Hello,

I'm wondering if any of you use InCopy with InDesign, and if so, your thoughts.

I've used InDesign for some time in my publishing business. But at my full time job, a small weekly newspaper, we're still using Pagemaker, and waxing/pasting up. I have convinced our publisher and small staff to make the change to InDesign early in the new year, and go completely digital.

I've been reading about InCopy and it looks like we would be able to utilize it to our advantage. Particularly the ability for more than one person to work on parts of the same file at the same time.

I've got a few questions for those that have experience with InCopy.

1) At present our editor creates a file weekly and adds/deletes pages as necessary. So the one file will have 30 to 50 pages. With InCopy will each of us be able to access all pages in the document?

2) Can a piece of art be placed into a checked out story, and then checked back in? Or do photos and ads have to be placed into the main file?

3) Who should logically have control of the main file? The editor who places text and pics? Or the ad manager? Or me, who would be placing the ads?


Here's our thoughts on workflow, if they are possible. Keep in mind that our staff consists of only four full-timers, with other contributors with their own columns (most of these email their columns, or bring in hardcopies, so their part wouldn't change).

Ad manager lays the paper out as far as ad placement. The editor then determines photos, size and placement. The pics get placed as they are ready. The editor places stories, columns, etc. Classified girl takes care of that page. And as I finish creating ads, I place in their respective positions. When the paper is complete and proofed, I would then create the PDF's and drop into the FTP site. We are networked through a central "server" that's basically an external drive to which we all have access.

I suppose that each of us could open and have control of the main file when we need it, but that would defeat the purpose of InCopy.

Thoughts?

Bill Guffey
Xerxes Publishing