Swedish Roxen partner with Arc XP and The Philadelphia Inquirer
Matt Boggie, Chief Technology and Product Officer at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, 801 Market St.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, one of the most prominent newspapers in the US, has chosen to partner with Swedish Internet software company Roxen to modernize its print production.
“We are focused on doing one thing – and we do it so well it stands out globally”, says Roxen CEO Per Östlund.
The Philadelphia Inquirer was founded in 1829 and is regarded as one of the most prominent newspapers in the US. Moving towards a new era, focusing on efficient and qualitative print production, the media company has decided to team up with Roxen and its modern print module, Roxen Editorial Portal.
“Roxen will help us create a better product quickly and simply, leading to more creative presentations of news and a far more efficient process. Our primary priority was choosing a proven solution that fits into our systems and workflow. In evaluating Roxen it was clear that the team has worked with numerous publishers, deeply understands the nuances of print production, and was eager to continue evolving the product based on user feedback”, says Matt Boggie, Chief Technology and Product Officer at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Focused on being the perfect supplier”
Since almost five years, Roxen has teamed up with Arc XP, a division of The Washington Post. Arc XP powers more than 1,900 sites all over the world, and The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of them.
“Digital-first publishers, like The Philadelphia Inquirer, aim to deliver an exceptional product experience across platforms, including print. Roxen excels in that area, offering seamless print production for publishers on Arc XP thanks to the deep integration of our products”, says Matthew Monahan, VP of Product at Arc XP.
“We are a small company, and one could think that it is to our disadvantage, but quite the contrary. We are totally focused on being the perfect supplier when it comes to print production tools. Print is still of fundamental importance to a great deal of media companies around the world”, says Per Östlund.
“The more challenging, the better”
Roxen, founded in Linköping in the mid-nineties by a couple of Swedish Internet pioneers, has released several editorial and content management platforms over the years. Roxen Editorial Portal is now in use at close to a hundred different newspaper titles in Scandinavia, Europe, Latin America, and the US. The Philadelphia Inquirer is Roxen’s largest client so far, when it comes to reach, circulation, and number of employees in the newsroom.
“Roxen will greatly simplify the basic placement, copy editing, and adjustments that occur every single day. The vast majority of our print placements are straightforward, so simplifying that main path of workflow was a critical success factor for the project. But the seamless integration with Adobe InDesign lets our team create complex layouts and beautiful presentations without needing to resort to an alternate workflow for special projects”, says Matt Boggie at The Inquirer.
“The Philadelphia Inquirer is absolutely our most demanding partner so far, but we love demanding clients. We are in the technology business, and we solve problems – the more challenging, the better. The fact that The Inquirer, after a long evaluation process, has chosen this partnership proves that no customer is too large for Roxen”, says Per Östlund.
Efficiency, flexibility, and control
Roxen Editorial Portal helps news organizations increase efficiency and minimize costly manual work in the daily print production process without sacrificing high standards when it comes to quality and editorial control.
“During the last decade, media executives have believed that they don’t need to upgrade their print production systems since printed newspapers were supposed to vanish. But that theory has been proven wrong, repeatedly, all over the world. Print is still crucial for several reasons: to create relevance, to drive revenue, to enhance the brand. At Roxen we have invested in modern technology to push print forward”, says Per Östlund.
About Roxen AB
The software company Roxen was founded in Linköping by a couple of Internet pioneers in the mid-nineties. Roxen has since then developed several editorial and content management platforms with customers in Scandinavia, Europe, Latin America, and the US. The company is headquartered in Linköping, Sweden.
About The Philadelphia Inquirer
Since 1829, The Philadelphia Inquirer has been “asking on behalf of the people” by providing essential journalism for the diverse communities of the Philadelphia region. The Inquirer, a for-profit public benefit corporation owned by the non-profit Lenfest Institute, produces Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism that changes lives and leads to lasting reforms, reaching a growing audience of more than 10 million people a month. “In a free state, there should always be an inquirer asking on behalf of the people.” — John Norvell, Inquirer co-founder.
About Arc XP
Arc XP is an industry-leading, cloud-based digital experience platform and a division of The Washington Post. The platform now powers more than 1,900 sites around the world, reaching over 1.5 billion unique users each month.