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Stories are Your Passion

vjoon K4 publishing system enables small teams and large business units with thousands of users to deliver more quality content faster and across multiple digital channels or in print.


Manage Your Content, Serve all Media.

Editors, designers or marketers start a story and create structured content within a central client. With a channel-neutral approach, easily adapt or tweak your content to publish on any print or digital channel. Provide different renditions or variants of the same object automatically. Create, improve or review any content while increasing visibility into your production progress.

Your team can draw on Adobe Creative Cloud’s entire toolbox as well as Microsoft® Office products.



Collaborate Boundlessly, Communicate Instantly.

Global teams work together and communicate in one system. Enable writing, designing, photo editing, editorial review and manager’s approval to proceed simultaneously and collaboratively. Send and receive messages or emails and request content to be reviewed. Attach sticky notes to layouts for a visual communication approach.

Overview of your publication in a special management application, that immediately shows the status of your topic, your publication or your project.



Automate Your Workflow, Integrate Seamlessly.

A publishing system is usually only part of a much more complex production environment. A Web Services API provides flexible and comprehensive access to vjoon K4 for third-party systems, including page planning and DAM systems as well as solutions for single sign-on.
Furthermore, pre-configured automations enable the import and export of data, the output in certain formats or the control of third-party systems, for example for image processing, translations, font management or digital platforms.



Save Time. Maximize Efficiency.

vjoon K4 offers features that promote efficient teamwork and lean production. Content for print, mobile, social and web – created, optimized and managed in one system.

Structured Content

Reuse or republish stories to any channel easily and efficiently with a system that applies inherent structure from the start.

Secure Access, Anywhere

Enable creative processes from anywhere at anytime, through a secure internet, VPN or terminal server connection.

Version Control

Ensure quality as well as consistency, track all changes, save versions and make your system revision-proof.

Instant Communication

With “my tasks“ queries, email and assignment notifications or sticky notes, teams effectively communicate and collaborate in one system.

Management Overview

All publication layouts can be viewed with their assigned workflow status, providing instant insight into areas that need attention.

Assign and Share Job Status

Easily communicate progress in your workflow to the whole team with a status update or new assignment. Communicate clear deadlines with due dates.

Agile Workflows

Manage your projects with lean workflows and predefined emergency scenarios. Control access rights, databases, licenses and server settings.

Easy Approval Management

Go or no-go with a quick click. Speed up promotional materials production and content marketing projects using a special browser client for executives.

Cutting Edge Technology

With vjoon K4 you rely on powerful state-of-the-art technologies. This means a cost efficient environment and an easy roll-out.

Create Amazing Content

Use the full range of your familiar tools and create stories that inspire. No matter if your story is designated for mobile, web or print – create amazing content in our central client and with Adobe Creative Cloud.



A Central Hub for all Clients

Browser- and technology-agnostic, K4 KickOff conveniently connects various vjoon K4 modules and third-party solutions by way of a central client. It is the ideal dashboard for everyone tasked to work on content. 
K4 KickOff readily adapts to your requirements. Icons, titles and descriptions can be replaced and the startup configuration can also be specified when the client is started.
Remarkably easy to handle, K4 KickOff frees publishing staff of many of the constraints imposed by technologies at the user level.



Central

Connect all K4 clients, for example K4 Overview, K4 Content Portal or Adobe Creative Cloud and other third-party solutions in a central hub.

Independent

No need to worry about compatible browsers, versions or Java plug-ins.

Customizable

K4 KickOff individually and adapt it to your needs. May replace icons, titles, descriptions and the startup configuration. 



Precision-tailored Clients

The K4 Content Portal’s three plug-ins, Content Editor, Web Editor and Approval Manager, provide precision-tailored clients to suit content writers, editors and executives needs. 
K4 Content Portal automatically launches the appropriate plug-in according to the selected task and preference settings. It runs within K4 KickOff or in a browser-based environment.
With this powerful tool, you are ready to tackle today’s tasks and master tomorrow’s publishing challenges.



Content Editor

Capturing and editing content-first stories is an exercise in convenience with this Content Editor. The deep integration of WordPress with vjoon K4 allows you to preview exactly what will be displayed in the live environment.

Highlights:

  • Start a story for any channel
  • Enhance your team collaboration with features for comments and track changes 
  • Benefit from context-sensitive control elements, to style and format Text
  • Use the K4 integration with WordPress to get a live preview of your website article and publish it fully automated

Web Editor

Use the Web Editor to create or edit Adobe InCopy articles. It displays all elements in the text (such as tables, inlines, footnotes, variables, notes and conditional text) supported by Adobe InDesign or InCopy.

Highlights:

  • Create and edit content with copy-fit info
  • Use original and composite fonts
  • No local InCopy required
  • No Java required

Approval Manager

Enable executives, marketing directors or purchasers to review layouts and content to determine if they meet specifications and their expectations. Watch the video and get more detailed information here.

Highlights:

  • Speed up the review and approval of content
  • Review and approve each content element and the entire layout easily
  • Benefit from an intuitive user interface, so that all users know exactly what to do



Choose Familiar Tools.
Use Adobe Creative Cloud.

K4 Layout and K4 Edit are the vjoon K4 clients for InDesign and InCopy to create any kind of engaging content whether it is for Print or Digital. Take advantage from a seamless integration that connects vjoon K4 directly with Adobe InDesign and Adobe InCopy. Benefit from the entire range of capabilities in Adobe InDesign/InCopy and the additional functionalities of vjoon K4 which make it much more efficient to work in a professional editorial environment. Designers can work on the layout in parallel with editors who are working on the articles. Thus you achieve lean workflows and save time.
K4 Query Panel is the inbox for your current projects. With individual filters and queries you will also find all relevant content, such as articles, images, multimedia elements or layouts. Via sticky notes, which are organized like a chat, you can exchange ideas with your team members and make suggestions or change requests.



Experience from Daily Productions

vjoon K4 has been optimised over the years with experience from international productions and offers many well thought-out details that facilitate daily work.

Structured Content
Reuse or republish stories to any channel easily and efficiently with a system that applies inherent structure from the start.

Multimedia Content
Place multimedia elements, images, graphics, articles, or layouts (layout-in-layout) – all managed in vjoon K4.

Seamless Excel Integration
Always work with the latest figures from Microsoft Excel and allow styled tables with both numbers and text to flow into InDesign with ease.

Language Support

Variants allow you to create stories in all required languages and adjust your content to your intended audience.

Assign and Share Job Status

Easily communicate progress in your workflow to the whole team with a status update or new assignment. Communicate clear deadlines with due dates.

Real-time Communication

With “my tasks“ queries, email and assignment notifications or sticky notes, teams effectively communicate and collaborate in one system.

Compare Versions

Compare the text of any two versions of an article in Adobe InDesign or Adobe InCopy and get a quick overview over all changes. Remove or keep changes in your current document.

Custom Queries and Views

Create queries to search for tasks, images or articles or any other specifications you want. Use List View, Thumbnail View or Layout View to present query results.

Full-text Search

Take advantage from a high performance full-text search, which may be combined with classic queries and filters.

Lean Collaboration

Collaborate efficiently with your entire team and rely on smart agile workflows.




Global teams work together and communicate in one system. Enable writing, designing, photo editing, editorial review and manager’s approval to proceed simultaneously and collaboratively. Send and receive messages or emails and request content to be reviewed. Attach sticky notes to layouts for a visual communication approach.
Create all content centrally and let smart workflows do the work in the background. Whether you work directly with vjoon K4 clients or the seamlessly integrated Adobe Creative Cloud, vjoon K4 ensures that the content you need is automatically always in the right place at the right time. vjoon K4 organizes the creation, editing and delivery of all content in the sense of virtual supply chain management – efficiently and just-in-time.
This kind of lean collaboration gives your team more time for content – and you reduce effort and costs.


Secure Access, Anywhere

Enable creative processes from anywhere at anytime, through a secure internet, VPN or terminal server connection.

Instant Communication

With “my tasks“ queries, email and assignment notifications or sticky notes, teams effectively communicate and collaborate in one system.

Assign and Share Job Status

Easily communicate progress in your workflow to the whole team with a status update or new assignment. Communicate clear deadlines with due dates.

Agile Workflows

Manage your projects with lean workflows and predefined emergency scenarios. Control access rights, databases, licenses and server settings.

Easy Approval Management

Go or no-go with a quick click. Speed up promotional materials production and content marketing projects using a special browser client for executives.

Management Overview

All publication layouts can be viewed with their assigned workflow status, providing instant insight into areas that need attention.


Review and Approve Content More Easy

Enable executives, marketing directors, purchasers and the like to review layouts and content to determine if they meet specifications and their expectations. They can make their verdict known in a flash – one simple mouse-click is all it takes to give their go or no-go. This makes it so much easier to coordinate with agencies and service providers and handle content across departmental and company lines. It accelerates approvals and gets feedback that much faster, thereby saving time and cutting costs.

In many enterprises, such decisions are often made by people who otherwise rarely work with the publishing system. vjoon K4’s Approval Manager is developed specifically to expedite this process.

For example, a product manager can update prices and edit descriptions and then request approval from the given line manager, who then receives an email with a clickable URL that automatically opens this layout in the browser-based Approval Manager. The line manager can view the entire layout at a glance and make the decision without further ado.

One Smart Workflow

All users and locations are included within one workflow and thanks to an intuitive user interface all users know exactly what to do.

Review Instantly

Managers and executives are working in a browser-based interface and can make changes instantly if necessary.

Save Time

Managers and executives can approve each content element and the entire layout easily and save a lot of time.


Monitor Your Production Process

Monitor all layouts of your publications and identify early where your attention is required. See at a glance the workflow status, whether there are bottlenecks or where everything is in the green.

When it comes to managing the production effort, you’re on the safe side with vjoon K4. A password-protected Web interface displays high-resolution previews of InDesign layouts, searchable by query or issue, complete with color cues that signal where they are in the workflow.

Keep an eye on your entire production process and react immediately if you need to intervene. So K4 Overview is perfect for Supervisors, project managers or the head of production who want to keep track of where things stand. K4 Overview runs within K4 KickOff or as a standalone browser client.


Management Overview

All publication layouts can be viewed with their assigned workflow status, providing instant insight into areas that need attention.

Direct Access

Accept tasks for layouts, articles and text objects directly within K4 Overview. Create printable PDFs directly from K4 Overview.

Different Views

Use any of the view modes at any time to switch between different representations of the pages, such as Spread, Thumbnail, Thumbnail with details or Flip Pages.

Instant Communication

Post comments on a layout page and communicate with your team in real-time

Costs per Page

Calculate the cost per page to better plan and control your budget.

Secure Access, Anywhere

Monitor your production process anytime and anywhere via a secure Internet, VPN or terminal server connection.

Integrate and Manage 3rd-Party-Solutions

Enhance your possibilities with smart automatons and efficient integrations.



vjoon K4 can be modified and extended using the Web Services API. This offers flexible and comprehensive access to the application server and vjoon K4 business logic, allowing the system to be easily integrated with other systems.

Our publishing platform also allows predefined automations, such as import and export, automated PDF output, reconfiguring page formats for digital editions, automated content upload, or the execution of custom scripts running as an automated task on Adobe InDesign Server.

In vjoon K4, object rules are used to match data from external sources – e.g. page planning systems. An External Task Dispatcher (K4 XTD)  submits vjoon K4 objects to connected third-party systems for further processing, and retrieves the results fully automatically. This is a tremendous time-saver when tasking external applications such as translation memory systems to provide text or image processing tools to analyze or edit pictures.


Export Your Content to WordPress

Content Stories can be published using WordPress at the push of a button or via automated tasks in the workflow. Images, videos or social media posts included in the story are also transmitted and appear in the text at the same position as seen in Content Editor. Depending on the configuration, a content story can be reserved exclusively for K4 for editing, using WordPress as a headless CMS.

While creating the content story, a preview rendered by WordPress allows the K4 user to verify how the story will look like in WordPress. K4 Integration with WordPress is offered via a serviceable WordPress plug-in, allowing vjoon to maintain and update the plug-in independently of K4.

Highlights:

  • Automated export of Content Stories for WordPress
  • Choose to export as a WordPress Post, Page or Custom Post Type
  • Make further edits with Classic Editor or Gutenberg
  • Use K4 for editing and WordPress as a headless CMS
  • Get a real preview rendered by WordPress
  • Benefit from maintenance and agile updates, independently of K4


Export Content as XML

Any kind of data can be exported from the content of the vjoon K4 database with the K4 XML Exporter. The result can be saved at a share point, sent by mail or FTPed to a distant server. Even custom service tools can be launched after the export to further process the data.

The export process can be triggered using an automated task as part of the vjoon K4 server architecture automatically by the workflow or manually by a user. In addition, this module is available as an external Java application which allows you to export with query mode executed via Terminal.

Highlights:

  • Automated export of content for WordPress, drupal or other Web CMS as well as archive systems
  • Media-independent export of data via XML
  • Extract meta data information or tagged articles
  • XSLT transformation using build-in Saxon engine or another XSLT engine
  • Copy, mail or FTP the result to a required destination
  • Configured optionally as manual or fully automated tasks
  • Also available as an external application managed by a scheduler


Import Content. Automatically.

K4 Drop Folders automates the import of files into vjoon K4 by scanning one or more hot-folders to integrate third-party-systems without using the vjoon API. This module makes it so much easier to import articles, for example, from a Web CMS or Word documents.

This straightforward yet efficient way of connecting a Web CMS to vjoon K4 affords users some very convenient options. They can automatically port articles that were drafted in programs such as WordPress and Drupal to vjoon K4, add styles as they see fit, and edit content that much faster.

Highlights:

  • Automated import of Articles, Adobe InDesign documents, pictures, Microsoft Excel files or any other file via hot-folders.
  • Create any number of dedicated hot-folders to source files from different external systems (e.g. DAM, Ad Management).
  • Convert text-based file formats such as .doc, .docx and .txt into HTML or ICML on the fly during the upload.
  • Make use of integrated customizable wrappers to structure and format e.g. Web CMS content for print workflows automatically.
  • Import files with or without starting a workflow. If you don’t start an object’s workflow, you may attach it to an existing K4 Collection.
  • Import as file and job ticket, job ticket only or file only.
  • Add XMP metadata information to any of the folder or file job tickets.
  • Use K4 Drop Folders to automate your entire picture workflow.


Mobile Content for Twixl Publisher

Using vjoon K4 to produce high-quality content for tablets or smartphones, you benefit from a professional, highly automated system environment. Your agile team collaborates process oriented, every content is managed centrally and will be published at the touch of a button onto any mobile device. vjoon K4 offers the option to integrate with Twixl Publisher.

Highlights:

  • Collaborate efficiently by integrating several team members (e.g. project managers, editors, designers, video specialists) and benefit from working in parallel on the same article.
  • Manage all your rich content in a professional system
  • Send all content including metadata to the distribution platform fully automated and in the background at the touch of a button.
  • Update articles immediately to publish breaking news
  • Benefit from professional font management by using the optional integration with Extensis Universal Type Server (UTS)

Task 3rd-Party Systems

K4 XTD (External Task Dispatcher) obtains tremendous time-savings by tasking 3rd-parties, like translation memory systems or Image processing tools to edit texts or images in the background, fully automated and in parallel to the editorial workflow.

If a new file version is returned from a 3rd-party system, it is saved as a new version of the object in vjoon K4, including any changes of meta data information.

Efficient Print Jobs

The optional integration with MadeToPrint automates print jobs, generates PDF, Postscript or EPS files. It allows a manual or task-driven fully-automated output of layouts and articles from vjoon K4. This module speeds up your entire output process and makes it much more efficient.

You can make use of pre-configured naming conventions, launch the automated task manually or fully automated within the workflow, and execute print jobs via Adobe InDesign desktop application or InDesign Server.

Compare Versions

The optional integration with MadeToCompare allows you to compare versions of any article you want. This can be any two older versions of the article, or you can compare the current version with an older version of an article. In this case, you can access the article content and you can change the current version if necessary.

You get a quick overview over all changes and you are able to remove or keep changes in your current document.

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Font Management

The right fonts are crucial to rendering documents correctly; the wrong fonts can wreak havoc on a design. Quality is a key issue for enterprises and publishers alike, and time and costs are of equal concern.

Automated publishing processes involving many fonts are far more reliable and efficient with the benefit of the integrated Extensis® Universal Type Server® (UTS). When a layout is opened in vjoon K4, the InDesign file is scanned for FontSense™ information. If the InDesign server is up and running, precisely these fonts are automatically selected in the Universal Type Server via Extensis Font Link™. An alert is given if any font use exceeds licensing.

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Distributed Sites

Companies that operate remote production sites achieve tremendous time savings when they use the K4 DES (Distributed Enterprise System). If a user at a location far from headquarters wants to work on a layout for example, the file is provided by the on-site K4 LDS (Local Data Storage) rather than the remote K4 Server at the company’s headquarter.

Layout files including all placed objects (for example pictures, videos, etc.) or any other file (e.g. Photoshop, Word or videos) open as quickly as the local network can deliver them, which is far faster than retrieving a file from the remote central server.

This benefit works both ways: The edited file is first saved to the K4 LDS on site and then forwarded automatically to the central K4 Server without consuming the local workplace computer’s resources.The central K4 Server automatically updates and synchronizes all associated files so that users at distributed locations everywhere always access the same data.

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Directory Services

vjoon K4 supports the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for implementing access to information administered by directory services. This information is used for managing user accounts in vjoon K4, and can optionally be used for user authentication. Basically, you have two ways to configure directory services within vjoon K4. 

You can administer settings centrally in your K4 Server Admin and assign them to the publications you want as a preset – or, you can configure the settings you want to use for each publication individually.

Administer Your Publishing System



System Management

K4 Admin puts you in the virtual pilot seat of your publication or project. This is where you administer your publications, users, meta data and directory services, manage all production sequences and define workflows for your various media output using the graphical workflow editor.

K4 Server Admin is a powerful management application extending your capabilities. This central entity administers all assigned publications, Adobe InDesign Servers and license pools as well as databases and schema connections.


Backup and Restore

vjoon Storage Engine brings the “agile” to agile data management. It helps IT teams by storing layouts, videos, images, text and tables in a highly efficient way. All this happens in the background, at the push of a button or triggered by a scheduled automated routine, while users continue their work. 

In this way, the entire publication can be restored very quickly in the event of a crash. vjoon Storage Engine does the work in a fraction of the usual time. Fast recovery ultimately means less downtime and lower costs.



Software Technology

With vjoon K4 you rely on powerful state-of-the-art technologies. This means a cost efficient environment and an easy roll-out on your existing infrastructure. These technology strategy ensures a scalable, robust and flexible platform, offering many advantages when compared to competitive solutions.


System Management



Administration Made Easy

Using vjoon K4, administrators and project managers can always keep on top of the entire process management and the components in use. They can even see how Adobe InDesign Servers or local data storages are deployed, manage publications, user accounts, license pools, directory services, databases and schema connections.

All processes may be configured individually, in detail and depth. And the entire team benefits from the system’s phenomenal flexibility and the remarkable measure of reliability it brings to the publishing process.

K4 Server Platform is supporting two workflow models (can be mixed):

Task based-workflow: 
Workflow model for complex productions, with parallel processes, dependencies, rewinds and emergency assignments. A state-of-the-art workflow model, matching the publishers needs for a modern production.

Simplified task-based workflow: 
Workflow model for simplified processes and with less functionality. This model combines a traditional status-based workflow with some elements of a modern task based workflow.


Publication Administration

K4 Admin puts you in the virtual pilot seat of your publication or project. This is where you administer your publications, users, meta data and directory services, manage all production sequences and define workflows for your various media output using the graphical workflow editor.

Highlights:

  • Administer groups, users and rights as well as issues, variants and renditions in a single interface.
  • Define Admin Roles to assign specific administrative tasks to more than one user.
  • Make use of wizards, help systems and templates that speed up configuration of users, meta data, queries and publication settings.

Graphical Workflow Editor

Unique to vjoon K4 is its easy-to-use, Web-based graphical workflow editor. This innovative tool allows administrators to rapidly set up, edit and duplicate simple to extremely complex cross-media workflows, and to print out the workflow chart for communication and reference.

Highlights:

  • Rapidly set up, edit and duplicate simple or extremely complex parallel cross-media workflows.
  • Generate dependencies between individual workflow channels.
  • Configure Rewinds or Emergency Assignments within your workflows.

Server Administration

K4 Server Admin is a powerful management application extending the management capabilities in vjoon K4. This central entity administers all assigned publications, Adobe InDesign Servers, and license pools.


Highlights:

  • Rapidly set up, edit and duplicate simple or extremely complex parallel cross-media workflows.
  • Generate dependencies between individual workflow channels.
  • Configure Rewinds or Emergency Assignments within your workflows.
  • Access different databases (Oracle, Microsoft SQL, MySQL) simultaneously from a single K4 server.
  • Migrate data from database to database, and distribute publications, as the situation requires.

Backup and Restore


Agile Data Management

Media companies, agencies and marketers generate tons of data, and their IT departments are hard-pressed to keep up. These businesses simply can’t do without instant access to a rapidly growing mountain of content and speedy recovery in the event of failure. And that makes agile, responsive data management a mission-critical task.

Your data – up in the cloud or here on the ground.

Companies that opt for vjoon K4 and vjoon Storage Engine are free to run their publishing workflows and maintain all data on their in-house IT infrastructure. They may also use Amazon’s highly scalable, cloud-based object storage S3 for vjoon Storage Engine. Or they can port the whole package, vjoon K4 and vjoon Storage Engine, to the cloud. This freedom of choice puts media companies, agencies and marketers back in the driver’s seat when it comes to their IT strategies.

Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) provides you with secure, durable, highly-scalable cloud storage to store and retrieve any amount of data.

Lean Database

  • Shrinks the database’s volume to a fraction of the original size
  • Database contains only the publication data structure, including metadata
  • Small footprint enables fast backup and recovery

Snapshots and Fast Recovery

  • Create automated snapshots of your assets on a regular basis
  • No need to stop working while snapshot is being created
  • Create snapshots at a click of a button or schedule an automated task
  • Minimize downtimes through fast recovery
  • Efficient risk management for publications
  • Convenient admin client for effortless management

Ready for the Cloud

  • Runs entirely in the cloud
  • Mixed operation on-premises / cloud is possible
  • Interfaced with the high-performance Amazon S3 cloud service
  • Free choice of regionally available AWS data centers
  • Slashes CAPEX and OPEX