Press Release

Concord, MA, April 2, 2001 – North Atlantic Publishing Systems today announced the debut of the NAPS Translation System, an XML-based conversion solution tailored to the needs of editorial and production users. NTS is a sophisticated translation engine, which provides easy-to-use, automated conversion from Quark and Word/RTF to XML, and from XML to HTML. With NTS in place, content developed for print media can be converted and re-formatted for web publication in a matter of moments. NTS offers a revolutionary cross-media capability answering the needs of publishers and fulfilling the promise of XML.

"Foremost in the minds of many of our customers is the need to evolve their publishing processes to accommodate both print and digital publishing," said Peter Baumgartner, President of North Atlantic. "Our latest development efforts have been geared toward helping our customers bridge the gap as efficiently as possible without requiring that users dramatically change their working habits or abandon favorite applications."

"If you use QuarkXPress for page layout or Microsoft Word for editorial and are looking for ways to streamline cross-media publishing, NTS can provide exceptional conversion efficiencies. NTS has been built from the ground up with the editorial user in mind," noted Mr. Baumgartner. "We want our users to continue to be able to work in Word, as they have always done, and yet have content that can easily be converted into XML and back. This is the role of NTS. Editorial uses of XML are different from the application of XML for business communication. Editorial usage requires a specialized product."

·        Automated Quark-to-XML Conversion

·        Automated Word/RTF-to-XML Converison

·        Automated XML-to-HTML Conversion

Creating NTS Translators involves using a web-based interface to map standardized page elements, such as Quark boxes, paragraph styles, and character styles, to an XML tagging hierarchy. Once translators have been set up, they will run without supervision by responding to user requests for conversion. When NTS is being used in conjunction with NPS 2000, a user simply highlights the document to be converted, then chooses the appropriate XML translator from a pop-up list. When NTS is being used in stand-alone mode (without NPS 2000), then users submit files for translation by dropping them into hot folders.

·        Leverages QuarkXPress and Microsoft Word investments

·        Speeds production of HTML content

·        Provides easy pop-up list interface for end-users

·        Provides flexible, browser-based interface for template-building and system administration

·        Uses existing DTDs or NTS’s Auto-Build feature for efficient creation of XML documents

·        Uses preferred HTML design applications, such as Dreamweaver, to build HTML templates

·        Supports XSLT as an alternative to HTML templates for conversion from XML to HTML

·        Client-Server, with centralized input and output folders (or integration with NPS 2000)

·        Server platform is Windows NT or Windows 2000 Server

·        Client platforms can be Macintosh or Windows

·        Intranet architecture, using web browsers as the client interface

·        Fully scalable, accommodating small or large workgroups

North Atlantic Publishing Systems develops web-based workflow management solutions for publishers. Editorial workflow management, integration of QuarkXPress and Microsoft Word, cross-platform support, and extensive scheduling and tracking features all contribute to NAPS appeal. For more information about North Atlantic Publishing Systems and its products, visit the company's web site at http://www.napsys.com.

Alice Fackre

North Atlantic Publishing Systems, Inc.

(978) 371-8989

alice@napsys.com

© North Atlantic Publishing Systems, Inc. 2000. All rights reserved.