The author published a draft of "DAM and CTP" in Hong Kong "The Graphic Arts Society Monthly" No. 197 (May 2000), and was later republished by China Packaging News. However, in order to further arouse the attention of the domestic publishing and printing industry, special reference to Shanghai's "publishing and printing" column, and then talk about DAM.
The so-called DAM, short for Dintal Assets Management, is one of the new terms that have emerged in the publishing industry in recent years. It refers to digital asset management. Many publishers abroad have already talked about it, and many have already put it into action. Some information service providers have provided relevant technologies and services for this.
How can digital assets be? In order to explain the problem more specifically and more popular, and from the practice of publication and printing industry.
In the past, if a book with both text and color pictures was published, after the printing tasks were all over, the printing factory often had to put the relevant paper type and color separation film. Even the copper-zinc version was sorted out and returned to the publishing house (or on behalf of the publishing house) because these were the assets of the publishing house (the publishing house had already paid for the printing fee) and the publishing house could use it during the reprint. .
With the development of printing technology, especially the application of digital technology before printing, it is not said that the paper type and copper-zinc version have disappeared with the recession of the letterpress, and the color separation film will gradually disappear with the development of digital platemaking technology. Shouldn't publishers be somewhat reclaimable assets? Since the text or image is processed digitally before printing, it becomes a reusable digital asset that should be recycled by the publisher to a prepress service or printing house. However, in fact, the current number of publishers doing so is very small, that is to say, it will clearly give up their valuable assets in vain. From the society as a whole, how can it be a pity that a hugely available resource is lost?
In foreign countries, with the development of digital technology, there are many new things in the printing field, such as personalized printing, variable information printing, on-demand printing, and computer-to-plate (CTP) and digital printing. This article does not intend to introduce these new developments in detail (it has been repeatedly reported in some print professional journals). Here I just want to point out that all these new developments are inseparable from digital information, and digital information is their basis. So: Digital information is a precious asset or resource, not too much.
So what is Digital Asset Management (DAM)? This is easy to understand. For example, if there are up to tens of thousands of books or hundreds of thousands of books in your home, how can you find out if you need to keep them without classification and numbering? If you can't find it, why is it different from the book? Similarly, with the increase of digital assets (especially in the era of knowledge economy, the growth rate is staggering), without an effective management method, it will inevitably cause confusion. Even if there are a large number of deposits, they cannot be found or used when they are retrieved. Therefore, digital information must become an effective asset that can be used. It must also be managed effectively. This is where DAM comes from.
It is not hard to imagine that the core of the so-called DAM is the establishment of a database or a central repository. It can be an extremely powerful database or a simpler image data storage center, but it involves a complete set of processing procedures, techniques, and tool systems. Only in this way can the publishing house or relevant units manage the digital information assets concerned. This is not a ready-made software or hardware that can be solved as soon as it is plugged in, but rather a rather simple problem. In particular, because of today's multimedia, the collection and storage of digital information is not simply for reprinting, but it also leads to a variety of other media, including: on the Internet or copied into electronic media such as diskettes, optical disks, etc. Electronic books. Moreover, in addition to text, graphics, or images, audio and video information now also needs to be kept and reused. Only in this way can we truly implement the so-called ROOM technique (Rip Once, Output Many times) that is currently practiced, that is, raster processing once and outputting multiple times. At the same time, in addition to Prepress (prepress), the term Premedia has emerged. The provisional translation of multimedia preprocessing means that the current pre-processing of information is not only for printing, but also for access to other media. Printing is just like using a multi-functional system and using only one of them, it is wasteful and unfortunate.
It is only tactical to implement the necessity and superiority of digital asset management and improve the reuse of digital information. From a strategic point of view, it is to transform existing and existing digital assets into resources that create new values, new economic benefits and social benefits. Here not only the concept of quantity, but also a qualitative leap. To expand on these points: Knowledge, culture, science and technology, and arts are all engendered by the accumulation of quantity. DAM has the same reason and effect.
So how do you carry out DAM work? For this issue, this article just gives some hints from ideas and concepts, rather than making specific technical answers. Because as pointed out earlier, there is no ready-made, mature and systematic hardware and software available for DAM. Even in the future, each user unit must first make a master plan or plan according to their own situation and needs. , and then go to configure the appropriate hardware and software. A lot of basic work, such as: organization, indexing, archiving, preparation, etc., of course, including the standardization of the format, etc., must rely on their own to do. This is basically the same in the United States. Although about 250 companies or service providers in the United States are engaged in the service work in this area, including the well-known consulting agencies Anthon and KPMG, and many computer companies, from IBM to small individual software development companies.
According to the information, their current practice is roughly to establish two sets of databases. One set stores all of the digitized information, and the other set uses metadata. This is a set of general indexing data compiled for the purpose of storing and invoking the scientific and effective nature of digital assets. It is also the basic framework for implementing management. Based on their experience, the agencies that intend to implement the DAM should first consider five issues when formulating their own plans, that is, there should be five concepts in mind:
1. Technology - The skill level of the person who uses this system and the skill level of the person who helped develop the system, and even the technical level of the customer or the collaborator who applied the system.
2. Knowledge - including your existing knowledge, but also the knowledge you need to learn, and the knowledge you need to hire.
3. Content - Content managed and how to manage it.
4. Procedures - including internal and external procedures, such as: how to deal with customers or outsiders, and communicate with each other.
5. Relationships - including the interrelationships between internal and external personnel.
With the above five concepts in mind, when entering a specific plan, we will consider:
1. Selection should be appropriate. When selecting a type, the general, open, or neutral type should be selected first, and the special type and closed type should be avoided. In other words: Macs, PCs, OSIOs, Windows, and Linux should all be common. It is appropriate to use publicly accepted database interfaces such as ODBC (Open Database Connectivity System) that conform to international standards.
Followed by maturity. But maturity is not equal to outdated or outdated. It includes reliability and repeatability, and will not fail or be phased out within a certain period of time.
2. Information storage and application. Digital asset management must take into account the eventual application of its content. This involves the size of the “blocks†of content when it is stored, so many publishers need to investigate their customers. For example, whether a book is categorized as a chapter or an income, which is more suitable for the convenience of use, is a factor that should be taken into consideration when designing a project. In addition, the frequency of repeated calls should also be taken into consideration. If there are many cases of repeated calls, a tracking system must be set to ensure that the content does not go wrong when it is recalled and transferred, and only authorized persons can Make corrections or updates. In addition, you can charge by the number of visits.
From a technical perspective, the following aspects need to be considered:
1. Connection issues: Which type of user and which system to connect with? How do they need to consult? For example, if you only want to consult textual data, then the interface of the system is much simpler and cheaper; if you want to retrieve high-precision image data, it is of course quite another matter. Whether it is through a regional network or the Internet, there are also differences.
2. Database problem: Many talented programmers love to use File Maker Pro to build a database. For many purposes, it is sufficient to cope with it, and it is relatively easy to compile and use it. However, there are some more powerful databases, such as the use of Oracle or SQL system to establish may be more favorable. Their information capacity is bigger and they can accommodate more users. However, from the point of view of programming and technical maintenance, it is more complicated and more expensive. Some companies start with the File Maker Pro database and transition to the oracle system later. However, it must be emphasized that from the outset, this intention should be taken into account, otherwise some functions will not be realized later, and programming must be reworked from the beginning, wasting a lot of valuable time and money.
3. Cross-platform capabilities: It's not uncommon to move digital assets from Macs, PCs, or other computer systems. This means a lot of work for early DAM systems. However, today, if you use the ODBC standard system, it is easy and saves more. There are still many freelance professionals in the United States. They often deal with various systems or program for them. If there are temporary needs, they can be hired or commissioned by programmer associations or multimedia associations.
4. The efficiency of the system: This needs to be considered in conjunction with the customer or user's request for the speed at which the data is retrieved. It also takes into account the computer systems they may use. If one is only taken care of, the result is not enough power, but it is more than sufficient.
5. Improveability: This is also an important consideration. Some companies have spent a lot of money and energy on developing DAM systems, but later the number of users has increased dramatically, or they have to be tied to systems such as e-commerce, and their functions are inadequate. If the original DAM system cannot be expanded or upgraded, it would be like walking into a dead end, having to build another new system. In a period of time, the old system had to be used in combination. Whether the useful information in the old system can be transferred to the new system depends on the situation. Even if it is possible to transfer all or part of the information, it must be checked carefully. This is a matter of loss and expense, and should be avoided as much as possible.
Finally, we should also mention the legal issues. Because, with the widespread use of the Internet and the popularization of distance education, the opportunities for full and repeated use of digital assets will inevitably grow. Therefore, the management of digital assets must face copyright issues. This is an issue that cannot be avoided or avoided. Although DAM complies with copyright law, although it is a kind of restriction for itself, from another perspective, it also protects itself, even if it is not involved in unnecessary copyright disputes, but also restricts others' arbitrary infringement. Of course, in terms of specific practices, not only the related administrative and judicial management issues in the implementation of copyright law, but also the specific technical issues, such as: how to prevent and regulate the infringement of others, how to make their own digital assets To allow legitimate users to make full use of it for compensation, etc., this should be effectively resolved in the DAM system built. So, in general, there should be a list of "rights or partial rights" in the metadata database, and a "digital asset rights management system" including tracking and monitoring procedures. It is also advisable to have an authentication system that verifies the correctness and legitimacy of digitized data stored in the DAM system so that users can use it with confidence. For some data who have the right to modify, supplement, and update (sometimes may be on one client, and sometimes on the database owner), there should also be an audit and identification method.
In general, the implementation of DAM is very beneficial to the publishing industry, the printing industry, and related parties. It is also necessary. From a strategic perspective, it is also an "inevitable" for the development and progress of the entire society. So hopefully through this article
The so-called DAM, short for Dintal Assets Management, is one of the new terms that have emerged in the publishing industry in recent years. It refers to digital asset management. Many publishers abroad have already talked about it, and many have already put it into action. Some information service providers have provided relevant technologies and services for this.
How can digital assets be? In order to explain the problem more specifically and more popular, and from the practice of publication and printing industry.
In the past, if a book with both text and color pictures was published, after the printing tasks were all over, the printing factory often had to put the relevant paper type and color separation film. Even the copper-zinc version was sorted out and returned to the publishing house (or on behalf of the publishing house) because these were the assets of the publishing house (the publishing house had already paid for the printing fee) and the publishing house could use it during the reprint. .
With the development of printing technology, especially the application of digital technology before printing, it is not said that the paper type and copper-zinc version have disappeared with the recession of the letterpress, and the color separation film will gradually disappear with the development of digital platemaking technology. Shouldn't publishers be somewhat reclaimable assets? Since the text or image is processed digitally before printing, it becomes a reusable digital asset that should be recycled by the publisher to a prepress service or printing house. However, in fact, the current number of publishers doing so is very small, that is to say, it will clearly give up their valuable assets in vain. From the society as a whole, how can it be a pity that a hugely available resource is lost?
In foreign countries, with the development of digital technology, there are many new things in the printing field, such as personalized printing, variable information printing, on-demand printing, and computer-to-plate (CTP) and digital printing. This article does not intend to introduce these new developments in detail (it has been repeatedly reported in some print professional journals). Here I just want to point out that all these new developments are inseparable from digital information, and digital information is their basis. So: Digital information is a precious asset or resource, not too much.
So what is Digital Asset Management (DAM)? This is easy to understand. For example, if there are up to tens of thousands of books or hundreds of thousands of books in your home, how can you find out if you need to keep them without classification and numbering? If you can't find it, why is it different from the book? Similarly, with the increase of digital assets (especially in the era of knowledge economy, the growth rate is staggering), without an effective management method, it will inevitably cause confusion. Even if there are a large number of deposits, they cannot be found or used when they are retrieved. Therefore, digital information must become an effective asset that can be used. It must also be managed effectively. This is where DAM comes from.
It is not hard to imagine that the core of the so-called DAM is the establishment of a database or a central repository. It can be an extremely powerful database or a simpler image data storage center, but it involves a complete set of processing procedures, techniques, and tool systems. Only in this way can the publishing house or relevant units manage the digital information assets concerned. This is not a ready-made software or hardware that can be solved as soon as it is plugged in, but rather a rather simple problem. In particular, because of today's multimedia, the collection and storage of digital information is not simply for reprinting, but it also leads to a variety of other media, including: on the Internet or copied into electronic media such as diskettes, optical disks, etc. Electronic books. Moreover, in addition to text, graphics, or images, audio and video information now also needs to be kept and reused. Only in this way can we truly implement the so-called ROOM technique (Rip Once, Output Many times) that is currently practiced, that is, raster processing once and outputting multiple times. At the same time, in addition to Prepress (prepress), the term Premedia has emerged. The provisional translation of multimedia preprocessing means that the current pre-processing of information is not only for printing, but also for access to other media. Printing is just like using a multi-functional system and using only one of them, it is wasteful and unfortunate.
It is only tactical to implement the necessity and superiority of digital asset management and improve the reuse of digital information. From a strategic point of view, it is to transform existing and existing digital assets into resources that create new values, new economic benefits and social benefits. Here not only the concept of quantity, but also a qualitative leap. To expand on these points: Knowledge, culture, science and technology, and arts are all engendered by the accumulation of quantity. DAM has the same reason and effect.
So how do you carry out DAM work? For this issue, this article just gives some hints from ideas and concepts, rather than making specific technical answers. Because as pointed out earlier, there is no ready-made, mature and systematic hardware and software available for DAM. Even in the future, each user unit must first make a master plan or plan according to their own situation and needs. , and then go to configure the appropriate hardware and software. A lot of basic work, such as: organization, indexing, archiving, preparation, etc., of course, including the standardization of the format, etc., must rely on their own to do. This is basically the same in the United States. Although about 250 companies or service providers in the United States are engaged in the service work in this area, including the well-known consulting agencies Anthon and KPMG, and many computer companies, from IBM to small individual software development companies.
According to the information, their current practice is roughly to establish two sets of databases. One set stores all of the digitized information, and the other set uses metadata. This is a set of general indexing data compiled for the purpose of storing and invoking the scientific and effective nature of digital assets. It is also the basic framework for implementing management. Based on their experience, the agencies that intend to implement the DAM should first consider five issues when formulating their own plans, that is, there should be five concepts in mind:
1. Technology - The skill level of the person who uses this system and the skill level of the person who helped develop the system, and even the technical level of the customer or the collaborator who applied the system.
2. Knowledge - including your existing knowledge, but also the knowledge you need to learn, and the knowledge you need to hire.
3. Content - Content managed and how to manage it.
4. Procedures - including internal and external procedures, such as: how to deal with customers or outsiders, and communicate with each other.
5. Relationships - including the interrelationships between internal and external personnel.
With the above five concepts in mind, when entering a specific plan, we will consider:
1. Selection should be appropriate. When selecting a type, the general, open, or neutral type should be selected first, and the special type and closed type should be avoided. In other words: Macs, PCs, OSIOs, Windows, and Linux should all be common. It is appropriate to use publicly accepted database interfaces such as ODBC (Open Database Connectivity System) that conform to international standards.
Followed by maturity. But maturity is not equal to outdated or outdated. It includes reliability and repeatability, and will not fail or be phased out within a certain period of time.
2. Information storage and application. Digital asset management must take into account the eventual application of its content. This involves the size of the “blocks†of content when it is stored, so many publishers need to investigate their customers. For example, whether a book is categorized as a chapter or an income, which is more suitable for the convenience of use, is a factor that should be taken into consideration when designing a project. In addition, the frequency of repeated calls should also be taken into consideration. If there are many cases of repeated calls, a tracking system must be set to ensure that the content does not go wrong when it is recalled and transferred, and only authorized persons can Make corrections or updates. In addition, you can charge by the number of visits.
From a technical perspective, the following aspects need to be considered:
1. Connection issues: Which type of user and which system to connect with? How do they need to consult? For example, if you only want to consult textual data, then the interface of the system is much simpler and cheaper; if you want to retrieve high-precision image data, it is of course quite another matter. Whether it is through a regional network or the Internet, there are also differences.
2. Database problem: Many talented programmers love to use File Maker Pro to build a database. For many purposes, it is sufficient to cope with it, and it is relatively easy to compile and use it. However, there are some more powerful databases, such as the use of Oracle or SQL system to establish may be more favorable. Their information capacity is bigger and they can accommodate more users. However, from the point of view of programming and technical maintenance, it is more complicated and more expensive. Some companies start with the File Maker Pro database and transition to the oracle system later. However, it must be emphasized that from the outset, this intention should be taken into account, otherwise some functions will not be realized later, and programming must be reworked from the beginning, wasting a lot of valuable time and money.
3. Cross-platform capabilities: It's not uncommon to move digital assets from Macs, PCs, or other computer systems. This means a lot of work for early DAM systems. However, today, if you use the ODBC standard system, it is easy and saves more. There are still many freelance professionals in the United States. They often deal with various systems or program for them. If there are temporary needs, they can be hired or commissioned by programmer associations or multimedia associations.
4. The efficiency of the system: This needs to be considered in conjunction with the customer or user's request for the speed at which the data is retrieved. It also takes into account the computer systems they may use. If one is only taken care of, the result is not enough power, but it is more than sufficient.
5. Improveability: This is also an important consideration. Some companies have spent a lot of money and energy on developing DAM systems, but later the number of users has increased dramatically, or they have to be tied to systems such as e-commerce, and their functions are inadequate. If the original DAM system cannot be expanded or upgraded, it would be like walking into a dead end, having to build another new system. In a period of time, the old system had to be used in combination. Whether the useful information in the old system can be transferred to the new system depends on the situation. Even if it is possible to transfer all or part of the information, it must be checked carefully. This is a matter of loss and expense, and should be avoided as much as possible.
Finally, we should also mention the legal issues. Because, with the widespread use of the Internet and the popularization of distance education, the opportunities for full and repeated use of digital assets will inevitably grow. Therefore, the management of digital assets must face copyright issues. This is an issue that cannot be avoided or avoided. Although DAM complies with copyright law, although it is a kind of restriction for itself, from another perspective, it also protects itself, even if it is not involved in unnecessary copyright disputes, but also restricts others' arbitrary infringement. Of course, in terms of specific practices, not only the related administrative and judicial management issues in the implementation of copyright law, but also the specific technical issues, such as: how to prevent and regulate the infringement of others, how to make their own digital assets To allow legitimate users to make full use of it for compensation, etc., this should be effectively resolved in the DAM system built. So, in general, there should be a list of "rights or partial rights" in the metadata database, and a "digital asset rights management system" including tracking and monitoring procedures. It is also advisable to have an authentication system that verifies the correctness and legitimacy of digitized data stored in the DAM system so that users can use it with confidence. For some data who have the right to modify, supplement, and update (sometimes may be on one client, and sometimes on the database owner), there should also be an audit and identification method.
In general, the implementation of DAM is very beneficial to the publishing industry, the printing industry, and related parties. It is also necessary. From a strategic perspective, it is also an "inevitable" for the development and progress of the entire society. So hopefully through this article
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