Sotheby's, one of the world's preeminent art auction houses since 1744, produces hundreds of diverse catalogs annually for its auction houses throughout the world. Sotheby's had different catalog systems in eight different countries as a result of new businesses it had acquired, all using different and in many cases outdated technology.

Sotheby's sought a way to move to a single global catalog system that was fundamentally based on the XML specification. "XML enables us to separate the structure of the content from its presentation but still have the flexibility to include basic styling information in the XML if we choose," said Steve Spink, Sotheby's Content Systems Program Manager. "XML enables us to standardize on a single format for both print and web publishing."

Sotheby's selected DPCI and its U.K. partner Easypress Technologies to implement a solution that would allow Sotheby's to import XML into QuarkXPress and produce catalogs without compromising either design integrity or workflow. Together DPCI and Easypress ran parallel workflow analysis projects in both London and New York. Thereafter, both companies worked together in concert to globally roll out Atomik Roundtrip technology.

A recent project audit by Sotheby's demonstrated that there are several hundred catalogs being created with over 600 people worldwide using the technology. Additionally, staff use Atomik Roundtrip to generate galleys with image thumbnails, something that was not possible just a few short years ago. All content is used for both print catalogs and the company's website, dramatically reducing production time and data re-entry errors.

DPCI: Implementing global multi-channel publishing systems using XML technology