It’s a common story: You need a digital asset management (DAM) system but are having a hard time convincing “the people who write the checks” to put money in the budget for it. You’ve tried to make your case by describing the return on investment (ROI) that a DAM system offers, but found that the ROI of DAM is difficult to fully measure and articulate.

In this webinar Modula4 CEO Jon Hornstein will present strategies you can use to convince decision makers in your organization that NOT having a DAM isn’t only a missed opportunity to increase efficiency but also poses a significant risk to the business.

Whether you’re trying to deploy your first DAM system or are seeking funding to expand an existing one, don’t miss this informative webinar.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013
10 am – 10:30 am Pacific (1 pm – 1:30 pm Eastern)

Space is limited. Reserve your seat now by registering here.

Adobe has updated their Digital Publishing Suite (DPS), improving the user experience and adding new administrative controls including a feature that allows publisher to offer the first issue of their publication at no cost to potential subscribers.

Readers new to a publication may want to “try before they buy.” Now, DPS offers a feature that allows publishers to distribute the latest folio for free.

Other improvements include a new library user interface, re-designed to look more professional and eye-catching as well as allow readers to preview more of the app. Publishers using DPS Enterprise now have a content overlay feature that enables a then to create either an HTML article or a Web Content overlay that displays different content depending on how the folio was obtained. For example, if a user downloads a complimentary folio, the content can include a subscription offer. If a user obtains the folio through a subscription, the content can offer additional products.

This update to DPS offers additional improvements to the reader experience by automatically opening folios that were downloaded in the background, opening folios to last read article and position and improved social sharing via Facebook and Twitter.

Publishers also benefit from the new video analytics and improved download reporting.

For more information about Adobe DPS contact Modula4.

Modula4 partner Picturepark is hosting the webinar “DAMs Gone Wild: Learn to tame a DAM that’s out of control.”

Even the best-planned digital asset management systems can become difficult to use over time. Policies lapse, users get lazy, and DAM managers come and go. No matter what the cause, a DAM that’s become cumbersome does no one any good and it must be tamed.

Join Harley-Davidson DAM managers , Jacob Jaroch and Ryan Messier, as they discuss and debate DAM troubles and solutions with “DAM Survival Guide” author, David Diamond. Concise, easy-to-follow ideas you can put into practice today are what you’ll take away from this free 45-minute webinar.

Date: Thursday, February 21, 2013
Time: 10:00am Pacific Time (San Francisco)

Webinar Recording: A link to a recording of the webinar can be sent to any registrant. So please sign up even if you can’t attend the live event.

Registration for the webinar is available here.

WoodWing has released version 8.1 of its publishing system Enterprise, offering further optimizations to multi-channel workflows. Users of WoodWing Enterprise 8.1 and its editorial management application Content Station will benefit from enhanced usability and efficiency. Content Station and InDesign have also been integrated more tightly. In addition,the Content Station multi-channel text editor now features a visual mode that displays various forms of text formatting. Thanks to this, copywriters will get a realistic look at how their articles will appear on the Web or in the final print layout – even when InDesign Server is not being used.

Users will also appreciate a new panel in InDesign that shows all dossiers related to the current layout. As WoodWing dossiers correspond to the individual stories on the layout, this offers quick access to the assets that belong to these stories. Content Station can also now be used to conveniently place files onto an InDesign layout via drag-and-drop.

For Digital Publishing users, WoodWing has simplified the creation of animations through one of its Widgets. Using the new Widget snapshot feature, designers can select a frame on their page that contains an image or text and turn it into an animation. The frame can be animated based on various parameters, such as effects and duration. Additional Digital Publishing improvements include enhanced support for alternate layouts.

You can learn more about WoodWing here, or contact Modula4 for more information.

Modula4 partner Canto is presenting a free webinar on managing metadata. “Making Metadata Work for You” will feature metadata tips and best practices. A special guest is Nancy Burley, Asset Manager at Aveda who will discuss how her organization addressed their metadata challenges.

Registration for the webinar is available here.

Modula4 is pleased to announce that it is now offering the 1publish system which allows teams to easily collaborate on creating and updating marketing material. Developed by 2imagine of Belgium, the browser-based document editing interface of 1publish allows teams to collaborate on marketing material, catalogs and virtually any type of documents for print or electronic distribution, This template-based system allows marketing staff without any graphics training to change text and graphics within layouts created by your design team with the full creative range offered by Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator.

“1publish fulfills a request we often get for a system that makes it easy for marketing staff to create new collateral without requiring they have InDesign or become design experts,” says Modula4 CEO Jon Hornstein. “It’s the ideal solution for marketing organizations that want to rapidly create new collateral while maintaining brand consistency.”

With 1publish designers can create templates using InDesign or Illustrator. Other staff members can then create and edit the documents online in the browser via an intuitive interface. 1publish also offers workflow and approval tools to insure that writing style, messaging and branding remains consistent is all marketing collateral.

With its deep and extensive APIs, 1publish easily integrates with popular Digital Asset Management systems (DAMs) such as Canto Cumulus and Picturepark. When used with these system, images can be retrieved from the DAM directly into the 1publish interface, placed in the documents and the newly created documents can be cataloged back into the DAM.

1publish is also an ideal solution for organizations that require their marketing material be translated into multiple language. Translators can be given access to the material through a simple interface to replace text and format it if needed.

1publish is available as both a hosted “cloud” solution and as a system installed onsite.

“We are extremely excited to partner with Modula4 in bringing 1publish to a wider audience,” says 2imagine CEO Jos Claes. “Their expertise in providing workflow and digital asset management solutions and experience in a wide range of vertical markets make them an ideal organization to offer 1publish.”

Modula4 is offering 1publish through its Berlin, Germany and San Francisco Bay Area offices.

For more information on 1publish and to see a video demonstration visit here.

To attend a webinar demonstrating the 1publish system register here. 

Modula4 is pleased to annonce that it has added an engineer to its growing software development team. Josh Reed joins Modula4 as a software engineer in their San Francisco Bay Area office.

“Delivering custom solutions for our clients has always been our mission. And a skilled and diverse engineering team is a key component for delivering these solutions,” says Jon Hornstein, Modula4 CEO. “Josh adds valuable skills and experience to Modula4. And being located in our San Francisco Bay Area office we can better support our North American customers.”

Josh joins Modula4 after working in IT and software development for the last ten years at a market research firm where he developed and deployed custom software solutions. He studied computer science at California State University at San Jose. Josh is an avid hiker, west coast swing competitor, and amateur chef.

Digital Asset Management software developer and Modula4 partner Picturepark is offering for free a special download edition of the popular digital asset management book, “DAM Survival Guide.” The book offers in-depth guidance for those planning digital asset management initiatives at their organizations.

“The most important thing those new to DAM can do is educate themselves,” said Picturepark CEO, Ramon Forster. “No other resource offers such a complete overview of digital asset management planning, so we’re pleased to be able to provide this free download for members of the DAM community.”

DAM Survival Guide was written by DAM industry veteran, David Diamond, who now directs global marketing for Picturepark. Diamond is also a monthly columnist for CMSWire.com.

“In the 14+ years I’ve been in this industry, I’ve seen too many organizations make bad decisions about DAM,” Diamond explained about his reason for writing the book. “DAM Survival Guide is meant to help readers cut through the half-truths and misinformation that’s out there so they can make better decisions about their DAM initiatives.”

The 100+ page Picturepark Edition of DAM Survival Guide can be downloaded for free by filling out the form below.