France’s Gutenberg Technology has introduced MyEbookFactory, a new software that is designed to accelerate the usually tedious process of creating e-textbooks. Here are reasons why the program is helpful in revolutionizing production and distribution of e-textbooks.
Gutenberg Technology has launched a new software called MyEbookFactory. The French digital publishing company is aiming to simplify production and distribution of electronic textbook through the program. There are questions and doubts regarding the adoption of e-textbooks but interestingly, major publishers like Macmillan and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are pressing ahead.
Many students are still not familiar about the use of e-textbooks. Several studies have been conducted to test the reception of students towards virtual textbooks. Unfortunately, the results have been somehow discouraging. Interestingly, the publishing industry is not losing its determination to go on the digital path to education.
What is MyEbookFactory?
MyEbookFactory comes as one of the latest in a roster of new software tools that are designed to create interactive textbooks with various multimedia content in a cheaper and faster process. The program will facilitate seamless creation of e-textbooks for the currently popular formats like Windows 8, iOS, Kindle, and Android.
The software will function more like earlier authoring tools such as Inkling and iBooks Author. It offers traditional textbook publishers an easier and more economical platform for conversion of printed books into digital, which in turn can be exported and converted into any other device format. Gutenberg has spent several years testing this program. It has closely worked with other publishing firms like Hachette and Pearson.
When used for PDF, the software can create XML content and store it in a special database, where its publisher can customize by enhancing text and interactivity before distribution in multiple device formats. Fortunately, Gutenberg has an existing patent for database of book content, which can be to its advantage. Through this technology, publishers can now readily and quickly update their books’ editions and content instantly and even remotely.
Overcoming challenges to the new technology
MyEbookFactory is superior because of its capacity to create content for various platforms. But the new software has a major setback: its tag price. Licensing through the software can cost about $10,000 to $15,000 annually or about $9,000 to $11,000 for each book for just up to 10 different books. Publishers may have to shoulder higher licensing fees for projects with greater scales. Gutenberg may even impose caps on the number of books to be published.
But despite the expensiveness, Gutenberg is still confident about the appeal of the software. The company asserts that it is offering the best deal to publishers. It believes that in about 4 years, digital books would be more popular and would be about 50% less costly to be produced online.
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