B2C catalog
Many general public catalogs (B2C) are characterized by a very open layout (development, situation, atmosphere etc …) However, with many references listed in each page. Although information about listed products is generally less detailed than for professional catalogs.
It is not uncommon to find :
- Comparative table
- Links to other pages
- Cross-selling
- A table of contents
- Topic or alphabetical index
- Public prices
- Control codes
- Barcodes and other QR codes
All these points are usually easily treated in the case of structured documents made with Database Publishing. Is it conceivable to combine the advantages of database publishing while maintaining a free layout?
DB-Assisted publishing
For catalogs with free layout, but that need to recover a maximum of information in a database, it is possible to associate a desktop publishing software like InDesign to a Database Publishing software like Leaflet. We then have the best of two worlds:
The productivity of Leaflet to generate the rough pages and the power of InDesign for final layout :
- According to the prepared flatplan, Leaflet puts all the necessary objects on the page. On this occasion it pre-formats the tables and other structured text to simplify the life of the designer.
- He may then focus on his creative work by moving and shaping objects at its disposal.
- He can already start work before all data is available or in a final version. An Indesign “plug-in” makes future updates possible.
