Courier's Coursepack.com Protects IP
Creates New Revenues for Publishers

On college campuses, where one is never very far from a photocopy machine, publishers find it hard to protect their intellectual property (IP). The folks at Coursepack.com believe that if they can make it easy for professors and college bookstores to produce their coursepacks while abiding by copyright laws, then they will do just that, generating a new revenue stream for publishers in the process.

Coursepack.com puts customized course materials in the hands of students by helping professors and college bookstores every step of the way. Through the website or on the phone, professors can order, design and revise their coursepacks, view estimates of the cost to students, and identify the bookstore where the coursepacks will be sold. Coursepack.com does everything else, including picking up the course materials at the professor's office.

Coursepack.com is one way that Courier is working to protect the intellectual property rights of our publishing customers. It's new, but it's catching on and growing fast. This year we expect to deliver over $1 million to publishers in royalties.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the original publication of The Merck Manual, the world's most trusted medical reference. To celebrate, Merck & Co., Inc. with Courier's help, has published a Centennial Edition (the 17th) in an easier to read format and packaged it with a complementary facsimile of the First Edition: Merck's 1899 Manual.

At 192 pages, compared to today's 2,833, Merck's 1899 Manual contains much medical advice that still rings true today, such as prescribing digitalis for heart failure. However, it also recommends that asthma sufferers smoke cigarettes, making one appreciate the past century's many advances in drug development and medical treatment.

Courier and Merck have enjoyed a rewarding relationship for many years. National Publishing manufactured this year's Centennial Edition, just as they have with each edition for over half a century. Courier Westford and National teamed up to craft the facsimile edition by carefully scanning a 100 year old original book before printing and binding - all using methods that 1899 bookmakers couldn't imagine.

Lightweight paper and thumb indexing make The Merck Manual very compact and easy to use - a perfect fit with National Publishing's specialized expertise. After 100 years the demand is higher than ever - the Centennial Edition is already in its second printing after enjoying a huge first pass at National.

Courier Corporation's Year 2000 Task Force continues to monitor the Company's Y2K project, which remains on schedule with internal compliance due by September 30th, 1999. Y2K efforts are now focused on planning for the millennium event and developing business continuity and contingency plans.

Planning for the millennium event includes documenting year end shutdown and start-up procedures, as well as testing these procedures and identifying the necessary resources. Business continuity planning encompasses keeping essential business functions going, including maintaining an uninterrupted supply of manufactured product and servicing our customers.

The Company has identified mission critical business processes in the following key areas: Customer Services, Sales/Marketing, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Human Resources and Finance. These processes are being evaluated based on events related to Year 2000 and appropriate contingency plans are being developed. Some of the processes being addressed are customer communications, receipt/inventory of materials, plant operations, payroll processing and order/shipping status.

The preceding is a Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure under the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act.

Jennifer Mangelson has rejoined Courier Stoughton as an Account Manager in Production Services. Jennifer's previous service included assignments in Prepress and Quality, where she was a key contributor to Stoughton's original ISO 9002 certification.

National Publishing welcomes Wallace (Wally) Dobbs as Printing Manager. Wally brings over 20 years in the printing industry and is responsible for Pressroom, Prepress and all related printing functions.

Mark Cobleigh has been promoted to Digital Prepress Supervisor at Courier Westford.

Right from the Start Tip of the Month
Image Linking

When you receive APR (Automatic Picture Replacement) and OPI (Open Prepress Interface) for placement in your layouts, it's important that you do not rename them. The name of the file serves as the link to the high-res image, and a name change causes delays while the link is reestablished.