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This article is from January 30, 2006, and is no longer current.

Meadows Publishing Solutions Announces New Software for Automating Creation of Catalog Indexes

Meadows Publishing Solutions (MPS) announced today that they have released MPS Index Builder, a software module for QuarkXPress users that creates catalog indexes. Using the new software, catalog publishers can drastically reduce the production time of creating a catalog index from hours to just minutes. MPS Index Builder, compatible with QuarkXPress 6.5, is now available from MPS and its distributors. For more information about MPS Index Builder or any other MPS offering, please visit www.meadowsps.com.
“We publish nearly 4,000 pages a year in three catalogs containing more than 50,000 parts,” said Mark Keedy, Catalog Production Manager, J&P Cycles, Inc. of Anamosa, Iowa. “Our success depends on customers being able to find the parts they want in a hurry, so good indexing is just good business. Building an index for our 1200-page catalog used to take a full 8-hour shift. Using Index Builder, it now takes less than 30 minutes. And, It used to take nearly a week to review over 1,000 pages of Quark [QuarkXPress] index tags in our big catalog. Now, the index terms can be assigned as the product groups are built [even without knowing what section or page the products will appear on] and we have the confidence of knowing that Index Builder will keep track of it all for us.”
“With profit margins under steady downward pressure, publishers are in constant search of automated solutions which reduce any aspect of catalog production,” noted Noel Williams, Vice President, MPS. “MPS Index Builder replaces a tedious and often error-prone production element with an automated approach. And it will enable publishers to react quickly to last-minute edits with confidence.”
About MPS Index Builder
MPS Index Builder was designed with catalogers in mind, thus it provides a number of unique features that make the product ideal for catalog-specific workflows. Index entries can be entered by hand at any time, or imported from a tab-separated text file. In addition, AutoPriceâ„¢ users can also extract SKU information to include in the final index.
For existing indexes, it is easy to import the old index, make changes, and start tagging for the future. Index entries can also be saved, exported and shared by any other workstation. Included is a built-in batch processing feature that will process any number of individual QuarkXPress documents in a single session. A complete index can be created within minutes and can be updated at any time.
Compatible with GroupPicture Software
MPS Index Builder is also compatible with MPS’ GroupPicture software, which allows users to create, save, and database product blocks with embedded index information. This combination works great with most image database applications. In addition, the saved product blocks can contain AutoPrice database links, which allow users to quickly update specific content directly from an ODBC or flat-file database.
For more information about MPS Index Builder, please visit www.meadowsps.com.
{b]About Meadows Publishing Solutions
Meadows Publishing Solutions is a software development and consulting company specializing in commercial and custom XTensionsâ„¢ for QuarkXPress, plug-in modules for Adobe InDesignâ„¢ and Adobe Acrobatâ„¢, and other extensible technologies. Meadows has developed a number of popular software packages for the database publishing and variable data printing markets, including their award-winning products AutoPriceâ„¢ and DesignMergeâ„¢. Founded in 1991, Meadows is based just outside of Chicago in Schaumburg, Illinois.

James Fritz is a Principal Program Manager: Content Tools and Workflows at LinkedIn.
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