Format has evolved
to include more interactive features, it
| | 00:10 | has captured the attention of a
wider audience of publishers and readers.
| | 00:14 | Modern Word Processing and Page Layout
applications have included an export to
| | 00:19 | EPUB option, making it
easier to create EPUB documents.
| | 00:23 | To whom is the EPUB Format suited?
| | 00:25 | Certainly literary books will continue
to be a mainstay of the EPUB Format, with
| | 00:30 | new features of both the format and
the eReading apps, readers will draw even
| | 00:34 | more from their favorite tales.
| | 00:35 | Authors and publishers can include
links to their other offerings, making it
| | 00:40 | easier for the reader to acquire them.
| | 00:42 | Book clubs can stretch across borders
as readers can blog or instant message
| | 00:47 | about the book that they are currently
enjoying on their eBook device or tablet.
| | 00:51 | Textbooks too can take advantage of the
increased interactivity and rich media
| | 00:55 | content now offered by the EPUB 3 Format.
| | 00:59 | I can remember sitting in class
watching some boring 16 mm film from a 1950s
| | 01:03 | about healthy eating habits.
| | 01:06 | The information was up-of-date and the
film did not capture my attention, but I
| | 01:10 | did catch up on my sleep.
| | 01:12 | Now imagine instead of textbook with not
only the latest in dietary information,
| | 01:16 | but an up-to-date movie right there on the page.
| | 01:20 | I tap the screen and the movie plays.
| | 01:21 | I don't fall asleep and I
actually learn something.
| | 01:24 | How awesome would this be for
demonstrating complicated mathematic equations
| | 01:29 | or scientific studies?
| | 01:30 | Speaking of equations, the EPUB 3
Format supports MathML, a markup language
| | 01:37 | that describes and displays
mathematical equations correctly on the computer
| | 01:41 | and device screens.
| | 01:43 | This one entices not only textbook
authors, but authors of engineering and
| | 01:47 | scientific documentation as well.
| | 01:49 | It allows authors to accurately display
math formulas natively, without having
| | 01:54 | to convert them into an image format first.
| | 01:57 | With support for text to speech,
children's book publishers are warming out to
| | 02:01 | the EPUB as their format of choice.
| | 02:04 | Their younger audiences can not only
enjoy the story as it's told by the
| | 02:08 | characters, but also learn
to read at the same time.
| | 02:11 | Encouraging young readers solidifies
them as a future eBook consumer and sways
| | 02:16 | parents to purchase even more
eBooks for their educational benefits.
| | 02:21 | This is truly a win-win situation for
both the publisher and the consumer alike.
| | 02:26 | Corporate eLearning and Business
Reporting are now being offered as EPUBs for
| | 02:29 | all of the above reasons.
| | 02:31 | So the next time you get that analysis
of blah, blah, blah, or you are required
| | 02:36 | to take a course on being a better
employee, you might be surprised that at
| | 02:40 | least the publication of
the information is engaging.
| | 02:43 | There is even a small migration of
magazines and catalogs to the EPUB 3 Format.
| | 02:47 | The EPUB Format has certainly come a
long way from its humble beginnings, but
| | 02:52 | the ride is not over yet.
| | 02:54 | More markets are coming to see the
light when it comes to the EPUB Format.
| | 02:58 | This is due directly to the increasing
list of features offered by EPUB 3, and a
| | 03:02 | support by top publishing applications.
| | 03:05 | With so many possibilities offered
by the EPUB Format, I guess the better
| | 03:09 | question would be who is the EPUB not for?
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|
3. Fixed-Layout EPUB ExplainedWhat is a fixed-layout EPUB?| 00:00 | There is another type of EPUB that
doesn't quite fit the typical description:
| | 00:04 | the fixed-layout EPUB.
| | 00:06 | So, what is so special about this form of EPUB?
| | 00:09 | Primarily, its content is not re-
flowable, but yet the text is still accessible
| | 00:15 | to the reader. This allows them to
search, copy, and bookmark that text.
| | 00:20 | The author has greater control over the
layout of content, including full-page
| | 00:25 | and two-page spread imagery.
| | 00:27 | At first glance, the fixed-layout
EPUB can be easily mistaken for a PDF
| | 00:31 | document, because the display is very similar.
| | 00:34 | Authors can use typical Desktop
Publishing features like text wrap and
| | 00:38 | object positioning with the confidence that
it will be respected in a fixed-layout EPUB.
| | 00:44 | This is great for documents were the
layout is just as important as the content
| | 00:49 | is to its effectiveness.
| | 00:51 | Designers love the idea that their
vision is maintained, no matter what device
| | 00:55 | is used by the reader.
| | 00:56 | And readers love the look and
feel of the advanced layouts.
| | 00:59 | Fixed-layout EPUBs can be much more than
just a linear stream of words and images.
| | 01:05 | You can regain control over the display
of your content with fixed-layout EPUBs.
| | 01:09 | So don't go judging an
eBook by its file extension.
| | 01:12 | You may be surprised at what's
waiting for you behind the cover.
| | 01:15 | If the layout of your content is
critical to your message, then perhaps a
| | 01:19 | fixed-layout EPUB is right for you.
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| The benefits and shortcomings of a fixed-layout EPUB| 00:00 | Now that you know what a fixed-layout
EPUB is, let's talk about the advantages
| | 00:04 | and disadvantages of choosing
this format of Digital Book.
| | 00:08 | You get a control over your layout,
including your image and graphic
| | 00:12 | positioning, your text wrapping and line
breaks, the fonts that you use, and the text size.
| | 00:18 | The text itself is also accessible, so it can
be selected, copied, searched, and bookmarked.
| | 00:25 | The images, well they can be a full-
page image or they can span two pages.
| | 00:31 | Your table of contents in a fixed-
layout EPUB is different as well. Instead of
| | 00:35 | just a list of text,
| | 00:37 | the table of contents includes page thumbnails.
| | 00:41 | These page thumbnails are also seen
at the bottom of your screen as you're
| | 00:46 | thumbing through the fixed-layout EPUB.
| | 00:49 | The table of contents page thumbnails
are also automatically generated, so you
| | 00:54 | don't have to create them yourself.
| | 00:55 | Fixed-layout EPUBs are still the EPUBs and
so they can be sold in the Apple iBookstore.
| | 01:03 | Now let's talk about where
these fixed-layout EPUBs fall short.
| | 01:07 | First of all, they are very difficult
to reproduce and very time intensive.
| | 01:12 | Right now there is no automatic
creation or export feature currently available
| | 01:17 | in any layout tool for fixed-layout EPUBs.
| | 01:21 | Because there is no automated workflow
here, hand coding of the content is the
| | 01:26 | only option for right now.
| | 01:28 | Since you're going to be hand coding
this content, it's a good idea to have an
| | 01:32 | advanced knowledge of HTML and CSS.
| | 01:35 | And perhaps the biggest drawback is the
lack of support of fixed-layout EPUBs.
| | 01:41 | Currently fixed-layout EPUBs are only
supported on the iPad with the iBook app.
| | 01:48 | The fixed-layout EPUB is a very
powerful publishing format, but it has its
| | 01:52 | own share of vices.
| | 01:54 | Before deciding on a fixed-layout EPUB
for your digital book, carefully weigh
| | 01:58 | the benefits of controlling your
layout versus the presentation.
| | 02:02 | Is the layout of the
presentation critical to the message?
| | 02:06 | Also consider the amount of time you
will spend under the hood of your EPUB
| | 02:10 | trying to code all that content so
that it appears the way you want.
| | 02:13 | Certainly the fixed-layout EPUB has its
place in the publishing realm, but don't
| | 02:18 | be taken in by its beauty and promise
of control at the sacrifice of your time.
| | 02:22 | For more information on how to create a
fixed-layout EPUB, checkout Anne-Marie
| | 02:27 | Concepcion's Creating a Fixed-Layout
EPUB title here in the lynda.com Library.
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| Who is a fixed-layout EPUB for?| 00:00 | So who would get the most
from a fixed-layout EPUB?
| | 00:03 | Designers certainly like to control that
the format gives them over the content,
| | 00:06 | but it's not always about
what makes the designer happy.
| | 00:09 | The audience experience, and effective
delivery of your message is what should be
| | 00:13 | most important when deciding on
your digital publication format.
| | 00:17 | Keeping that in mind, fixed-layout
EPUBs would not be ideal for small screen
| | 00:21 | devices like smartphones.
| | 00:24 | Any text would be rendered too small to read
and thus your message would not be transferred.
| | 00:29 | Larger screen devices like tablets and
computer monitors would be your primary targets.
| | 00:34 | So what kind of digital content would
readers be looking for on these devices?
| | 00:38 | Art books and any other book that's
image heavy would certainly take advantage
| | 00:42 | of the fixed-layout EPUB.
| | 00:44 | The focus here is primarily on the
imagery, with full-page and two-page image
| | 00:49 | spreads, but very little text.
| | 00:52 | Comic books could take advantage of
the fixed-layout EPUB because they
| | 00:56 | are illustration heavy.
| | 00:58 | Many times these
illustrations span multiple pages.
| | 01:02 | The story itself is actually carved
into little panels to help direct the
| | 01:06 | reader's eyes, and that's very
important for the storytelling.
| | 01:10 | Children's books are also very image
heavy or graphics heavy, and those images
| | 01:14 | tend to span multiple pages.
| | 01:17 | They have very little text and the
read aloud features available in the EPUB
| | 01:22 | format is a definite possibility.
| | 01:25 | Anyone producing marketing materials
could take advantage of the fixed-layout EPUB.
| | 01:29 | Once again, you have control
over the layout of the content.
| | 01:34 | Many times, these promotional materials
are very dependent upon that layout to
| | 01:39 | deliver the message.
| | 01:41 | Lastly, fictional works could certainly
take advantage of a fixed-layout EPUB,
| | 01:46 | especially when an author wants to
decorate their books with a lot of images and
| | 01:50 | have the text wrap around them.
| | 01:52 | Instead of using a PDL format to
achieve this, the author could use a
| | 01:56 | fixed-layout EPUB and the benefit
would be that they could offer this in
| | 02:00 | the Apple iBookstore.
| | 02:02 | The fixed-layout EPUB delivers some
impressive features, but it's not for everyone.
| | 02:07 | Because of their static layout, they
could be next to impossible to appreciate
| | 02:11 | on smaller screen devices.
| | 02:13 | However there are markets where fixed-layout
EPUBs can truly be appreciated for what they are.
| | 02:18 | Any image heavy document or one that is
dependent upon layout for the effective
| | 02:23 | delivery of its message is a prime
candidate for the fixed-layout EPUB.
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|
|
4. PDF ExplainedWhat is a PDF?| 00:00 | The Portable Document Format, or PDF, was
developed my Adobe in the early 90s and
| | 00:05 | is a way to share
documents with anyone, anywhere.
| | 00:08 | The PDF format is a simplified
version of Adobe PostScript, a
| | 00:12 | programming language commonly used
to describe the graphical data of a
| | 00:16 | document for printing.
| | 00:17 | Oftentimes a PDF is actually created
by converting or distilling a PostScript
| | 00:23 | file of the original document.
| | 00:25 | Once all of the page information, such as
fonts, images, and layout are distilled,
| | 00:30 | the resulting file is then
compressed and you end up with a PDF.
| | 00:34 | Now this sounds really complicated, but
it all happens at the click of a button.
| | 00:39 | The PDF is very
widespread as a publishing format.
| | 00:42 | In fact, if you've used a computer
within the last decade, you are sure to have
| | 00:46 | encountered a PDF or two.
| | 00:48 | How would you know if you're viewing a PDF?
| | 00:51 | Well, let's take a look at some
of PDF's more memorable features.
| | 00:55 | First, PDFs are OS independent.
| | 00:58 | That means that the same PDF can be
viewed on a Mac, a PC, or mobile device.
| | 01:04 | PDFs also have a fixed layout, meaning
that the design is exactly the same on
| | 01:09 | any sized screen. Any fonts and
images that are used within the original
| | 01:13 | document or embedded inside the PDF.
| | 01:17 | PDFs also can contain interactive
content such as hyperlinks, fillable forms,
| | 01:24 | bookmarks, and rich media, such
as movie, audio, and animations.
| | 01:30 | Annotations, such as highlighting and
commenting on the content of the PDF, are also possible.
| | 01:37 | PDFs also can contain security
features such as password encryption or
| | 01:41 | digital rights management.
| | 01:43 | The PDF format is so widespread that
most publishing software has a direct
| | 01:48 | export to PDF feature.
| | 01:51 | Perhaps the best feature of the PDF is the
fact that it's free to produce and share.
| | 01:55 | So as you can see, the PDF has a
lot to offer the digital publisher.
| | 02:00 | Its flexibility, portability, and
ease of use, has made it one of the most
| | 02:05 | commonly used file types across all markets.
| | 02:08 | Developed during a time of great
confusion in the publishing realm, the PDF
| | 02:11 | single-handedly reinvented
publishing as we know it today.
| | 02:15 | The great news is that Adobe
has not finished with the PDF yet.
| | 02:19 | They continue to add features to this
wonderfully universal format to keep it
| | 02:23 | competitive with other
digital publishing formats.
| | 02:26 | It is safe to say that the PDF will
be a viable publishing option for many
| | 02:30 | years to come.
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| The benefits of a PDF| 00:00 | The PDF has been around for some time now.
| | 00:03 | In that time, Adobe has continually
developed the format in an effort to make
| | 00:06 | sharing documents easy,
consistent, flexible, and secure.
| | 00:11 | With its support for rich interactive
content, PDF documents can be so much more
| | 00:15 | than just the written word.
| | 00:17 | Let's take a look at some of the PDF's
more endearing qualities as a digital
| | 00:21 | publishing solution.
| | 00:22 | Most applications offer a
way to export directly to PDF.
| | 00:27 | If the application you're using does
not, chances are there is a plug-in or a
| | 00:31 | script that will enable this feature.
| | 00:33 | For example, here I have an InDesign
document that I would like to export as a PDF.
| | 00:38 | To do so, I simply go to the File menu,
choose Export, my Format of choice, and click Save.
| | 00:48 | I'm offered a series of choices here.
| | 00:50 | I am simply going to turn on the View
After Exporting so we can see the results.
| | 00:55 | I'll click OK and it might take just a
moment or two, depending on the complexity
| | 01:01 | of your document, for InDesign to create the PDF.
| | 01:05 | I'm going to resize this window and
let's compare the two, side by side.
| | 01:12 | So as you can see, my layout in
InDesign is perfectly matched in my PDF.
| | 01:18 | The fonts, and colors of the fonts, that I have
chosen are also perfectly matched in my PDF.
| | 01:25 | Let me just scroll through this
document so that we can compare the InDesign
| | 01:29 | layout to the PDF layout.
| | 01:31 | So I'll scroll down to page 2 in my
InDesign layout, and I'll flip to page 2 in
| | 01:36 | my PDF. Looks pretty good.
| | 01:39 | Another huge benefit of the PDF is
its support for security features.
| | 01:44 | Let's take a look at a
document that I have secured earlier.
| | 01:47 | As you can see, the icon itself
is a little bit different here.
| | 01:50 | When I go to open this PDF by double-
clicking on it, I'm asked to enter a Password.
| | 01:58 | If I enter the correct password, my
PDF opens and I can preview the document.
| | 02:02 | Now you may be wondering, why is
this view different than the other?
| | 02:07 | Well, that's because I have
this in a single page view.
| | 02:11 | If I were to change this, we would
see that the layout does indeed match
| | 02:15 | my InDesign document.
| | 02:18 | There's no doubt about it, PDF is a
very popular digital publishing solution.
| | 02:22 | Its widespread adoption by various markets
illustrates its flexibility and popularity.
| | 02:28 | Anyone can open a PDF and
most everyone can create them.
| | 02:32 | The PDF has become a preferred format
to transfer information, no matter what
| | 02:37 | the market content or audience.
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| The shortcomings of a PDF| 00:00 | There is no doubt that PDF is a
mainstay in the digital publishing, market but
| | 00:04 | it does not fit everyone's needs.
| | 00:06 | As a publisher, there perhaps is no
easier format to create, but the audience
| | 00:11 | could be missing out when it comes to PDF.
| | 00:13 | While there are only a
few drawbacks to using PDF,
| | 00:17 | they may be enough to cause you concern.
| | 00:19 | Let's take a look at the dark side of PDF.
| | 00:23 | Perhaps one of the biggest drawbacks of
PDF is this lack of reflowable content.
| | 00:28 | Here, I have a PDF open.
| | 00:30 | If I scale this window just as if I
were viewing this on a smaller device,
| | 00:35 | notice that the text gets smaller, the
images stay in place, and it really does
| | 00:41 | not fit the smaller screen;
it's not comfortable for reading.
| | 00:46 | Another drawback of PDF is that
there is currently a lack of major
| | 00:50 | distribution channels for PDFs.
| | 00:53 | As the digital publishing revolution
continues, Adobe will be keeping the PDF in
| | 00:57 | development and most likely crawl
some of these barriers in the future.
| | 01:01 | In the meantime, you can feel
confident in the PDF as a viable publishing
| | 01:05 | solution for documents that don't
require extensive interactivity, large
| | 01:10 | marketplaces for distribution, or
will be viewed on small screen devices.
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| Who is a PDF for?| 00:00 | You've seen how easy it is to create a PDF,
its well for features, and even its drawbacks.
| | 00:05 | So to whom is the PDF best suited?
| | 00:08 | Taking cues from the current state of
publishing and the widespread use of PDF,
| | 00:12 | we can distill it down to the kinds of
documents that benefit from this format.
| | 00:17 | This will hopefully give you a better
understanding of exactly who the PDF is for.
| | 00:20 | Of course, business documents can
certainly take advantage of the PDF format.
| | 00:26 | These documents include various reports,
forms, letters, and even presentations.
| | 00:32 | These are typically text-heavy
documents with graphs, charts, and even tables.
| | 00:38 | Technical manuals and user guides can
also take advantage of the PDF format.
| | 00:42 | These documents too are typically very
text heavy with illustrations, large CAD
| | 00:48 | drawings, and possibly even 3-D renderings.
| | 00:51 | Another classic use for a
PDF would be a product catalog.
| | 00:55 | These two are very image heavy.
| | 00:57 | Typically, they have
tables, and even illustrations.
| | 01:00 | A fixed layout nature of PDF helps designers
to convey this information in a logical manner.
| | 01:07 | And Interactive Table of contents
and, even hyperlinks, help users navigate
| | 01:11 | through these large documents.
| | 01:14 | Advertising and promotional
materials such as brochures, and postcards,
| | 01:19 | magazines, and even newspaper ads
| | 01:21 | can certainly take advantage of the
PDF with its embedded fonts and media.
| | 01:26 | Their fixed layout nature, and even
color management information, are also a
| | 01:30 | benefit to these forms of publication.
| | 01:33 | While, the PDF is considered a
universal document format, it may not suit every
| | 01:38 | document type perfectly.
| | 01:40 | If you're looking for portability,
flexibility ease-of-use, and have concerns
| | 01:45 | about keeping your content secure,
then perhaps PDF is right for you.
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|
|
5. ebook AppsWhat is an ebook app?| 00:01 | Unlike other forms of Digital Publishing,
eBook apps are more than just a file format.
| | 00:05 | They are native applications that have
been compiled for a specific operating system.
| | 00:10 | Here are my ipad,
| | 00:11 | I've downloaded the
Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine.
| | 00:14 | I'll tap to open, and here we
get a look at the branded portal.
| | 00:19 | In this portal, I can manage my
subscription, and view past issues.
| | 00:23 | I'll tab to open an issue.
| | 00:26 | You can that see we have animations.
| | 00:29 | I'll swipe to switch pages, and we
can see that there's a video right here.
| | 00:34 | You simply tap to play,
| | 00:36 | Then I'll tap to pause.
| | 00:39 | Other features include an
interactive table of contents.
| | 00:43 | Tapping on an entry will take into that article.
| | 00:46 | If I rotate my device, I
now get a different view.
| | 00:51 | In the case of this eBook
app, I get a two-page view.
| | 00:55 | Another common feature of
eBook apps is Hyperlinks.
| | 00:58 | In this case, I like the look of this sink.
| | 01:01 | If, I tap on it, I'm taken to the
product page where I can get more information
| | 01:05 | about this particular sink.
| | 01:08 | Tapping the Back button,
I return to my magazine.
| | 01:11 | Tapping on the screen will bring
up my thumbnail view of the TOC.
| | 01:16 | I can navigate through the magazine in this way;
| | 01:19 | I navigate to another page,
and then tap to close the TOC.
| | 01:24 | Let's return to the branded portal.
| | 01:26 | I'll tap the screen and across
the top, I have a status bar;
| | 01:30 | with one tap at the Library button,
I'm brought back to my branded portal.
| | 01:33 | EBook apps have taken the
digital publishing world by storm.
| | 01:38 | Characterized by a wealth of
interactive content and nonlinear reading order,
| | 01:42 | eBook apps are specifically
targeted for tablet and mobile devices.
| | 01:47 | They are offered in most major
marketplaces but, there is no immediate
| | 01:50 | distinction between them
and other forms of eBooks.
| | 01:54 | Choosing the eBook app as your
digital publishing format will certainly put
| | 01:58 | you in good company.
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| The benefits and shortcomings of an ebook| 00:00 | EBook apps are very prevalent today
because they offer so many engaging features.
| | 00:05 | Magazine publishers especially
appreciate them, but other publishers are
| | 00:08 | starting to see the
advantages of the eBook apps.
| | 00:11 | Creating them does not have that
completely interrupt your current publishing
| | 00:15 | workflow but, you will
have to make some adjustments.
| | 00:18 | Let's run down a list of the benefits
and shortcomings of choosing EPUB apps as
| | 00:22 | your digital publishing solution.
| | 00:25 | EBook apps are easy to create, provided that
you use a product like InDesign or iBooks author.
| | 00:31 | EBook apps have a fixed layout format;
| | 00:35 | they can include interactive
elements such as hyperlinks and rich media.
| | 00:39 | They also offer interactive features
beyond those of the EPUB or PDF formats.
| | 00:45 | These features include image slideshows,
360 degree and panoramic views, embedded web
| | 00:51 | content, scrolling text frames,
quizzing, and reviewing options.
| | 00:57 | With the all of these wonderful features,
it's no wonder that eBook apps are so
| | 01:01 | popular, but they do have their drawbacks.
| | 01:04 | While you can include more device specific
interactions, these features must be hand-coded.
| | 01:10 | Because eBook apps are native
applications, you have to use a coding language
| | 01:15 | with relative to that operating system.
| | 01:18 | This will require some
additional programming background.
| | 01:22 | Current e-book publishing models rely on
a publishing license for the distribution.
| | 01:28 | The tools for creating interactive
content within an eBook app are free, but you
| | 01:33 | still have to pay to distribute that content.
| | 01:36 | The pricing models for publishing an
EPUB app can be a bit high for small
| | 01:41 | publishers. Because they are so prevalent,
| | 01:44 | there is a steep competition in the
marketplace when it comes to eBook apps.
| | 01:49 | EBook apps are currently
leading the digital publishing market.
| | 01:53 | Their extensive list of interactive
features make them very popular with audiences.
| | 01:57 | If you have a multi-issue publication,
or find that other publishing options
| | 02:02 | would lack the interactive content you need,
| | 02:04 | then perhaps an e-book app is
just what you're looking for.
| | 02:08 | Be mindful that while the tools to
create EBook apps are free, the publishing
| | 02:12 | and distribution cost could be
over budget for smaller publishers.
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| Who is an ebook for?| 00:00 | EBook apps are generally used for any
publication that has multiple issues, like
| | 00:04 | a magazine or newspaper.
| | 00:06 | That is not to say that an eBook app
would not suit a single-issue publication.
| | 00:11 | These publications could certainly
benefit from the advanced interactive
| | 00:14 | features and rich media
content that eBooks are famous for.
| | 00:19 | Let's take a look at the list of
candidates for whom the EPUB app is a good choice.
| | 00:24 | As I mentioned earlier, digital magazines and
newspapers are prime examples of eBook apps.
| | 00:30 | You will also find many children's
books and cookbooks using this format.
| | 00:36 | Promotional materials like product
brochures that contain a lot of content could
| | 00:40 | certainly benefit from the
features of the eBook format.
| | 00:44 | Currently, textbook publishers are offering
eBook apps along with the printed versions.
| | 00:50 | The interactive features, rich media
support, accessible text, and annotations,
| | 00:55 |
| | 00:55 | along with chapter reviews make an
eBook app the obvious choice for textbooks.
| | 01:01 | Perhaps, on a smaller scale, self-
help books too can benefit from the
| | 01:05 | offerings of an eBook app.
| | 01:07 | eBook apps have a lot to offer the
digital publisher, but care must be taken to
| | 01:11 | make sure it's the right
format for your publishing needs.
| | 01:15 | If those needs include multiple-
issue publications, a large degree of
| | 01:19 | interactivity, and high-profile
distribution channels, then perhaps, an eBook
| | 01:24 | app is exactly what you're looking for.
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6. Digital Publishing SoftwareWorking with Adobe InDesign| 00:00 | For me, the Premier Digital Publishing
application has to be Adobe InDesign.
| | 00:05 | It is a Page Layout tool with
exceptional typography controls and a host of
| | 00:09 | features for creating
rich interactive documents.
| | 00:12 | With it you can create every form of
digital publication with little or no
| | 00:16 | change to your current publishing workflow.
| | 00:18 | Let's take a look at some of the
reasons why InDesign is such a digital
| | 00:22 | publishing powerhouse.
| | 00:24 | So here I have an InDesign document
open, and if you take a look over here on
| | 00:28 | the right you'll see a list of the
interactive features that I can add to this document.
| | 00:33 | I have things like Animations,
Media which means audio and video.
| | 00:37 | I can create multi-state objects, like
slideshows and pop-up windows. I can add
| | 00:43 | buttons and forms. I can also
convert text and images to hyperlinks.
| | 00:49 | Once I create my InDesign document, how do
I publish it to one of the digital formats?
| | 00:54 | To create a PDF from InDesign, I simply
go to the File menu. I choose Export, and
| | 01:00 | from the dialog box, I choose
the Format menu and Adobe PDF.
| | 01:06 | Choosing PDF (Print) will give me a
printable version of my PDF with support for
| | 01:11 | high quality images and text.
| | 01:13 | When viewed on a computer or device,
additional support for basic interactivity
| | 01:18 | such as hyperlinks and
fillable forms is available.
| | 01:21 | If I choose PDF (Interactive) I will
output a PDF that can contain audio, video,
| | 01:26 | and many other interactive elements.
| | 01:29 | This option is used by most
digital publishing professionals.
| | 01:33 | InDesign also has excellent
support for the EPUB format.
| | 01:36 | I'm going to choose EPUB as my format of
choice. I'm going to click Save, and I'm
| | 01:43 | presented with a series of
windows for the different EPUB options.
| | 01:48 | Clicking OK will create that EPUB.
| | 01:52 | Adobe continues to add InDesign
support of the EPUB features, making sure it
| | 01:56 | remains one of the best
EPUB authoring tools available.
| | 02:00 | It will take just a moment for
InDesign to export all of my interactive
| | 02:04 | content and imagery.
| | 02:06 | To create an eBook app from InDesign, you
will need the Digital Publishing Suite or DPS.
| | 02:12 | DPS gives designers the ability to
create some of the most spectacular
| | 02:15 | interactive documents in the world today.
| | 02:18 | Digital magazines from companies like
Conde Nast and Martha Stewart are being
| | 02:22 | created with InDesign and
the Digital Publishing Suite.
| | 02:25 | Here's a few of the additional
tools that you get with the DPS.
| | 02:29 | These tools are targeted for tablet devices.
| | 02:32 | Additional interactive elements such as
Panoramics, Web Content, Pan & Zoom, and
| | 02:38 | Scrollable Frames are all available
with the Digital Publishing Suite.
| | 02:43 | InDesign is my weapon of choice
when it comes to digital publishing.
| | 02:46 | Its rich feature set of
typography and layout control has no equal.
| | 02:52 | Add to that the level of interactive
content that can be so easily created with
| | 02:56 | InDesign, and it's no wonder that it
dominates the digital publishing market.
| | 03:01 | To learn more about working with
InDesign make sure you check out the many
| | 03:05 | InDesign courses here at lynda.com.
| | 03:08 | If you want to learn more about digital
publishing with InDesign then check out
| | 03:12 | Anne-Marie Concepcion's InDesign to
EPUB, Kindle, and iPad, or James Fritz',
| | 03:19 | InDesign CS5 Interactive
Documents and Presentations.
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| Working with Microsoft Word| 00:01 | Microsoft Word is renowned for
its word processing capabilities.
| | 00:04 | It is a mainstay in the business world
for creating everything from memos and
| | 00:07 | simple flyers, to business reports and forms.
| | 00:11 | Unfortunately, it has limited
interactive features and no direct export for
| | 00:15 | EPUB or an eBook app.
| | 00:17 | Digital Publishing was not at the top of
the list of features for this otherwise
| | 00:22 | powerful publishing tool.
| | 00:24 | So how did it get included in this title?
| | 00:26 | I included it simply because of the
sheer quantity of content being created
| | 00:30 | using Microsoft Word.
| | 00:32 | If PDF is your publication choice, newer
versions of Word have a Save As PDF feature.
| | 00:39 | You can simply go to the File menu,
choose Save As then under the Format
| | 00:45 | dropdown, choose PDF.
| | 00:49 | If however you're using an
older version, this is not an option.
| | 00:53 | There are many plugins and third-
party software options that will convert
| | 00:58 | your documents to PDF.
| | 01:00 | One such option is Adobe's Acrobat Pro.
| | 01:03 | With it, you get a set of plug-ins for
Microsoft Word to make short work of creating PDFs.
| | 01:09 | You also get the Premier PDF Editing
Tool that will allow you to add interactive
| | 01:14 | features that Word cannot.
| | 01:17 | Converting your Word
documents to EPUB can be challenging.
| | 01:20 | Fortunately, there are online services
that can handle the conversion for you.
| | 01:25 | If you would rather keep things in-house,
you will have to do a little more work.
| | 01:29 | While it's more time consuming and
requires an understanding of HTML and CSS, you
| | 01:35 | do have the ultimate control
over the construction of your EPUB.
| | 01:38 | There are also online services that
will convert Word documents to one of
| | 01:43 | several eBook formats.
| | 01:46 | Kindle Direct Publishing, or KDP, also
lists several companies who specialize in
| | 01:51 | converting various document types,
including word, to the Kindle format.
| | 01:56 | This can save a lot of time and
frustration for those who are not technically
| | 01:59 | adept at document conversion.
| | 02:01 | Microsoft Word is certainly prevalent
in the business world, but it is perhaps
| | 02:06 | not the best choice for digital publishing.
| | 02:09 | Its lack of interactive features and
limited export options make it less than
| | 02:12 | desirable to the digital publisher.
| | 02:15 | However, due to the sheer volume of
Microsoft Word users in the world, digital
| | 02:19 | publishers are bound to come
across content in this format.
| | 02:23 | Converting Word documents to an
eBook may prove challenging for some.
| | 02:27 | Fortunately there are online services
and third-party applications available
| | 02:31 | that can handle those needs.
| | 02:33 | So while it might not be the digital
publisher's first choice, Microsoft Word
| | 02:37 | does have its place in digital publishing.
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| Working with iBooks Author| 00:00 | Apple has tossed its hat into the
digital publishing ring with the iBooks author.
| | 00:04 | Taking cues from the word processing
tool Pages, Apple is making it very easy to
| | 00:09 | create beautiful eBook applications.
| | 00:12 | The target audience seems to be
authors with little or no experience with the
| | 00:15 | Page Layout or interactive content
creation, but anyone with a Macintosh
| | 00:20 | computer can take advantage
of this amazing application.
| | 00:24 | With its template-based workflow,
creating documents is as simple as dragging and
| | 00:28 | dropping text and media into a layout.
| | 00:31 | You can quickly add elements such as
text frames, shapes, various tables and
| | 00:37 | charts, even add interactive
elements that Apple calls widgets.
| | 00:42 | The widgets include things like
photo galleries, media such as audio and
| | 00:46 | video, reviews, keynote presentations,
interactive images, 3D elements, and
| | 00:55 | embedded HTML content.
| | 00:58 | iBooks author is currently a Mac only
application, so you'll have to own a
| | 01:02 | Mac in order to use it.
| | 01:04 | Publishing options are restricted to the
proprietary iBook format, PDF or, text document.
| | 01:12 | With the PDF and text options you may
lose many of the interactive features.
| | 01:17 | There is also no preview option for
the Mac desktop, which can slow down the
| | 01:22 | development process.
| | 01:23 | The only preview option is only iPad,
which has to be connected to the Mac with a
| | 01:28 | data cable, no wireless syncing.
| | 01:31 | Your content can only be
published to the iBook store.
| | 01:34 | While this is a large marketplace, not
everyone has an iPad so they may not be
| | 01:39 | shopping at this location.
| | 01:41 | You can export to an iBook format and
distribute the book yourself, but only as a free product.
| | 01:47 | If you intend to charge a fee for
your iBook then you must publish it
| | 01:50 | through Apple.
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| Exploring other digital publishing tools| 00:00 | You've just seen three of the
major digital publishing applications.
| | 00:04 | Now I'd like to take a moment to
introduce you to just a few more applications
| | 00:08 | that I think will help you in
your journey to digital publishing.
| | 00:11 | Sigil is an open-source editor with a
number of features specific to the EPUB format.
| | 00:14 | For example, with Sigil you can open
the EPUB directly. There is no need to
| | 00:19 | decompress it, just edit it.
| | 00:21 | You can edit all of the HTML, CSS,
and XML files within your EPUB document.
| | 00:27 | There is a preview mode and a code view
mode, and if you'd like, a split view to
| | 00:32 | show both the preview and
code view simultaneously.
| | 00:35 | Oxygen Author can edit an EPUB directly
without a need to decompress the files first.
| | 00:41 | You can edit the HTML, CSS,
and XML files as well.
| | 00:45 | An added feature is Oxygen Authors
built-in EPUB validator, with this you
| | 00:52 | can validate your EPUB to make sure that it
will be accepted by most major marketplaces.
| | 00:57 | Calibre is a little bit
more than just an EPUB editor;
| | 01:01 | it's actually more than eBook manager.
| | 01:03 | While you can convert HTML and text
files to EPUB, you can also convert those
| | 01:09 | documents to MOBI or many other eBook formats.
| | 01:13 | It has a built-in preview function so
that you can preview your eBooks before
| | 01:17 | you distribute them.
| | 01:18 | You can also use this program
to sync with your mobile devices.
| | 01:22 | Adobe Acrobat Pro is probably the
Premier PDF document creator and/or editor.
| | 01:28 | With Acrobat Pro, you can
convert most any document to a PDF.
| | 01:33 | You can also open and preview any PDF
document that you already have in your library.
| | 01:38 | The document review cycle allows me
to send my PDFs out for a review by my
| | 01:43 | clients or colleagues.
| | 01:44 | Once my PDF is ready to be published
Adobe Acrobat Pro gives me the tools I need
| | 01:49 | to add security to my document.
| | 01:51 | Some other tools that I think would be handy
for you would be HTML and CSS code editors.
| | 01:57 | These tools allow me to edit my EPUB
documents and make sure they look exactly
| | 02:01 | the way I want them to.
| | 02:03 | Some of the features you should look
for in your code editor would be a preview
| | 02:07 | mode, so you can actually see
the results of your code edits.
| | 02:11 | Code coloring helps you distinguish
between the HTML and CSS elements and
| | 02:15 | your actual content.
| | 02:17 | Line numbering is indispensable
when it comes to debugging your code.
| | 02:21 | Code hinting will help you when
you're trying to write your code by hand.
| | 02:25 | Adobe Dreamweaver, Aptana Studio, and
Komodo Edit all offer these features.
| | 02:30 | The most important thing is to
select a code editor that works for you.
| | 02:35 | So if you think that you want to
handle converting your documents to EPUB or
| | 02:39 | PDF on your own, then perhaps one or all of
these applications should be within reach.
| | 02:44 | I find them indispensable in my
digital publishing workflow and I think you
| | 02:48 | will too.
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7. Digital DistributionExploring self-publishing possibilities| 00:00 | Once you've written your eBook, you
need to distribute to your audience.
| | 00:04 | Careful consideration must be taken
when selecting a distribution method.
| | 00:08 | Who is your target audience,
| | 00:09 | and where are they likely
to shop for digital content?
| | 00:12 | Is one source enough or do you
need to publish to multiple outlets?
| | 00:16 | Should you distribute the content
yourself or leave it to the pros?
| | 00:20 | Answering these questions will help you
decide exactly how you should go about
| | 00:24 | distributing your digital publications.
| | 00:27 | Currently there are three major
channels for the distribution of
| | 00:29 | digital publications:
| | 00:31 | Apple's iBook store, Amazons Kindle
bookstore, and Barnes & Noble's Nook Book store.
| | 00:37 | In the iBook store, you want to
register as an iTunes content provider.
| | 00:43 | You will receive credentials
that identify you to iTunes.
| | 00:47 | Download the iTunes producer app and
use it to packager EPUB, fixed layout EPUB,
| | 00:52 | or eBook app, and then submit it back to Apple.
| | 00:57 | Amazon offers kindle direct publishing,
register as a new publisher to receive
| | 01:02 | your publishing credentials.
| | 01:04 | You will then be able to upload your
EPUB, and it will be converted to the
| | 01:07 | kindle format and listed
in the Amazon bookstore.
| | 01:11 | The third option is Barnes & Noble's pubit.
| | 01:14 | Here, you register for a Barnes &
Noble account, then upload your EPUB in
| | 01:18 | Microsoft Word, text, or HTML document.
| | 01:21 | Pubit will convert your documents to
the appropriate format and enlist them in
| | 01:26 | the Nook Book store.
| | 01:29 | Each digital publication must
have its own unique ISBN number.
| | 01:33 | If you intend to all for your
publication in multiple eBook formats,
| | 01:36 | you will need an ISBN number for each version.
| | 01:39 | For more information go to isbn.org.
| | 01:43 | So there is a rundown of the top
three digital publishing channels.
| | 01:47 | They all have a similar process for
getting your content to the masses.
| | 01:51 | But be sure to check out each
publisher's guidelines on how to properly
| | 01:54 | construct and format your digital book.
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| Looking at other publishing solutions| 00:00 | In the previous movie I
introduced you to three of the more popular
| | 00:03 | distribution channels of small-scale
and self publishers, but what about
| | 00:07 | publishers with a higher
volume of digital content?
| | 00:10 | Let's explore some of the
distribution options available to them.
| | 00:14 | The Adobe Digital Publishing Suite is
a set of InDesign plug-ins for creating
| | 00:18 | and publishing eBook apps for tablet devices.
| | 00:21 | It is specific to Adobe InDesign and
will only publish eBook applications.
| | 00:27 | The Adobe Digital Publishing Suite
offers three levels of service: single
| | 00:31 | edition for smaller publishers, or
professional and enterprise editions for mid-
| | 00:36 | to large-scale publishers.
| | 00:37 | Aquafadus offers an automated workflow
for converting PDF and XML documents into
| | 00:43 | each EPUBs or eBook apps.
| | 00:46 | They also offer an InDesign plug-in to
add interactive content to your documents.
| | 00:51 | Upload your completed InDesign file
to the Aquafadus publisher portal and
| | 00:55 | distributed as a fixed layout EPUB or eBook app.
| | 01:00 | Aptara is a full-service
Digital Publishing Solution for larger
| | 01:04 | digital publishers.
| | 01:06 | Taking a more hands-on approach,
Apatara partners with you to build a complete
| | 01:10 | digital publishing workflow
to suit your specific needs.
| | 01:14 | Then they help you deploy your workflow
and distribute to Digital Publications.
| | 01:19 | Backed by communications giant RR
Donnelly, LibreDigital is another full-service
| | 01:24 | Digital Publishing Solution. Accepting
most any document type, LibreDigital will
| | 01:29 | convert your documents into EPUB and
distribute them to market places like
| | 01:34 | Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble.
| | 01:37 | These are just some of the many Digital
Publishing Solutions offered to mid- and
| | 01:41 | large-scale publishers.
| | 01:42 | There are many other options to
explore, depending upon your needs.
| | 01:46 | They each offer a range of services to
help you get your Digital Publication
| | 01:50 | into the hands of your audience.
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| Selecting a digital publishing format| 00:00 | Unfortunately, there is not one format
that encompasses all of the features
| | 00:03 | of Digital Publishing.
| | 00:05 | Here is a chart of the four Digital
publishing formats that we've covered
| | 00:08 | during this course.
| | 00:10 | The key here is to know your
content and your target audience,
| | 00:13 | then decide on the features and a
distribution channel that will best suit your needs.
| | 00:18 | For example,
| | 00:19 | while the EPUB format has the widest
range of device support due to its
| | 00:23 | re-flowable nature, as a publisher,
you'll sacrifice most of your layout
| | 00:27 | and design control.
| | 00:29 | In contrast, if you choose the eBook
format, you have pixel-perfect design
| | 00:33 | control but, you lose the
wide range of device support.
| | 00:36 | A lot of thought must go into
selecting your Digital Publishing format.
| | 00:40 | A wrong move here could be costly.
| | 00:43 | Carefully weigh out the benefits and
limitations of each before you get too
| | 00:46 | far into the process.
| | 00:48 | You may find it beneficial to
publish in more than just one format.
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ConclusionAdditional resources| 00:00 | The publishing field has changed
dramatically over the last few years.
| | 00:03 | So has the medium for viewing published content.
| | 00:06 | Consumers have come to expect publications
to be delivered on a range of digital devices.
| | 00:12 | Publishers must now expand their
expertise into interactive media creation and
| | 00:16 | web development in order to
deliver the best in digital books.
| | 00:20 | Before we go, I'd like to share with
you some additional resources to help you
| | 00:23 | learn more about Digital Publishing.
| | 00:25 | You will want to keep an eye on the
International Digital Publishing Forum at idpf.org.
| | 00:32 | This site will keep you up-to-date on
the latest news, events, and publishing
| | 00:36 | standards in the Digital Publishing field.
| | 00:40 | If you haven't done so already,
I recommend exploring the courses
| | 00:43 | on lynda.com devoted to digital publishing
and the tools used by digital publishers.
| | 00:50 | Thanks again for watching.
| | 00:51 | Now go out and start publishing.
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