Q: What is best practice now?
A: Advanced automation is the backbone of modern publishing production and image editing and enhancement is no exception, regardless of the type of content publisher.
While every organisation’s workflow has its own nuances, automating the vast majority of image production requirements is well within reach.
Whether you’re enhancing images for print or screen, creating precise cut-outs for striking layouts, or upscaling low-resolution social media shots, today’s imaging tools can dramatically sharpen image clarity and quality.
Image editing and enhancement is a perfect use case for automation; volumes of images needing to be prepared and stylised, with ever shortening deadlines, for varying outputs; glossy magazines, newsprint or HD displays – while always needing to grab the reader’s attention.
The goal is simple: automate as much of the imaging process as you can. Start by auditing what is still being done manually, explore available editing and enhancement services and discuss with your editorial content system vendors about what integrates well with their workflows.
Automation here means taking any supplied image and getting the best out of it, whether it’s destined for print or screen. That includes not just appearance, but file optimisation: web images need to be lightweight RGB files that load quickly, while print demands high quality formats ensuring perfect reproduction.
Established imaging software and services can already automate around 80% of most publishers’ image production needs, even more in specific use cases. However, even where automation is in place, a wave of new technologies and file formats has emerged recently, particularly around web content, that can’t be ignored if content is to remain at its most discoverable and accessible.
It’s important to note that image automation isn’t only for large organisations. Smaller publishers and online content creators have access to the same powerful options, through lighter versions of tools built with their particular needs in mind; lower image volumes, niche content and operators who may not have the imaging expertise but know exactly what they need from their images. Online imaging services are typically straightforward to set up and require little technical overhead to achieve great results quickly.
There are, of course, areas where the image quality and editorial responsibility demand a skilled human touch; front covers, print specials, premium products, high profile subjects and more. Even here, automation still has a role to play, albeit more of a supporting one. The best Photoshop operators are embracing the opportunities automated imaging offers, letting it handle the groundwork and bringing images up to a solid baseline, freeing them to focus their expertise where it matters most: the subjective craft of creating truly standout imagery.
To truly get the most out of imaging automation in terms of both quality and efficiency, a direct integration with your editorial content systems is the obvious goal. There is a wide range of connections already supported by most systems vendors, making it straightforward to explore your options, identify the right fit and get up and running.
Q: How do you see it changing in the future?
A: Building upon the above, we are already beginning to see publishers transition away from dedicated Photoshop teams and imaging departments instead empowering layout teams to edit and enhance their own images directly within their content systems – streamlining the process and placing creative control closer to the content generation.
Even at this early stage, this approach is showing meaningful efficiency gains. The learning curve is virtually non existent – save for a couple of extra clicks for users – and image quality remains consistent no matter who is working on the content. There’s no interruption to the page layout workflows and no need to understand the intricacies of Photoshop or the nuances of prompting AI tools.
Needless to say, the continual drive of AI will deliver further impressive and capable imaging technologies that strengthen the case for layout teams managing their own image requirements. Developments already leading the charge include precise background removal, upscalers capable of making low resolution social media images viable for print or large screen displays and digital provenance tools that verify the origin and authenticity of images in a world of deepfakes.
Q: What are your three top tips?
1. Look at the imaging team’s workload. Is it largely creative work or mostly repetitive toning, cropping and cut outs? And how do they handle images for online publication? The answers will quickly reveal where automation can make the biggest difference.
2. If you’re automating already, great! However, when did you last review the process? Automation put in place just a few years ago may no longer reflect best practice. If your online images are still being saved as .jpg then a fresh review could unlock significant gains in quality and efficiency.
3. Discuss ideas with your editorial content system vendors about which integrations best suit your needs and use it as an opportunity to build toward a more streamlined imaging workflow.
About Pixometry
For nearly 30 years, Pixometry has been powering the imaging workflows of publishers around the world. Continuously evolving, our advanced image enhancement software intertwines the latest AI technologies with its proprietary imaging engine to deliver sharper, richer images that stop readers in their tracks, in print and digital alike.
Email: derek.milne@pixometry.com
Web: www.pixometry.com
This article was first published in Issue # 1 of Best Practice in Publishing, a new publication from InPublishing. Click here for links to the other ‘best practice’ articles from the publication.
