Traditional typesetting continues to be the main strength and identity of Lapiz Digital. “We have built and leveraged our skill sets, especially in mathematical and engineering journals and educational titles,” says head of operations Meena Prakash. “Flexibility in production scheduling to meet tight deadlines, stringent quality control, and meticulous project management capabilities are our main selling points.”
More small and medium publishers have approached Lapiz Digital for typesetting combined with e-book conversions in recent years. “Although cost remains the deciding factor for these clients, our project management team has been instrumental in making the publishers comfortable from the moment they approach us,” says Prakash, whose team is used to onboarding and supporting new, and nervous, independent publishers looking for help with their titles. “This enables us to build long-term relationships with them and generate more revenues in return.”
A higher demand for e-book conversions saw the Lapiz team working on EPUB2-to-EPUB3 projects, enhanced audio e-books, and accessible EPUB3 content. “We have processed well over one million pages in the past six months, covering both English and non-English content,” Prakash says. “The huge volume and rising demand have prompted us to develop various tools for finding and fixing errors accurately, effortlessly, and speedily.”
Educational projects requiring content authoring with multiple functionalities—such as interactive games and activities, puzzles, and quizzes—are also in high demand. “Our team is trained in various content-authoring tools, including SoftChalk, Media Library, and H5P Activity, which are mostly compatible with numerous devices, thus making content rendering that much easier,” says Prakash, whose team has been busy generating interactive elements and working on K–12 projects, especially those in English and Spanish.
Though VR and MR projects are more popular than ever, their adoption has been markedly slower than that of other technologies. “Prohibitive costs of hardware and development aside, getting skilled and creative staff to produce appropriate content is a big challenge,” Prakash says. Her team recently completed one VR project involving simple but engaging learning apps that students can use to easily learn and understand mathematical concepts.
Software solutions have gained a lot of traction since the start of the year. Lapiz Digital’s proprietary Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application, for instance, is a user- and mobile-friendly solution that keeps track of transactions and is applicable across different industries. Deep customization has enabled the app to be integrated with a client’s existing ERP, and new features and tools continue to be added and upgraded.
Digital products are here to stay and grow, Prakash says. “To better serve this trend, we continue to upskill our staff in new content management platforms, build teams specializing in image and alt-text, and develop tools and automation for e-book conversions.”
