This year marks the 10th anniversary of Adobe InDesign, the professional publishing and page layout software.  As part of the celebration, check out the InDesign 10th Anniversary Web site and view the commemorative book (PDF, 9MB).  While InDesign has come a long way as a page layout tool, what’s most exciting to me is the future of publishing that the book highlights in the final chapter — including the possibility to transcend the traditional “page layout” metaphor and publish to a wide range of media. 

From the commemorative book:
“In this new [publishing] world, ‘page layout’ is no longer the best term to describe the use of InDesign. Adobe President and CEO Shantanu Narayen offers that it is simply a layout program, in that it aggregates
content into a designed document, no matter the medium in which it is
published.”

This concept of a publishing tool that outputs across media will be increasingly important — and we’re seeing the importance of this with the myriad of devices emerging on the market.  Since CS3, Adobe InDesign has supported the open EPUB eBook file format through the “Export to Digital Editions” feature.  This means that book publishers using InDesign can create eBook content for eReading devices like the Barnes & Noble nook and Sony Reader  without extensive retaining of design staff.  Additionally, our collaboration with WIRED to create a new digital magazine concept uses an Adobe InDesign-based workflow to streamline the content production process.

I haven’t mentioned this on this blog before, but wanted to point out the resources on Adobe.com on how to create EPUB eBooks using Adobe InDesign.  We’ve produced some guides on creating eBooks in InDesign, including an overview of the EPUB workflow in the software, answers to commonly asked questions, and how to work with images.  These how-to EPUB authoring guides are available on Adobe.com.  While you’re there, check out the tutorial videos on Adobe TV that explain how to create EPUB, information about the EPUB specification, and where to find information about eBooks elsewhere on Adobe.com (like the InDesign help pages and the Digital Publishing Technology Center)

EPUB authoring resources:

• Create eBooks with the Adobe eBooks software platform
• Producing EPUB eBooks from InDesign: How-to guides

Also – I’m looking at developing more guides on creating EPUB eBooks and would like your feedback.  What topics would you like to see covered?  What is most challenging about authoring EPUB for you?  Leave a comment on this post and I’ll review it for possible inclusion in our next set of guides on how-to create EPUB.

The next version of Creative Suite – CS5 – is coming on April 12, 2010. Make sure to join us at the online launch event on April 12 for the first look at what we’ve been up to in InDesign CS5, including improvements to the EPUB eBook export … and more. 

Sign up to view the launch at http://bit.ly/cs5signup_d

UPDATE: The Digital Publishing Suite is available on Adobe Labs

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Earlier this year when WIRED Magazine launched its digital edition (and sold more issues than the newsstand version without cannibalizing print sales) we noted that it was created with InDesign CS5 along with new publishing technologies. Today, we’ve released a short video that overviews these new technologies, including more detail on how they fit into the digital
magazine authoring workflow.

Late this summer, we’ll post these new publishing technologies on Adobe Labs so a broad set of media, corporate and retail catalog publishers will be able to create compelling content experiences. Using this Digital Magazine Solution, these publishers can create immersive content without having to hire additional developers or invest in extensive retraining for staff. Publishers can add interactivity without writing code via InDesign and create monetizable digital magazines for the Apple iPad – with other platforms and devices expected in the future.

InDesign CS5 + Digital Content Bundler

As mentioned, Adobe InDesign CS5 software is the central component of the workflow. Using InDesign CS5, design teams create layouts and add interactivity. With layouts in hand, production teams package the assets using the new Digital Content Bundler utility that allows publishers to import vertical and horizontal InDesign CS5 layouts, add metadata, (article title & description, issue number, etc.) and export them into a new “.issue” format. Although creating both horizontal and vertical layouts is not an absolute requirement, we expect that publishers will want to do so in order to take advantage of the tablet form factor and have the content rotate along with the device.

The “.issue” Format + Digital Content Viewer

This new .issue format is a compressed file format that contains vertical and horizontal magazine layouts, metadata, code to enable interactivity, and associated assets (images, video, etc.) Once the layouts have been packaged into the .issue format, the file is then rendered and displayed to the end-user using a publisher-branded Digital Content Viewer. The WIRED Reader, for example, is the first instance of a publisher-branded viewer. This Digital Content Viewer allows readers to interact with and navigate through the magazine content (including via the innovative “browse” mode). Previously we announced the Digital Content Viewer for Apple iPad; in the future we also expect to develop the Digital Content Viewer on Adobe AIR for desktops and other devices.

Adding Interactivity

With the Digital Magazine Solution, publishers are able to retain the design fidelity of a print magazine and add the interactivity of digital – captivating reader attention and creating an immersive content experience. Using the Adobe solution, designers and production teams can add interactivity like slideshows (multi-state objects) and video to magazine layouts using InDesign CS5. At present, adding advanced interactivity (like 360° image rotations, and image panning/zooming) requires the use of a separate AIR utility, the Interactive Overlay Creator. Over time, however, the functionality in the Interactive Overlay Creator will be integrated into future versions of InDesign.

Availability on Adobe Labs

(UPDATE: The Digital Publishing Suite is available on Adobe Labs) In late summer, we’ll be posting the publishing technologies involved in the magazine workflow – including the tools for adding advanced interactivity and bundling content – on Adobe Labs at http://www.adobe.com/go/digpublabs Documentation that details the process for integrating this new technology into your existing publishing workflows will also be made available on Labs.

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For more information about the Digital Magazine Solution and additional details about the digital magazine authoring workflow, check out the following links:

• Bookmark the Digital Publishing page on Adobe Labs and check later this summer to download the
  additional publishing technologies
• View the workflow video on Adobe TV
• Keep up on the latest news by becoming a fan of Adobe Digital Publishing on Facebook
• Follow the team on Twitter @AdobeDigitalPub

We’ve been talking to publishers this week in New York City about their publishing workflows and the new opportunities they see on the horizon for digital publishing. As part of these conversations, I’ve heard excitement about Creative Suite 5 and the new features InDesign offers in its latest release. Along with this feature set, we’ve developed a new document that details the enhancements to the EPUB eBook workflow for InDesign CS5. These new features, including the ability to structure the reading order of exported content via XML and the option to include custom-built CSS for styling, allow for improved production and greater control in creating eBooks.

Read the details in the whitepaper (PDF, 656K)