From hard copy to hosting: Ingenta’s “one-stop-shop”

Sophisticated functionality for older content

Ingenta, the technology provider connecting the publishing and information industries, today announces new digitization capabilities which enable it to accept hard copy as an entry format to its industry-leading content processing and enhancement services. The announcement follows successful completion of a pilot with the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW), which recently signed with Ingenta to add a 12-year backfile to IngentaConnect.

Like other e-journal hosting and technology providers, Ingenta has always accepted PDF, XML, SGML and other electronic file formats for its comprehensive processing and hosting services. However, publishers rarely hold such data for older content, and most have been reluctant to digitize because of the associated costs, or lack of specialist knowledge. Ingenta's unique ability to create fully-functional, interlinked backfiles from hard copy means publishers no longer need to outsource digitization separately, and can benefit from the significant savings represented by a combined service that also incorporates content enrichment and hosting.

"Digitization is such a very hot topic at the moment," notes Douglas Wright, Vice President of IngentaConnect. "It's an obvious step for us, and surprising that other e-journal hosts seem to have left this area to specialist archiving organizations – which don't tend to add the full range of possible value to older content. We can now process older content as we would current data, bolting on sophisticated functionality such as OpenURL-compliant reference linking."

Paul Napoli, US Sales Manager, adds: "The obvious advantage of our digitization capabilities is that publishers retain full control of the electronic content, and it can be accessed via IngentaConnect's various licensing models – including subscription, or pay-per-view at article or issue level. The content isn't necessarily bundled into a single licensed package or sold under someone else's terms – but thanks to our groundbreaking technologies, publishers can still benefit from affordable price points."

Donald Davidson from UFAW adds: "We are looking forward to working closely with Ingenta over the coming months to drive this project forward, and hope to soon be in the position to provide our customers with fully interactive print backfiles online."