Automating page layout has delivered a German newspaper group a 30 per cent time saving, and made it easier to bring new staff into related roles.

But all did not go entirely as expected, Bremer Tageszeitungen editorial systems development chief Lasse Bo Timmermann told WAN-Ifra’s Indian Printers Summit in Pune, India last month.

With newspaper page production “taken into the browser” using PPI Media’s CX Fusion, the publisher of regional daily Weser-Kurier is now automating 80 percent of layouts. Timmermann said the paper – published on six days with three main and eight regional editions – had seen print circulation decline by four or five per cent a year, not so far offset by e-paper or online subscriptions.

Even with a move from Adobe InDesign towards a browser-based layout system, much of the page production process remained manual. “We asked ourselves how we could automate, but without compromising any quality,” Timmermann said.

The target was to automate 80 per cent of page production, with more complex pages still handled manually. Implementing browser-based CX Fusion in late 2023 took about a year, and a further year was spent implementing an automated workflow.

Currently, Weser-Kurier produces an average of 96 pages a day across its editions, with about 54, or 80 per cent of regional and local pages automated. CX Fusion is integrated with the DC-X system, with Gutenberg used as editor, and EidosMedia’s Cobalt providing the online environment.

Timmermann told delegates the project required changes in workflows, structures and agreements. Although main and regional editions had been using the same templates and systems “for years”, each had developed different ways of working.

The process also exposed several undocumented practices. Some workflows relied on verbal agreements, while staff had developed manual workarounds over the years. In one case, a simple action involved around 40 clicks, making it impossible to automate without first changing the process. Advertising also had to be standardised, with about 250 different ad sizes reduced to 25.

“Established ways of working had developed over many years, and changing them could be an emotional process,” Timmermann said.

The new workflow has allowed faster page production without increasing manpower, and work can be moved between departments, with page production also offered to other publishers as a service.

One of the biggest changes has been the time required to train new employees: Using InDesign, staff went through a five-day workshop, and “could take six to 12 months to master all the details”. Now a new employee can be introduced to the browser-based tool in 30-60 minutes and start working immediately, learning remaining details in two or three weeks. A further benefit is that that 60-70 per cent fewer licences are required for the Adobe product, now used only by the graphics team.

After about a year, the original target of 80 per cent page automation has been achieved: Page production is about 30 per cent faster, more pages can be produced without additional staff, and there has been no loss of quality.

“The main lesson is that automation starts with the organisation rather than the technology”, Timmermann said. “Automation is always organisational development.

“Simplify first and then automate – you can’t automate what is not simplified and well structured.”

With thanks to WAN-Ifra/Aultrin Vijay.

Pictured: Cartoon illustrations from Lasse Bo Timmermann’s Indian Printers Summit presentation