Siliconchips Services Ltd.

Menu
Let’s talk

Retaining Technical Skills in Publishing Production: The Hidden Key to Sustainable Success

Retaining Technical Skills in Publishing-Production

The publishing industry is undergoing profound change. Automation, AI-assisted workflows and cloud-based systems now shape many stages of production. While these advancements bring efficiency, they also create a misconception: that technology alone can replace deep technical expertise. In reality, the opposite is true. As processes become more advanced, the demand for skilled publishing professionals—whether in-house or within outsourcing partners—grows even stronger.

Technical competency remains the backbone of efficient, high-quality publishing production. From handling complex XML structures to navigating LaTeX-heavy scientific manuscripts, the industry still depends heavily on people who understand the nuances behind these systems. Retaining these skills is not just beneficial; it is a strategic necessity for publishers who want to maintain accuracy, workflow stability and long-term growth.

This article explores why technical skill retention matters more than ever, the risks of losing it and how strong partnerships supported by publishing outsourcing services, digital publishing services and editorial support services create a sustainable path forward for journals, books and open access programmes.

Why Technical Skills Still Matter in a Digital-First Publishing World

With automation tools becoming more accessible, some publishers assume they can operate with fewer production specialists. But automation is only as strong as the expertise guiding it. Technical skills continue to play a vital role in areas such as:

1. XML and Structured Content Expertise

JATS XML, NLM XML and proprietary variants require precise tagging and validation. Variations in author submissions, new article types and evolving platform requirements mean errors can easily occur.

Trained XML specialists:

  • Ensure accuracy in semantic tagging
  • Maintain consistency across thousands of articles
  • Identify structural issues that automated tools often miss
  • Prevent downstream publishing errors

2. LaTeX Handling for STEM and Complex Content

Scientific and technical manuscripts frequently include formulae, tables, vectors and specialised symbols. Automated conversions can break LaTeX equations or misinterpret mathematical expressions.

Experienced LaTeX experts:

  • Correct and restructure equations
  • Handle packages and custom macros
  • Ensure print and digital outputs maintain integrity

3. EPUB & Digital Format Mastery

EPUB, EPUB3 accessibility, fixed-layout formats and platform-specific guidelines require updated knowledge and hands-on experience.

Skilled digital publishing teams:

  • Validate files for Apple Books, Google Play, Kindle and library platforms
  • Manage accessibility tagging
  • Troubleshoot metadata, TOC, navigation and schema issues

4. Production Automation and Workflow Tools

Publishers increasingly use automated pagination, XML-first workflows, and InDesign XML frameworks. But these systems require human oversight.

Technical specialists:

  • Develop scripts and automation rules
  • Monitor error logs and correct exceptions
  • Manage version control and output templates
  • Improve workflows based on recurring patterns

The Real Cost of Losing Technical Expertise

Losing skilled production professionals creates measurable risks:

1. Slower Turnaround Times

New or inexperienced staff take longer to understand journals, house styles and platform requirements. Outsourcing without skill continuity can also lead to frequent onboarding cycles.

2. Higher Error Rates

Errors in XML, rendering, metadata or layout directly impact:

  • Discoverability
  • Compliance
  • Indexing
  • Author satisfaction
  • Production budgets

Technical mistakes often multiply across systems, making them expensive to fix.

3. Disrupted Workflows

Experienced staff maintain stability. Without them, journal schedules slip, book projects stall and OA content backlogs grow.

4. Weakened Publisher–Vendor Relationships

Long-term collaboration with outsourcing partners builds institutional memory. Frequent turnover—on either side—erodes trust and consistency.

5. Lost Ability to Innovate

Teams without deep technical grounding struggle to:

  • Adopt new platforms
  • Implement automation
  • Ensure accessibility
  • Improve turnaround time
  • Optimise metadata

Innovation requires foundational technical strength, not just tools.

Why Retaining Technical Skills Through Trusted Outsourcing Partners Works

Not all publishers have the capacity to maintain large internal production teams. This is where publishing outsourcing services and digital publishing services create strong strategic value. Partnering with skilled production teams ensures:

1. Consistency and Reliability

A stable team understands:

  • House style rules
  • Editorial preferences
  • Technical workflows
  • Quality benchmarks

This results in predictable, high-quality output.

2. Access to Multi-Format Expertise

Outsourcing partners often maintain specialists in:

  • XML
  • LaTeX
  • InDesign XML automation
  • Accessibility conversion
  • EPUB3
  • STEM workflows
  • Multi-channel publishing

This expertise is costly to build internally.

3. Faster Scalability

Seasonal journal peaks, special issues and book surges become manageable when skilled teams can expand capacity quickly without sacrificing quality.

4. Reduced Risk

Experienced teams prevent issues before they occur. They troubleshoot proactively and protect publishers from production failures.

5. Ongoing Skill Development

Premium outsourcing companies continually train teams on:

  • New standards
  • New platforms
  • Emerging formats
  • Automation upgrades

Publishers benefit without investing in full-time technical training.

How Technical Skill Retention Strengthens OA, Books and Journal Production

Across publishing segments, technical expertise shapes output quality:

Open Access Publishing

OA requires:

  • Precision metadata
  • XML compliance
  • Repository alignment
  • Rapid turnaround

Skill continuity ensures OA workflows remain efficient and compliant.

Books & Monographs

Complex layouts, cross-referencing, accessibility and EPUB requirements demand structured expertise.

Academic & STM Journals

Publishing accuracy is non-negotiable in STEM-heavy titles. Skilled staff ensure:

  • Correct equations
  • Accurate metadata
  • Accessible formats
  • On-time issue releases

Technical skill is not optional—it is foundational.

Building a Sustainable Publishing Future

The future of publishing will blend automation, intelligent tools and human expertise. But long-term success will depend on retaining and nurturing technical skills—not replacing them.

Forward-thinking publishers understand that while technology accelerates workflows, skilled professionals ensure quality. Whether through internal teams or long-term outsourcing partners, retaining strong technical talent remains the hidden key to publishing excellence.

Strengthen your publishing workflows with expert production support.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are technical skills important in publishing production?

Technical skills ensure accurate XML tagging, LaTeX handling, EPUB validation and workflow stability. They prevent errors, speed up processes and maintain quality across digital formats.

Can automation replace technical publishing expertise?

Automation is helpful but not a replacement. Complex manuscripts, STEM content, metadata issues and structural variations require human judgement and specialised knowledge.

How do publishing outsourcing services help retain skill quality?

Outsourcing partners maintain trained teams who understand standards, publishing platforms, house styles and automation systems. This ensures continuity and reduces risk.

Which roles are most critical for technical skill retention?

Key roles include: XML engineers, LaTeX specialists, typesetters, digital conversion experts, InDesign XML automation specialists, QA analysts and metadata managers.

How does technical skill retention support open access publishing?

OA workflows depend on accuracy and speed. Retained expertise ensures compliant metadata, correctly structured XML and consistent delivery for repositories and indexing services.

Does outsourcing reduce quality control for publishers?

Not when managed well. Skilled outsourcing teams often enhance quality by bringing advanced tools, multi-format experience and long-term workflow familiarity.

What technical challenges require expert intervention?

Examples include broken LaTeX equations, incorrect XML structure, EPUB navigation errors, automation script failures, complex table layouts and accessibility compliance issues.

How does skill retention improve turnaround times?

Experienced teams work faster, anticipate issues and avoid rework. This shortens production cycles for journals, books and OA content.

Why is technical expertise essential for global publishing?

Global markets require adherence to diverse platform specifications, regional accessibility laws, repository requirements and multi-format compatibility—areas where expertise is crucial.

What is the best way for publishers to secure long-term technical support?

A hybrid model works best: maintain core internal expertise and partner with a reliable production company offering digital publishing services and editorial support services.

What our clients love about us

Shahid and his team treated me and my publishing project as if they were their most important responsibility, even though I knew my book was a very small job for them. The level of detail, passion for their work, and professionalism they brought was impressive, and I felt throughout our engagement that I was in the very best of hands. The outcome is a beautiful book that meets all of my publishing needs perfectly, and presents me in a truly sophisticated way.

Shahid and his team have earned my highest esteem and recommendation.

Lisa Petrilli

Founder & CEO Higher Conscious Leadership LLC

I am very grateful to my friend Geoff Hudson- Searle, who introduced me to Shahid Chowdhary, Founder and CEO of Siliconchips Services.

Shahid’s personal touch, along with his dedicated team, pulled together My “Tall Tree Sculpture Series” manuscript into an outstanding digital book. As an artist, I was amazed with how they edited and enhanced my artistic visions.

Thank you for your expertise and patience in making the numerous changes and revisions to bring this project to fruition.

Liam Herbert

Visionary Artist

We recently worked with Siliconchips Services for the editing and publication of my daughter’s book, and we were very pleased with the experience.

The team was professional, responsive, and helpful throughout the process. They provided thoughtful editorial input and helped us navigate the publishing steps with clarity and care. We appreciated their attention to detail and the respect they showed for the original work.

The final result was of high quality, and we’re happy with how everything turned out. I would gladly recommend Siliconchips Services to anyone looking for reliable and supportive publishing assistance.

Dr. Nilu Mammadova

I would just like to thank Shahid and his colleagues who helped me out on a very difficult editorial and design issue that I had. I couldn’t figure out how to get round a particular problem that I had and I was delighted to say that Shahid and his team were able to advise a way forward, and resolved it quickly and very efficiently. I have always found Siliconchips services to be highly professional and accurate, and I look forward to working with them again soon.

Bruce Nicholson

Editor, Oxford

“I have been working with Siliconchips for six years now as the editor of a scholarly journal that publishes 140 articles per yer. Our articles demand careful attention to the detail of graphs, tables, typefaces, and symbols. I am very satisfied with the high level of quality that Siliconchips brings to the typographical challenges posed by our articles. Their copy-editing and typesetting services are first-rate. The team is fast, diligent and resilient. All queries are answered within 24h, and accurately incorporated into the final proofs. The team is patient, courteous and precise with even the most demanding tasks. It is a real pleasure to be able to work with such professionals.”

PROF. DO. JOHN ROORYCK

Editor-in-Chief, Glossa: a journal of general linguistics

“We have been working with Shahid Chowdhary for a number of years and the service has been exemplary. Over that time we have had numerous books typeset, with content ranging from simple to complex and that includes recreating engineering books from old files are a data loss. We also put all our eBook conversions to Shahid. In all they do, under the emanating from Shahid’s leadership, Siliconchips is totally professional, timely and observant – all the qualities a publisher needs! Whatever your size and requirement, don’t hesitate to make that call or send that e-mail to Siliconchips.”

KEITH WHITTLE

MD, Whittles Publishing

“I am delighted to have Shahid as a friend and mentor. He is a superb professional in the digital publishing space. He helped me transform my two ebooks for digital selling. Highly recommend for any such projects. You will find him available and always humble to help you.”

HAMMAD SIDDIQUI

“Oneworld Publications have used Siliconchips as one of our main typesetters (both for print and ebooks) for a number of years, and we have always found their service to be excellent, professional, accurate and fast.”

Team, Oneworld Publications

London

Corporate Social Responsibility

Contributing Towards Stronger Communities

Proud to support:

Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility

Accessibility

Scroll to Top

Umesh Nair

International Executive with focus on Global Growth -20 years working experience in Germany, Singapore, India,Asia, Middle East, Switzerland, Europe across a cultural multi-functional environment.

Specialties: Business Strategy & International partnerships, Global Alliances network in Startup, Technology,Airlines, Aviation, Travel, online travel, E-commerce Business, Luxury Retail, BPO, b2b, ERP Software BusinessDevelopment – Sales, Go to Market, Growth Specialist, Incubation, Entrepreneur in Residence, Senior ClientPartner, Consulting, Market Research – Coleman Research, Lynk Global, Guidepoint, Insight Alpha, GersonLehrman Group.

Umesh Nair

Mr. Manoj Mehta

Mr. Manoj Mehta, is a Science Graduate and a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), practicing as a Chartered Accountant since 1984. He had the great opportunity to complete his article training with M/s. S.V.Ghatalia & Co. (now part of E&Y, one of the big four Consulting Firms in India).

He has got vast experience of 40 years in the profession. His core strength is in the field of Finance, as a Corporate Advisor to public, private and multinational companies in the field of financial planning, raising debt and equity, structuring,  etc. His forte is strategic business and financial planning, compliances, deployment of funds, optimum utilization, budgeting, Preparation and analyzing of qualitative Project feasibility reports, anything and everything related to advising on financial decision making.

He holds trusteeship of a few charitable trust to show his philanthropy side.

He has held leadership roles and has been in the forefront in articulating values and beliefs in a team building approach.

Manoj Mehta

Paul Evans

Dr Paul Evans has a long career in publishing in STM and business sectors since graduating from Oxford University and first working as a computer programmer. He worked for Reed Elsevier in a variety of roles for nearly 25 years (in UK, Netherlands and China) up to, in later years, Senior Vice President at the global headquarters in Amsterdam. He then became Managing Director for SAGE Publishing’s Asia Pacific company at its hub in Singapore for 7 years, doubling its size and performance. Latterly he was for three years Director of Nature Research China with Springer Nature in Shanghai and an adviser to the Chinese government for his industry, and then on return to the UK during Covid he has worked for Maverick Publishing Specialists as a consultant and Charlesworth Publishing Services as Director of Partnerships.

He has also taken a strong interest in education initially as a teacher in Japan, as a lecturer and course leader in Publishing Studies at a Scottish university, and now in working in UK education areas.

Bharath Ramadoss

Head of Production and Operations, has been with Siliconchips since 2015. In his time with us, he has managed a team of dedicated and experienced production team members, both in books, journals development.

A graduate of University of Madras, Bharath has a strong experience in quality, complex workflows in the publishing industry. His skill set includes e-publishing, project and team management, XML and HTML, content development, workflow improvement, and now working closely with technology team and developing various tools and platforms.

He enjoys cricket, and you will find him playing every Saturday.

Bharath-R

Becca Mosher

Becca Mosher, US Editorial Project Manager, helped to develop the Siliconchips editorial department in 2015, and her team continues to grow. A graduate of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Missouri – Columbia, Becca has been in the publishing industry since 2007, where she has specialized in e-book project management, editorial management, and editing in a wide variety of styles at all levels, from proofreading to developmental editing. She is proficient in several languages and adept at client relations.

An avid board gamer, Becca teaches different games at a “Learn to Play” night once a week.

becca

Abhijit Pathre

Abhijit Pathre, our Director of Account Management, manages data, accounts, delivery and operations, and maintains client relationships. He is highly experienced in the technology field and possesses excellent communication and problem-resolution skills; prior to joining Siliconchips Services, he was with Hutchison Global Services, working in 3G, and Goldshield Business Solutions, a UK-based Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firm.

He leads with a humbleness that compels the team to follow his direction. His firm commitment and his vast fifteen-year experience spanning various industries contribute to his essential role as a member of the Siliconchips Services team in India.

Abhijit

Shahid Chowdhary

Shahid Chowdhary began Siliconchips Services in London in September 2010, with one basic idea: to build an organisation committed to value-based leadership and promoting a culture of trust, transparency, integrity and mutual respect.

Shahid received his graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from NIT Srinagar and his post-graduate in Marketing and Finance from NMIMS, Mumbai – both leading engineering and business schools in India and he was certified by Baan in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). He has acquired numerous professional qualifications in innovation, strategy and leadership development throughout his career, including Leadership Management Institute (LMI) in the US and Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) in London. Over the years he has worked with various multinational companies in India, the US and the UK, including engineering, software development and publishing companies.

Shahid is the driving force behind Siliconchips Services; he focuses on new markets, business development, human resources development and planning for the continued growth of the company. He unites his teams across borders, and encourages a cohesive working community to give our clients a professional and pleasant experience with Siliconchips Services.

Over the weekends, Shahid spends time with his two daughters, practicing martial arts, and volunteering at the stables for his love of horses.

Shahid Chowdhary