Mainland Media’s acquisition of Christchurch Star (NZ) has  contributed to a rush of Roxen installations for Melbourne-based agent APS.

Mainland (now Christchurch Star Company) has upped its installation of the Swedish browser-based Editorial Portal from 15 to 30 seats across its Christchurch and Oamaru offices following its purchase of APN New Zealand’s South Island publications.

The family-owned business now produces 35 publications from the two offices.

Managing director Pier Smulders says the investment has revolutionised newsroom operations, with creative and editorial teams working seamlessly together on live pages. “We can create content from any of our locations, including full page make-up across all of our publications,” he says. “The software has also greatly reduced downtime in sending files to our printers, and in future will allow us to publish across multiple platforms – including print, online, smart devices and mobiles.”

APS has also installed a 15 seat Roxen system at Global Media’s Adelaide office, which produces high-end monthlies the Adelaide Review and Melbourne Review, as well as other publications. Luke Stegemann, general manager of Global Intertrade’s media and publishing division says the company had urgently needed a system which offered both print and web facilities. He praised the smooth implementation, which saw the first publication go live within two weeks.

APS sales director Terry Flynn says the installations – together with PageMasters’ two-year-old installion in Australia –heralds industry acceptance of web-based editorial systems in the region.

Roxen Editorial Portal is a wholly web-based editorial solution for print and online publishing, and integrates with Adobe InDesign. It is used by more than 120 publications, newspapers and websites around the world, including Metro International and Shaw Newspapers in the USA.

At Mainland and Global, Roxen has been integrated with APS’ locally-developed applications including QuickLayout page planner, widely used in Australia and New Zealand where it accounts for a claimed 70 per cent of all publications.