Press Releases

IDW Publishing Adds iPublishCentral to its Digital Strategy

Fan-favorite comic series to be made available online

NEW YORK, NY – June XX, 2009 – IDW Publishing, the fourth largest comic book publisher in the U.S., has selected iPublishCentral, a self-service e-content platform from Impelsys, to help broaden its e-publishing strategy.  Using iPublishCentral, IDW plans to digitize 25 issues from its classic Transformers series, and use the iPublishCentral tool suite to market and sell the content online.

Under the agreement, IDW will utilize the full iPublishCentral tool suite, including ViewInside and iPublishWidget. ViewInside and iPublishWidget are viral marketing tools that help publishers promote their brand and market books on the internet. ViewInside enables readers to browse pages from a book or a comic series before they decide to buy. This option allows prospective customers to sample an issue of a comic book series, and see the high quality artwork that is so essential to bringing a comic book to life.

“E-publishing is a great way to make our comics more accessible to a new audience, enticing them to eventually try the print versions,” said Ted Adams, CEO of IDW. “iPublishCentral’s self-service model has an elegant, easy-to-use approach to digitizing content and engaging our online community. We are looking forward to the opportunity to experiment with iPublishCentral’s suite.”

In addition to ViewInside, the iPublishCentral suite includes iPublishWidget, which enables readers and authors to participate in spreading information about a title of their interest on social profile pages like Facebook and MySpace. Readers and authors can also easily add book widgets to their personal blogs. This viral marketing tool enhances visibility, sustains interest and enables sales conversions for any title.

“iPublishCentral is the perfect solution for publishers such as IDW which heavily rely on print sales of comic books, but which also want to sync print publishing with e-publishing in order to attract new customers,” said Sameer Shariff, CEO of Impelsys.  “With iPublishCentral’s sampling and viral marketing tools, IDW is able to expand its reach to audiences online, innovating along with their tech-forward audience, all without altering the authenticity of their titles.”

iPublishCentral enables publishers of any size to digitize their content for sale online and promote their brands and titles across the Web through strategic viral marketing.  Publishers can sign up for iPublishCentral’s basic, no-cost package to access standard features and functionalities, drastically reducing the cost and risk of initiating an e-publishing strategy.

About Impelsys

Impelsys, a leader in providing electronic content delivery solutions to the global publishing market, helps its clients compete, evolve and grow in an increasingly complex marketplace. Impelsys-powered technologies like iPlatform™ and VirtualPages™ and solutions like iPublishCentral help publishers deliver content online quickly and cost effectively.  Impelsys’ passion for client success has helped it build long-term partnerships with its customers becoming critical in the client’s electronic delivery strategy. Leading clients include McGraw-Hill, Elsevier, Wolters Kluwer, Benchmark Education, Marshall Cavendish and Houghton Mifflin. Headquartered in New York, Impelsys operates across North America, Europe and India. For more information, please visit www.impelsys.com.

About IDW Publishing

IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. As a leader in the horror, action, and sci-fi genres, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry including: television's #1 prime time series CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Paramount's Star Trek; Fox's Angel; Hasbro's The Transformers, and the BBC's Doctor Who. IDW's original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. In April 2008, IDW released Michael Recycle, the first title from its new children's book imprint, Worthwhile Books. More information about the company can be found at http://www.idwpublishing.com.

Media Contact:

AnnaMaria White
IDW Publishing
858.270.1315, ext 121
AnnaMaria@IDWPublishing.com