Publishing Scientific Journals

1
Publishing Scientific Journals

• Blackwell Publishing create several hundred
  scientific journal titles
• Some journals have 6 issues each year and each
  one carries a special unique bar code called a
  SISAC
• Blackwell have offices in Oxford and Edinburgh
  where they coordinate and edit the journals
• Page layout, or typesetting, however, is done by
  graphic artists principally in Asia
• Journals are therefore transferred electronically
  around the world before arriving at the printers
• In the past staff at Blackwell in Oxford had to
  coordinate the generation and application of the
  bar codes
• Due to time differences there were often delays
  and mistakes getting the bar codes to the
  typesetters
• Handling the bar codes in the UK was an
  unnecessary and sometimes time consuming task

2
Web ordering bar code EPS files

• Axicon developed a solution which helped
  Blackwell and their typesetters
• A web server based application for generating the
  bar codes available 24 hours a day
• Now staff at Blackwells UK offices did not have
  to devote time to handling the bar code files at
  all
• Each typesetter was issued with a logon which
  enabled them to generate the bar codes themselves
  just when they needed them
• The system has been designed to be used by staff
  at the typesetter who need very little knowledge
  of bar codes
• After logging on, each typesetter only sees a
  list of the journals that they are responsible
  for
• Database files have been set up by Axicon which
  hold all of the relevant information about each
  journal, so the typesetters do not need to enter
  large amounts of data and this minimizes keying
  errors
• There are just three screens for them to work
  through, selecting the journal from the list that
  they are responsible for, enter the issue
  specific information including month-year and
  select from a list the printer who will actually
  print the journal