A LETTERKENNY company has introduced what it believes to be the world’s first publishing tool that can convert any PDF document, web page or RSS feed into pure HTML5. This should enable the content to be read on practically any device, including iPads and iPhones.

Because 3D Issue relies on HTML5 rather than plug-ins like Adobe’s Flash, the end product can be read without any additional software beyond a modern web browser. This also means the publications are viewable on an iPhone or iPad, which do not allow Flash websites to run.

“You will never find an industry that’s more heavily dependent on Flash than publishing, which until recently was considered the most media-rich platform available,” said Paul McNulty, managing director of 3D Issue.

He said the decision by Adobe to stop developing Flash for mobile would change that and has “put the nail in the coffin of Flash”.

“As you can imagine, developers won’t be wasting too much time making a website on Flash if it isn’t going to work on mobiles.”

3D Issue’s software works by converting PDFs into an interactive webpage that mimics a real magazine. Publishers can also add extra content to the page, such as links and video.

Mr McNulty said its target market was the small publisher sector, particularly those that had a print publication they wanted to get online. As part of that, the 3D Issue software could be purchased once and used to publish any amount of content, unlike some others that charge for each issue.

“In 2006 I decided there was definitely something here and I noticed a couple of companies doing something like this in the US,” said Mr McNulty. “However, the per-issue conversion far outweighed what any small publisher could have afforded so it wasn’t working for them.”

He said the company had been cash-positive since it started and had never taken a loan, overdraft or investment. It employs 15 people.