TRVL releases free cloud-based publishing tool

Indi travel publisher TRVL built its own software to publish its iPad-only magazine, and is now giving away the software to help others create their own publications, paidContent reported.

The software, called PRSS, launched last week.  It allows users to drag and drop Web objects to design pages, and stores magazines on Amazon’s cloud hosts, thus saving on distribution.

Creators of the tool are Amsterdam-based entrepreneur Michel Elings and photographer and writer Jochem Wijnands.

“Distribution costs for Woodwing, InDesign and all the others are so expensive. People were downloading terabytes of data from our magazines, this wasn’t cheap to us. We also had to pay Apple a 30 percent cut and Adobe takes a 30 percent – you have only 40 percent left!” Elings told paidContent.

The tool is currently for producing a publication optimised for the iPad only, but the iPhone and other iOS devices will follow soon, PRSS explained in an online announcement.