YOUR DIGITAL PUBLISHING STRATEGY A GUIDE TO PUBLISHING EPUB
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THE NEW DIGITAL PUBLISHING Digital publishing is evolving at an unprecedented rate, and at the heart of that change is EPUB. Because it’s built on the Open Web Platform, EPUB offers one of the most dynamic and cost-effective ways for publishers to reach their readers. But this rapid pace of change has left many unsure about how to take advantage those opportunities. The goal of this report is to clarify how EPUB functions, discuss its significance for organizations looking to expand their reach, and explain how people working in all sectors of publishing can leverage its dynamic capabilities to engage and expand their audience.
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WHAT IS EPUB?
EPUB is central to a strong marketing strategy because it’s central to a strong mobile strategy.
Background
The Open Web Platform
With the sudden growth of content marketing and
In order to understand the importance of EPUB, it’s
an increasing need to deliver mobile-ready content,
important to first understand the technology that makes
digital publishing has become crucial to the success any
EPUB possible – the Open Web Platform (OWP). Simply
publisher’s bottom line. What began as an enhancement to
put the OWP is a term used to describe the collection
a print-based workflow, has now grown into its own force
of web technologies that makeup the internet that we
within the industry. It’s no longer uncommon to distribute
know today. The internet is no longer just a collection of
books,
consumers
static web pages. Instead, it’s a fully distributed platform
exclusively through tablet and e-reading reading devices.
for building applications. This platform runs on a set
This growth in electronic publishing is partially driven by
of technologies, such as HTML 5, CSS 3 and SVG, that
online vendors such as Apple, Amazon, and Google, and
can be repurposed in order to create industry-specific
it’s also driven by a rapid growth in the technology that
platforms that respond to a market need. EPUB is one
facilitates electronic conversion and distribution.
such platform.
magazines,
and
newspapers
to
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What is EPUB?
Why EPUB?
EPUB is a standardized document format built using the
In addition to EPUB, there exists a number of portable
technologies of the OWP. EPUB is a free and open e-book
document formats that publishers can use to distribute
standard designed for reflowable content and optimized
content. Perhaps the best known of these alternatives is PDF.
for mobile reading. Often described as a “website in a box”,
So, what advantages does EPUB offer over PDF? One of the
an EPUB file simply is a ZIP archive that contains within it
biggest advantages of EPUB is that, unlike PDF, it came of age
all its necessary assets, such as any images, CSS files, and
in a multi-screen environment and therefore incorporates
fonts. The EPUB specification is predicated on, among other
the key principles of adaptive design. Moreover, PDFs stand
things, the principles of accessibility, interoperability and
outside of the OWP and do not interact natively with the
responsive design. Development of the EPUB specification
web publishing languages in the way that EPUBs do. Because
is maintained by the International Digital Publishing Forum
they are digitally native documents, EPUBs have a much
(IDPF) – a global organization dedicated to promoting
richer capability that encourages innovation by technical
digital publishing.
developers and content creators.
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The Evolution of EPUB
What is EPUB 3?
Where did it all be begin? EPUB became the official
The release of EPUB 3 in October 2011 brought a lot of
standard of the IDPF back in September 2007. At that
industry speculation about its implications for existing
time, dedicated e-readers had just emerged on the
workflows. In reality, uptake was slow. This was partially
market and the interactivity that we now take for granted
due to the lack of device support, an issue that remains
on the web didn’t exist. In the ensuing years, however,
the subject of much discussion among content developers.
web technologies advanced independently of the EPUB
This gradual uptake was also due to uncertainty about
specification. HTML5 was approved and the public became
how best to implement the features included in EPUB
accustomed to a more responsive and more interactive
3. What EPUB 3 meant and means for publishers and
user experience. Meanwhile, the EPUB standard, which
consumers alike largely depends on the types of books
was still based on that internet of 2007, seemed to stall
produced and consumed
and became the target of growing complaints around
books, like monographs and novels, the advantages of
issues with poor graphics, limited language support and
EPUB 3 may not be immediately obvious, since those
limited accessibility.
books require such low overhead. On the other hand, for
respectively. For text-heavy
Tablets also emerged and immediately started
more complex material, like art books, technical manuals,
giving dedicate e-readers a run for their money in terms
and children’s books, EPUB 3 provides greater freedom in
of graphics, usability, and functionality. Because they
term of formatting as well as the first real opportunity for
were designed using more advanced web technologies
user-interaction.
than most e-readers, tablets focused attention on the
Regardless of how complex your material is, EPUB 3
shortcoming of EPUB 2. Publishers eventually spoke
is the future of digital publishing. What follows is a brief
out, and the IDPF listened. In October 2011, EPUB 3 was
overview of some of the most widely discussed additions
approved.
to the EPUB specification.
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EPUB 3
Key features included in the EPUB 3 specification
If evolution is the cornerstone of life, that’s certainly no less true in the electronic world. I.In this light, EPUB 3 is more than just bug fixes and tweaks from the last version; it represents a major change in what an ebook can be,
Metadata
Media Overlays
Better and more versitile ways of
A means of layering audio content on top
describiing content
of print
Multimedia
MathML
Use <audio> and <video> tags to nativly
A markup language for annotating and
embed multimedia
rendering complex equations.
Interactivity
Global Language Support
More robust support for JavaScript
Support for greater diversity of writing modes and styles
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Metadata EPUB 3 has greatly enhanced the ability of publishers to
Rich metadata is a key component of making EPUB content
add specific data about their publications. Metadata, in a
as accessible as possible. It’s also helpful for discoverability
nutshell, is “data about data”. It includes information like
as well as for future-proofing your content. The richer your
a book’s title, author and date of publication. There are
metadata is the more dynamic your content becomes and
different types of metadata, and it’s a term that gets used
thus the easier it is to transport it onto different platforms
a lot lately, but for present purposes it can be understood
and convert it into different formats.
as the information that interacts with the reading system.
Multimedia What distinguishes EPUB 3 from EPUB 2 is the semantics
to play media files and that means publishers can create
of its content documents. Where EPUB 2 used XHTML 1.1
a rich multimedia experience without adding a lot of
as one of its core media types, EPUB3 uses HTML5. The
overhead. The problem of file size was anticipated by the
adoption of HTML5 has enormous implications as far as
IDPF, as such this is one of the few instances where it is
multimedia is concerned. Audio and video can now be
not required that the media file(s) live inside the e-book
natively included in e-books using their HTML5 <audio>
and can instead live remotely as “foreign resources”
and <video> tags. Plugins are no longer required in order
Interactivity Although scripting was permitted with EPUB 2, it was
EPUB 3 specification. The dangers of adding too much
strongly discouraged given the unreliability of support.
scripted content are mitigated through the principle of
Since then, content developers and device manufactures
progressive enhancement, and devices that now support
have come to appreciate its value to the user experience,
scripting must support certain features including touch-
especially for material that lends itself to user interaction.
events and layout changes. Script enabled devices must
Support for JavaScript has therefore grown considerably
also provide publishers a means of discovering the device’s
and that support is much more standardized within the
level of support, which should make it easier to incorporate
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Media Overlays A technology familiar to the world of accessibility, media
audio synchronization, publishers can use overlays to
overlays provide a means of synchronizing audio and text.
enhance textual content by highlighting particular words
Media overlays are recorded in blocks and then mapped
or phrases as the text is being read aloud. Overlays also
onto the text by means of semantic landmarks. At the
allow content creators a greater level of control than Text
most basic level, overlays allow a reader to quickly and
to Speech, which makes them a great option for enhancing
easily alternate between reading and listening to a book.
instructional material like language readers or children’s
But their potential goes much further. Not limited to just
books.
MathML MathML is a markup language designed for annotating
invisible to screen readers. With MathML, equations display
mathematical content and rendering complex expressions
as live text, are completely scalable, and can be formatted
on screen. The lack of support under EPUB 2 meant
using CSS and JavaScript. To write MathML, you simply
that complex equations would often fall apart when
need a text editor, however, there also exist a variety of
transported into an electronic format. This lack of support
editing tools that make MathML easy to incorporate into
left publishers with few alternatives but to include them as
your regular workflow.
flat figures, an option that was time-consuming and were
Global Language Support Prior to EPUB 3 it was difficult to publish in any non-Latin
encoding standard for nearly all writing systems. In practice,
based languages given the lack of language support. As
the use of Unicode means the end of frustrating “missing
IDPF membership expanded internationally and as EPUB
character” symbols and an opportunity for publishers to
grew in popularity around the world, so too did the need
greatly expand their market reach. In addition to including
for a more diverse set of writing modes and writing styles.
Unicode EPUB 3 also includes support for other language-
The clearest and most overdue improvement made to the
specific properties, including left-right page progression,
EPUB specification was its use of Unicode – a character
bidirectional text, and vertical writing.
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THE MARKET
To understand what people want to read, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to understand how they read.
Introduction
Device Differences
The best way to develop content is to get to know your
When developing content, especially content that takes
reader. Given the relative newness of digital publishing
advantage of EPUB 3â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more advanced functionality, one
generally and mobile reading in particular, publishers have
of the first things to understand is the different types of
only recently begun to get a clear view into how the public
devices on the market. In general, reading devices can be
consumes digital content. But this information is critical
divided into four classes: tablets, e-readers, computers,
to publishers because it not only affords them insight into
and mobile phones. Of these devices, tablets and e-readers
whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening at the moment within the market, but
demand the most attention since they are used most
it also illustrates trends and helps point the way toward
commonly by readers to consume long-form content.
future development.
Tablets vs. E-readers
Much of the research on digital publishing released
At the moment there is no clear winner in the tug of
within the past 5 years has focused on two key questions:
war between tablets and e-readers. Despite the disruptive
what types of devices people use and how they use those
effect tablets had on the publishing industry and their role in
devices when reading.
propelling the revisions of the EPUB specification, dedicated
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e-readers have not seen a significant decline in popularity. The
tablet. Finally, their e-ink display does not use a backlight and is
reason for the longevity of e-readers is not surprising. E-readers
thus preferred by many because it reduces eye strain.
are designed with one purpose in mind and they’re engineered
Unfortunately, the advantages afforded by an e-reader
to do it as efficiently as possible. Unlike tablets, e-readers are
also make them problematic for content creators because they
power saving, inexpensive and durable. They allow the user to
are less equipped to deal with enhanced content. Unlike the
focus on the material without the distractions presented by a
rich graphical display of most tablets, most e-readers are
Reading Snapshot Among all American adults 18 and older, the % who read at least one book in the following formats in the past year
Total
E-book Audiobook
zz Male
69
64 23 14
zz Female
82
74
zz White
76
71 29 14
zz Black
81
75
30
19
zz Hispanic
67
56
16
14
zz 18–29
79
73 37 15
zz 30–49
75
66
32
16
zz 50–64
77
71
27
16
zz 65+
70
66 12 10
Race/ethnicity
33
15
Age Group
Education level zz High school grad or less
64
57
14
10
zz Some college
83
78
32
15
zz College graduate
88
78
45
21
Continued on next page
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Household income zz < $30,000
68
63
14
12
zz $30,000-$49,999
75
70
28
16
zz $50,000-$74,999
85
78
42
19
zz $75,000+
83
74
46 14
Community type zz Urban
77
71
29 15
zz Suburban
75
67
31
14
zz Rural
76
72
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Note: Columns marked with a superscript letter (a) or another letter indicate a statistically significant difference between that row and the row designated by that superscript letter. Statistical significance is determined inside the specific section covering each demographic trait. Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet Project Omnibus Survey, January 2-5, 2014. N= 1005 American adults ages 18 and older. Interviews were conducted on landlines and cell phones, in English and Spanish.
monochrome and have little or no support for JavaScript
Know Your Reader
or web browsing.
Although there may not be a one-size-fits-all solution to
It’s impossible to speculate about what the future
the problem of device fragmentation, there are strategies
holds for tablets and e-readers and whether one will
for working around it. The best strategy is to develop
eventually win out. For now, the market remains caught up
content with a specific audience in mind. How your content
in the problem of “device fragmentation”, and publishers
looks and behaves should be informed just as much by
who publish for a general audience must develop content
a readers’ expectations and device preferences as by
that could just as easily be read on a second-generation
anything else. After all, publishers can add a host of rich
Kindle as it could on the latest-generation iPad. This means
media to a given publication, but, if the reader isn’t looking
including fallbacks for enhanced material and ensuring
at it on a device that’s equipped to handle that media, all
that the core content remains accessible to all readers.
that work will be for nothing and the end result will be a poor user experience.
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E-reader ownership over time % of American adults ages 18+ who own an e-reader
Source: Pew Research Center surveys, Dec 2011-January 2014. Interviews were conducted on landlines and cell phones, in English and Spanish.
Tablet ownership over time % of American adults ages 18+ who own a tablet
Source: Pew Research Center surveys, Dec 2011-January 2014. Interviews were conducted on landlines and cell phones, in English and Spanish.
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Print vs Digital
Despite the increasing popularity of e-books, print continues to underpin the publishing industry: Among adults who read at least one book in the past year, just 5% said they read an e-book in the last year without also reading a print book.
According to a Pew poll of American consimers, about half (52%) of readers only read a print book, 4% only read an e-
When selecting between print and digital,
book, and just 2% only listened to an audiobook. 9% percent
most peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preferences depend on variety
of readers said they read books in all three formats.
of factors, including price, ease of access and the type of material being read. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that
9% All three formats
2% Audiobook
4% e-book
52% print book
print books and e-books can and should securely co-exist within a mutually reinforcing publishing landscape. For that reason, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to design a digital workflow that lends equal priority to both print and digital products. By doing so, the reader is able to select the format with which he or she feels most comfortable.
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Half of American adults now own either a tablet or an e-reader % of American adults ages 18+ who own each device
Source: Pew Research Center surveys, Dec 2011-January 2014. Interviews were conducted on landlines and cell phones, in English and Spanish.
As tablet ownership grows, more use them for e-books Among all e-book readers ages 18 and older, the % who read e-books on each device
Source: Pew Research Center surveys, Dec 2011-January 2014. Interviews were conducted on landlines and cell phones, in English and Spanish.
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THE TAKE AWAY With every new device and every new piece of software,
closely together. Editorial, production, and marketing
publishers are presented with both a challenge and an
should not be working in silos. They should be
opportunity to engage their audience. Beneath these
communicating ideas to each other in order to pull from
changes, however, there exist some key principles to keep
different areas of expertise.
in mind when thinking about how to develop and market content.
• Don’t think of print and digital as being in competition, they should be thought of as two formats that can be used
• The future of digital publishing depends on authors.
and enjoyed by a wide range of readers. By that same
More than any piece of software, your authors will be
token, don’t try to replicate the printed page on screen.
able to provide meaningful content that complements a
Print and digital are two different ecosystems, and trying
digital platform. For publishers, this means working with
to make a publication look the same across both ignores
authors to facilitate that content creation by navigating
the inherent versatility that digital affords publishers.
the technical requirements in order to discover creative possibilities. • Digital
publishing
• Understand what your readers want by understanding who they are and how they are consuming your content.
may
have
upended
traditional
Be wary of adding enhanced content unless it actually
workflows, but this upending has also introduced an
provides your readers with an enhanced reading
opportunity for different departments to work more
experience.
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Working with Us When the time comes to adopt a digital workflow, P-Shift’s
understands your goals. Our XML specialists can consult
expert team does the heavy lifting for you. Our goal is
with you on individual projects in order to discover the
to make the digital transition as seamless as possible by
best ways of enriching content.
providing the tools necessary for building a strong digital
Finally, keeping pace with digital publishing trends
foundation that integrates with the latest web technologies.
demands an adaptive workflow that rests on a solid
By using our e-publishing workflow, your content is ready
knowledge base. We provide technical expertise to answer
for EPUB because it’s already embedded within that Open
any questions you have about the digital possibilities of
Web Platform. Moreover, it’s optimized for customization
your content.
because it leverages the extensibility of XML. But our work doesn’t stop there. A strong digital workflow depends on a strong digital strategy that
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CONTACT
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5201 Dufferin Street Toronto, ON M3H 5T8 Canada Phone 416 667-7777 ext: 7830 Fax 416 667–7881 email: support@utpshift.com www.utpshift.com