MetaCommunications has announced the Nov. 2 launch of Spark!
(http://www.meta-comm.com/products/spark), a new browser-based tool
designed to facilitate collaboration between content creators and
their clients. It works with Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer
browsers.

Spark! -- which will cost US$999 for unlimited users -- enables
concept review workspaces where document content, including PDFs and
graphic files, can be collaboratively discussed, revised, and routed
for final approvals. It's specifically designed for advertising,
marketing, creative design, packaging, prepress, and web design.
Spark! is different from traditional print color proofing tools in
that it specifically addresses issues surrounding collaboration
between content creators, like graphic designers, who need to
iteratively work through a design and then route that design through
final approvals, according to Robert Long, executive vice president
of MetaCommunications.

The new Spark! requires no installation, special knowledge, or
training to use, he adds. Spark! renders PDF and many image-based
file formats on the fly. Spark! plugs in to Approval Manager
workflows to provide creative teams with fast and efficient feedback
on concept and creative files. Reviewers responsible for giving
feedback work from notifications delivered to their email inboxes or
from review dashboards in their web browsers. Whether following links
from email or using the dashboards, all reviewers open the same
document in Spark! and share each other's comments, annotations, and
approval statuses.