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Summary:
We have analysed the production processes and their needs for developing new concepts of future newspaper prepress production. When defining production systems, we emphasize the need for methods that relates to those supporting information systems design. The strategy is to define parameters and then, through the first analysis stages in systems design, be able to optimize overall process. All this is necessary before new organizations are proposed using new technology- such as modular software, groupware, databases, local area networks, servers, and workstations. Future newspaper production systems offer a total integration of production, organisation, remote or distributed production sites, quality and production management. This paper maps the status of work flow and its possibilities in newspaper production. We also emphasize the use of production management systems (PMS) and describe the meaning and function of such systems and their relation to systems design. PMS is not a centralized system but a collection of standard applications put together in a customized way. Lastly we report the status of building a software simulator for newspaper production in NeXT environment. This subproject, called TidSim, will test PMS models in a simulated environment. The work is made by combining field studies including data and activity analysis with literature research.