In 1994, The Miami Herald's ad-production department switched from QuarkXPress to Multi-Ad Creator and never looked back. Now, in order to produce multiple-page ads, the paper is preparing to phase in Creator2, the newest version of Multi-Ad Services Inc.'s desktop-publishing software.

	The Miami Herald, which has used Multi-Ad Creator since 1994, plans to move to Creator2. (Click image for larger view.)

Ad-production staffers use the Peoria, Ill.-based developer's software to build ads for the Herald and its sister Spanish-language publication, El Nuevo Herald. The software, installed on 120 Macintoshes in three different locations, has simplified the time-consuming process of ad production, according to Sheila Ann Galantino, the paper's systems administrator for ad production.

"Creator offered a lot of little things that made our life easier and allowed us to be more creative and productive," she says. "Creator includes many features we would have had to purchase as expensive add-ons to other page-layout applications."

Among those features: the ability to create polygons, starbursts and borders; the ability to center text within the ad borders; and advanced drawing capabilities. A built-in database of standard layout sizes expedites production and ensures accuracy.

Creator2, which will be phased in gradually, will allow Herald staffers to compose multiple-sized ads in one document. In other words, ad composers can build one full-page ad, and then use the same copy and art to build a series of ad sizes and even complete multi-page fliers within a single document.

The software also uses AppleScript technology to automate repetitive processes and design tasks. Since the scripting is recordable—users simply perform the task and Creator2 memorizes their actions—users don't have to learn the scripting language. This proves invaluable in an ad-building environment, as many stores run similar ads using the same colors, logos and bursts every week. A single script repeats these tasks, speeding production.

Creator2 also offers advanced drawing and designing tools. Along with new text, layout and color-management tools, users no longer have to switch back and forth between Creator and third-party drawing programs.

Since Creator2 is more a new product than an upgrade, Galantino admits that switching over in her high-volume environment needs to be done carefully.

"We have over 5,000 ad-size templates that we need to convert from Creator to Creator2. At the same time, we have to train all of our users on the new product," she says. "Fortunately, the interface is very similar, so the learning curve is small, and the major features carry over. Also, Multi-Ad offers a script that can individually or batch-convert all of our templates and ads."

Although the Herald's creative staff is large, most have been in the department for more than 10 years, keeping turnover minimal. Still, training remains an important consideration. "With the size of the ad-creation department, the ease of learning the software is crucial," says Galantino. "We find that new hires who are already familiar with page-layout programs such as QuarkXPress find it very easy to learn Creator."

The Miami Herald also uses Creator's sister product, Multi-Ad Search, to catalog and search its art database. Using staff-defined categories, art is filed electronically for quick retrieval and can be dragged and dropped into Creator.

Fresh from pilot testing that surpassed all expectations at nine papers, NAA's Partners 2000 change-management program now comes in a box.

Well, not exactly. But NAA's Partners 2000 Turnkey Package, available to all members, includes workshops, a kit of resources and online material intended to allow newspapers to streamline processes and focus operations on customer service.

The package includes:

• Four toolkits that document the structured program
• Process-improvement workshops led by certified trainers that teach how to implement and use the program
• Activity-based cost models and cost-of-quality measurement tools
• Password-protected access to the NAA Partners 2000 World Wide Web site and project database
• Participation in NAA communications forums to help implement improvements across all newspaper operations
• Access to NAA's central clearinghouse on change management information.

The first three pilot newspapers began testing the program in 1997, and later were joined by six others. Among the results:

• The Billings (Mont.) Gazette redesigned its advertising department into teams, reducing 90 percent of second proofs by customers, ad-process steps from 350 to 40, and costs by 40 percent.
• The Dallas Morning News redesigned its advertising-billing process and procedures, realizing an additional $2.7 million cash flow. It also improved pre-press by creating pre-press support teams and a standards manual, and sped editorial page flow, improving on-time delivery to distribution centers.
• The Herald Bulletin in Anderson, Ind., changed its distribution process; redeliveries to home subscribers fell 60 percent.
• The Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel streamlined advertising, removing more than 75 percent of the steps involved in getting an ad in the newspaper. New teams reduced ad errors, resulting in projected annual savings of more than $400,000. Improved editorial page flow cut late pages 67 percent—within 60 days.
• The Times Herald Record in Middletown, N.Y., is on track to reduce circulation redeliveries by 50 percent and increase readership by 3.5 percent.
• The Vincennes (Ind.) Sun-Commercial redesigned advertising into sales teams, reducing errors by 75 percent while increasing account reps' time in the field by 50 percent. It identified annual savings of over $300,000 and reduced newsroom copy errors by 50 percent.

For more information, contact NAA Partners 2000 Project Director Christine Sabo at (440) 717-0799; e-mail, saboc@naa.org.

TechNews Volume 5, Number 3: May/June

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