6250 page enumerated with #Adobe #Indesign, variable data, 2 days to unfreeze the GUI, 800MB for a single file, impossible to work even locally, we gave up! 👎
6250 page enumerated with #Speedata #Publisher, no need for variable data, 5' to prepare the layout, 580KB of files, 15' to export the file... 🏆
Converting image in base64 will be very inefficient... Using text for images perhaps it is not such a brilliant idea…
However, I had another intuition, it could be possible to replicate the same behavior of the raw image files, where the changes are stored into an XML file, in that case it will change only the XML while the picture would be untouched.
Now, cause #Gimp supports non-destructive editing it might be possible for instance...
Dear @GIMP team and @CmykStudent it is not unreasonable, I guess, to consider the idea of a format, that could be called GMF as in "GIMP or GEGL Meta File", where you have a file saved in a compressed format, for instance jpg2000 cause support transparency and can be wrapped into a PDF, and have the GMF file storing all the changes, when you open this GMF file it consolidates everything into Gimp. The key would be in having a good batch processor to flatten these meta files on the fly for software like #Scribus or #Speedata #Publisher.
In terms of version control software you would uploaded or downloaded those images (already compressed) just once, and then only dealing with the XML GMF files. Perhaps won't be the most savvy energy format but it will spare a lot of time and bandwith... 🤔
New stable release 5.2 of the speedata Publisher!
The XML parser has been completely rewritten, XPath got new functions, and HTML/CSS support keeps improving.
Faster, cleaner, more reliable – and already preparing for a Rust-powered future 🦀
Read more: https://news.speedata.de/2025/10/14/version-5_2_released/
#speedata #publishing #xml #rust #golang #opensource #typesetting
Big Improvements Under the Hood We’re happy to announce a new development snapshot of the speedata Publisher! This release comes with major internal improvements, cleaner architecture, and a bunch of small but meaningful user-facing enhancements. Rewritten XML Parser The XML parser has been completely reimplemented in Go, with a stronger focus on correctness, performance, and test coverage. It now keeps track of the originating file when using XInclude, which makes debugging and error reporting much easier.
The correlations between #typesetting engines to their #terminal text editors are irrefutable:
* #TeXLaTeX is #emacs.
* #SILE is #neovim.
* #Typst is #helix.
* #WeasyPrint is #nano.
* #Speedata is #microeditor
Now back to your regularly scheduled indentation.
@rk the other two options would be #SILE and #typst.
Other follow-ups groupings would also be mashups like #speedata / prince / etc. and browser tech options like #weasyprint / #pagedjs / etc.
See also https://polytype.dev for some comparisons I was/am working on.
I've recently launched an idea at https://polytype.dev — a sort of Rosetta Stone for #typesetting engines.
The goal is to build up a sample gallery that showcases both differences and similarities between the input and output of #SILE, #TeXLaTeX, #Typst, #speedata, #weasyprint, #pagedjs, #groff, #satysfi, #patoline, and potentially others.
The source code is at https://github.com/alerque/polytype and contributions are very welcome! The UI in particular could use the touch of a front-end developer!
XTS version 0.0.11 is released. Download as always at https://github.com/speedata/xts/releases
In preparation for automatic testing XTS can now create reproducible PDFs (identical checksum on each run). This makes it easier to compare a PDF file against a reference PDF.
Also add the support for muliple runs.
A new example is online at https://github.com/speedata/xts-examples/tree/main/introduction/planets which show how to create a table of contents.
#xts #speedata
"When you don't know how to make a business"
There is a #DTP software I'd like to introduce to my workflow (#speedatapublisher) that to add trivial things such as bleed areas and crop marks requires $180mo subscription.
The Industry standard, called Adobe #InDesign, full version costs instead $20mo...
How can I justify to my boss that we need to spend $1800 yearly to have bleed area and crop marks is something that I won't ever know, because I won't waste my time for such lost cause.
Congratulations #Speedata for losing hundreds of prospect customers with this smart marketing strategy... 
🧊 freezr 🥶
speedata
Caleb Maclennan
❄️ freezr ❄️