Cross Media Publishing (CMP) Systems

In brief: Cross Media Publishing (CMP) means creating content once and automatically publishing it across multiple media: websites, online shops, printed catalogues, data sheets or apps. CMP systems originated in the publishing and advertising industries.

How Cross Media Publishing works

Content is stored in a structured, media-neutral format, without a fixed layout. Templates for each output medium automatically put the content into the appropriate format. For print, this often involves plug-ins for Adobe InDesign; for websites and apps, it involves interfaces.

CMP and PIM

For product catalogues, PIM is the ideal source for a CMP process: it stores text, attributes, prices and images in a structured format. Many PIM systems have their own print modules or integrate closely with publishing solutions. This allows catalogues and price lists to be generated automatically in multiple languages, with corrections made once in the PIM system rather than in every document.

Example

An industrial distributor produces its 800-page catalogue in five languages. Previously, text and tables were copied into the layout manually. With PIM and a publishing solution, pages are populated automatically using templates, leaving the graphic design team to focus on finishing touches and special pages.

See also

• Catalogues
• Channels
• Product data distribution
• Content Management System (CMS)
• Media / Media Assets