The making of the Blokboek Drupa Magazine

Rob van den Braak/24/06/2016/Corporate News, Production/Technology, Publishing

How do you transform web content into a responsive online magazine suitable for any computer platform?
That was our challenge when we wanted to make a digital magazine for drupa 2016. The search for a simple and affordable solution took us to the Netherlands where we found Instant Magazine, a Software As A Service solution. With Instant Magazine we did not need to buy or install software, back ups come standard as well as the possibility to work as a team.

Hit the ground running

With Instant Magazine you hit the ground running. An ample choice of page layouts is available and you can start right away. Everything is intuitive and speaks for itself. Should you need help the online helpdesk is very fast. Your unique magazine is created in a very short time.
If you, like us, have a healthy dislike of manuals Instant Magazine is the place for you. No manuals, only short informative videos about design, publishing and reports. If you need more explanation, there is an easy-to-read online support tab.This meant that we could publish our Blokboek Magazine within 24 hours. We were somewhat privileged in that we already had the online content from Blokboek.com in WordPress and we have quite some experience in editing and producing magazines.
But it was great that we had a good quality magazine to show in such a short time.

Easy optimisation
The preview options makes it possible to see what is being updated. Images can be checked to see if their resolution, colours, etc are suitable for digital publication. Splitting of content into smaller pieces, headers and new paragraphs are easy to do and require no programming experience.

HTML 5 pros and cons

Instant Magazine publications are made in HTML 5. The biggest advantage is that the magazine can be read on all most commonly used web browsers and it is perfect for any mobile of desk top device.
Links can be added without any programming experience.
A disadvantage is that it is not simple to produce a PDF with full functionalities. You can make a complete HTML version which can be read offline. However, sharing with other devices is not possible.

Web to print

A HTML 5 solution such as Instant Magazine does not have the option to format pages for a printed version. The print-option strips away all formatting data. The format, navigation and search options disappear. It is impossible to use High resolutions pictures, necessary for a printed version, due to the size. Replacement of images for the print version is a must. Of course, Instant Magazine is not meant to facilitate print. Quite the opposite.

The only solution is to edit and format the magazine in a programme designed for this such as Adobe InDesig or Quark Xpress and turn it into a PDF which can then be used in Instant Magazine. The best solution for print companies seems to be Agfa Eversify. Only a few clicks are needed to turn pages designed for print into an app or online publication.

Want to know more?
Contact Erwin@instantmagazine.com or call +31 20 303 2822. Or start your 30 day free trial here.

What do we think?
Instant Magazine is the perfect solution for Blokboek.com. We can transform our content into an online magazine in a fast and cost effective way. The support, available in Dutch and English, is perfect, the learning curve short and the result, as many readers told us, is a beautiful magazine suitable for any computer, smart phone or tablet. We would definitely recommend it.

The next edition
Based on the positive feedback we had we will continue with the Blokboek magazines. This fall we will do a special about Multi Channel Publishing. All aspects of online and print publishing will be discussed, including web-to-print versus print-to-web, the best tools and business models.

Would you like to receive this magazine? Keep visiting Blokboek.com for information, or subscribe to our newsletter.

Would you like to contribute content to the Multi Channel Publishing special? Contact rob@blokboek.com

Would you like to advertise in the Multi Channel Publishing special? Contact marco@blokboek.com

Would you like to work with us on the printed version of Blokboek Magazine? Contact rob@blokboek.com

Rob van den Braak

Printer’s devil (1964), phototypesetter, offsetprinter, teacher of graphic techniques, salesmanager, productmanager, trade journalist, founder of BlokBoek e-zine (2011). But above all husband, father, friend and lover of life in southern Spain (since 2010).