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In Munich, Gruner+Jahr publishes among others its well-known titles: P.M. Magazin, Emotion, Eltern, and Eltern Family.

With WoodWing's Smart Magazines, all of these magazines are produced efficiently and reliably.

Some magazines have become institutions in Germany, faithfully serving generations of loyal readers. That definitely applies to P.M. Magazin and Eltern.

Group of ten magazine titles
P.M. magazin, the leading Gruner+Jahr general interest magazine, has been addressing the major questions of the future since 1978. It’s often the first magazine to reveal future trends, and it shows where the ideas for tomorrow’s world originate. It’s not afraid to tackle the tough questions and issues of the day. P.M. dedicates its pages to many topics, like technology, natural sciences, medicine and psychology, nature and environment, history, philosophy and anthropology, adventure and culture, as well as multimedia and the Internet.

P.M. Magazin is a monthly with a paid circulation of 350,000 at €3.30 per copy. Nine additional titles are part of the P.M. Group, including the monthly history magazine P.M. History and P.M. Fragen&Antworten (questions&answers).
 

Established: 1966
Ever since its launch in 1966, Eltern has undisputedly been the market and quality leader among German parenting magazines. With a paid circulation of over 340,000, it enjoys the trust and respect of its many readers. Thirty years later, in 1996, Eltern Family was born, addressing families with children from four to 14 years old. It offers valuable advice, both from recognized experts and experienced mothers and fathers, as well as tips for a happy family life. 

The women’s glossy Emotion, founded in the spring of 2006, discusses themes like personal development, relationships, career, leisure, friendship and family. Stories are comprehensive, thorough, and are written from a psychological point of view. Emotion is a monthly with a paid circulation of 130,000 at €4.50 per copy.

File system-based workflow
For a long time, Gruner+Jahr produced its titles with conventional publishing methods, without any editorial system. All files (layouts, text, images, graphics and PDFs) were managed in directories on the server’s file system. This occasionally hampered the overview of current production status for individual pages and spreads. Additional central requirements included continuous status control of each and every page, stable and uninterrupted workflow and increased data security.

Simultaneous processing
Frank Neumann, responsible for editorial technology, points out an additional important goal. “For us, it was essential that multiple persons could work simultaneously on the same pages. And finally, the new system should be able to deliver speedy workflow processes and to clearly increase efficiency,” he said.

Furthermore, the new system should be platform independent, because a Windows server is used in combination with Macintosh workstations for editing and graphics.

New layout program
Gruner+Jahr selected the WoodWing Enterprise editorial system for all the magazines mentioned above: Eltern, Eltern Family, Emotion and the 10 P.M. Group titles, although this also required a different layout program. Neumann had already obtained hands-on experience with Enterprise during a testing phase at Gruner+Jahr, after which the evaluation phase could be completed quickly.

Transition in eight days
A&F Computersysteme AG, an experienced WoodWing system integrator, was selected to implement and monitor the process. In their caring and capable hands, the technical transition of each editorial team took only eight days.

Frank Neumann explained: “During implementation, we paid special attention to careful definition of the complex editorial and graphics workflows, as well as their efficient interconnection. We wanted to maximize the huge efficiency potential of the system.”

Everyday advantages
Introduction of the new system took full advantage of the high acceptance among his colleagues; editors as well as graphic artists. Neumann was also very pleased about the short training phase: “The teams were more than willing to get to know the system quickly and efficiently. It clearly showed that everyone felt very positive about the everyday production advantages.”

Immediate results
The move from conventional production methods to Smart Magazines was a smooth one. And even more important, the advantages became visible immediately after the transition. According to Frank Neumann, speed, efficiency, clarity and workflow organization were all improved, starting with the very first issue produced with the new system.

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