The Méthode edition-building workspace now features a fully integrated AI pagination engine
The AI engine takes the text and image files prepared for the print edition and assembles them into a set of optimized layouts in accordance with the publication’s design vocabulary and visual branding.
The front page is excluded from the automated pagination process because its branding and promotional importance means that it will normally require manual design.
AI-driven print page layout is now in production at German daily Nordwest Zeitung.
Read the case study.
Behind the automated layout skills is an AI engine created by Canadian developers Sophi.io. This is a cloud-deployed SaaS (Software as a Service) application, It receives story and page data in JSON format from Méthode and returns complete pagination data to fill the edition plan.
No further copyfitting or adjustment should be necessary, but staff can make manual adjustments to the layouts if they wish.
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The AI engine is first prepared by configuring it with the graphical and typography parameters that define the title’s visual identity and branding.
There then follows a period of training using existing manual layouts, allowing the model to extract the underlying rules that govern the creation of a suitable layout.
The training process continues even after the system enters production as the model ‘learns’ from the manual adjustments made to its layouts by editorial staff.
Page designers, too, are likely to benefit. Freed from the pressure to create large volumes of routine layouts in what is often a stressful race against the clock, they can now devote more time to the front pages, features and special layouts where their creativity can really add value.
By bringing digital productivity benefits to print processes, page automation can make a significant contribution to the productivity and profitability of print publishing operations - particularly for those publishers whose print advertising and subscriptions continue to be important source of revenue.
