XML-First, Please

The introduction of XML-First into the publishing workflow allows publishers to move from a print centered workflow to a content centered workflow. By quickly and efficiently transitioning the author's manuscript (usually in Word) to XML prior to composition gives the publisher the ability to publish faster and in many more creative ways to their customers including XHTML and ePub. The move to XML-First has proved to decrease costs, increase ROI, and raise the quality of the end product. A very typical workflow can be seen in a slideshow from Taylor & Francis Books, "What impact does XML-First have on your costs". Mark Majurey shows in the presentation a 30% reduction in budgeted time for copyediting combined with the ability to outsource the typesetting results in dramatic cost savings to the publisher and ultimately a higher ROI.

The benefits of XML-First is not restricted to traditional publishing. Last month, the US Government introduced the release of the Federal Register in XML prior to composition of the printed register. The Federal Register publishes approximately 80,000 pages per year and is the de-facto news agency of the executive branch. The Washington Post on October 5th, 2009 reported this development in the article "A More Web-Friendly Register". The raw XML data can be accessed at Data.gov making the voluminous information accessible, customizable and reusable in a variety of formats. This development has made greater transparency in government a reality.