Online Image Management System Offers Faster Downloading for Playboy, McGraw-Hill

A professional online image management system founded in 2002 has recently launched a new version of its product, focused on giving publishers large group access to photo collections from anywhere, allowing faster, safer distribution.

Industrial Color's system, GLOBALedit, is catering to the need for art directors and editors to work on the same materials, and, said Aaron Holm, GLOBALedit’s vice president of development and integration, “quickly select and review content, and make markups on visual content, speeding up the processes a lot.”

The system offers a high-speed file transfer technology, care of partner company Aspera’s fasp technology, which allows users download large files at a speed of 100 times that of an FTP download, but with added security measures like file encryption (a function which FTP lacks). It also provides a seamless process for ingesting files, applying customized metadata for easy searches and displaying each library in a light box.

The cost is scalable by the amount of use, charging for both file transfers and storage space. For studio clients, which includes 5 users, the monthly charge is $650 ($7,500 per year) with an additional .25 cents per megabyte download, while enterprise clients spend a monthly of $2,950 ($33,500 annually), with a .10 cent per megabyte download charge. Enterprise clients pay more to have up to 25 users on the network at once, accessing necessary files in the required file format.

Two publishers already on board with GLOBALedit’s system are McGraw-Hill and Playboy Enterprises. For McGraw-Hill, working with teams around the world makes GLOBALedit essential prior to publishing, as it allows designers to connect with researchers and make corrections or edits in tandem, connecting people and allowing collaboration on content.

Playboy Enterprises’ product licensing group gets the most out of GLOBALedit, said Mary Yurkovic, manager of digital asset management. Instead of waiting for photo shoot images (for products or wearables), creating contact sheets, and then FedEx-ing the physical paper or DVDs around the world, the publisher uses the digital system for all of it. “When FedEx-ing internationally, many times stuff gets caught in customs,” Yurkovic said. GLOBALedit (which Playboy Enterprises hosts itself) saves the company significant time that they would spend copying images and shipping hardcopies—leaving more time for review through the management system’s shared editing process and a rating system.

Added Holm: “They can bring together all images from the shoots and photo edit quickly with markups.”

RELATED LINKS

Post Comment / Discuss This Story - Info/Rules