Readmode: Required Data and PDF Guidelines

General Information

In order for the data to be processed and for the automated process to run smoothly later on, we need some information from you once at the beginning of the project. This information is used for coordination between you, the XML service provider and us.

In addition, the delivered PDF files must meet certain specifications to avoid processing errors. 

Instructions

PubCodes

In order to add a read mode to a PDF output, a so-called Pubcode is first assigned, which is linked to the publication. Usually the PubCode is assigned according to the name of the publication. 

If your magazine is called Atlas of Zoology the PubCode would most likely be AOZ if it is not yet assigned.

This PubCode is important for the routing at our service provider and is also used as part of the file name when sending the publication. We will inform you about the specific PubCode after consultation with the service provider.

Publication list 

To make sure that the setup can proceed without delay, we'll need you to fill out a table and return it to us, before processing begins. 

The table contains the following columns:

• filename
• pubcode
• issue name
• delivery date
• publication date
• estimated page numbers

You can download a template here or at the end of the article.

Filename 

is the name of the PDF data always delivered as a ZIP file. These are usually formed from the PubCode and the publication date.

Assuming we have an issue of the Atlas of Zoology (Pubcode: AOZ) for the month of March in 2020 with a publication date of 01.03.2020, the file name would look like this:

aoz_20200301.zip

This allows an exact allocation of the file and ensures flawless processing of the data.

pubcode

The PubCode of the issue series or publication described in the PubCodes section

issue name

is the name of the issue as the reader will see it later for example in the app or on the web, for example "Atlas of Zoology March 2020

delivery date

is the date you deliver the Zip File on our SFTP server. This date must be before the release date. 

publication date

is the date the issue goes live and is made available to readers.

estimated page numbers

is an approximate number of pages of the issue concerned. This value is necessary for estimating the processing time, costs and for checking correct processing.

PDF Guidelines

PDF document structure

• No read-only PDFs may be used
• All pages should be single pages.
• All pages should be arranged in the correct order.
• Trim boxes should always be set correctly, i.e. they should only contain the relevant page information without bleed and should not overlap with the opposite page of the double page.
• The data must be delivered as a Zip file

PDF Text

• All texts and fonts must be fully embedded in PDFs.
• The text should not be rasterized or provided with paths.
• All text will be extracted as is from the PDFs. If glyphs or special fonts are used that change the appearance of a character, only the character is extracted.

PDF images

• Images should not be flattened to the background so they can be extracted as separate objects.
• Down-sampling should be avoided if possible. For reasons of file size, some down-sampling is preferable.
• The goal is to ensure a clear display with a maximum width or height of 2400px for large images.
• Images with 300DPI+ are preferred as long as the size of an issue does not exceed ~300MB. If the issue exceeds 300MB, please reduce the images to about 150DPI and/or use better compression.