From the Editors December 19, 1994 Issue

Transition to new computer system

The Editors

During the next two to three years our readers will see some improvements in the timeliness, layout, and design of the Sentinel, as well as in the Sentinel's sister magazines, The Christian Science Journal and The Herald of Christian Science. Since the late seventies we've been using the same basic computer platform to publish these periodicals. In recent years we've added piece by piece, four other kinds of computer systems. While we have certainly benefited from the improved performance and capacity these five systems afford, we realize that one single system would be the most advantageous.

We've just begun a transition to networked Apple Macintosh computers that use the Quark Publishing System (QPS). QPS allows us to keep all Sentinel, Journal, and Herald articles, testimonies, features, editorials, and announcements on one system from the time they are scanned in and ready for initial editing, through to the layout, composition, and design stages.

Our readers may also be interested to learn that on November 8, The Christian Science Monitor began using this QPS system to produce its feature pages, with news, opinion, and editorial pages to follow in coming months. The new system, which is being purchased through a lease, is helping the Monitor's staff to eliminate duplicated work and streamline the process of producing the paper, making it easier to introduce new features and effect design changes. The Christian Science Monitor has for the past two years been a test site for QPS and produced the first pages ever printed using the system. Having both the Monitor and the Sentinel, Journal, and Herald on the same system makes integration of resources possible. The Monitor's daily religious article, as well as photographic images, can be more easily transferred between departments.