3D Issue lets you create HTML5 magazines that look just like Flash

With magazines shifting online, be that to the Web or optimised for portable devices like tablets, it’s important to have an app to create magazines that does the job well. User experience is everything, and if it’s not easy and enjoyable to read you’re missing the point. 3D Issue has just updated its solution to this problem with some interesting new features.

3D Issue is aimed at small and medium-sized publishers, marketers and anyone else looking to bring a magazine-like feel to their online products. The Irish startup says that its products have been used by everyone from Google to a small scarf-manufacturing business.

The latest version of 3D Issue introduces some important new features. While previously, magazines produced with the app required Flash to be viewed, HTML5 output is now supported, meaning magazines will be readable by people who can’t, or choose not to, install Flash.

While HTML5 performance in some cases elsewhere has sometimes lagged behind Flash, the startup says that here, the two options are identical – right down to a paper-curling effect as you turn pages – apparently the element that took the longest to get working satisfactorily. You can view Flash and HTML5 demos for comparison here.

The e-reader market is growing fast, and 3D Issue now supports the ability to export publications in .epub and .mobi formats. This means that they can be sold in e-book marketplaces such as Amazon’s Kindle Store and Apple’s iBookstore.

3D Issue produces another app, Pressjack, which we’ve covered twice in the past. It turns RSS feeds, Web pages and online videos into Web-based magazines using a simple-to-understand interface. The new version of 3D Issue has Pressjack bundled in, providing extra value.

There are plenty more new features in the new version of 3D Issue, making it well worth a try if you’re looking to produce magazines or brochures. The service is priced for business use, with a Lite version at $499, a Pro version at $1299 and an Enterprise license for five installations at $2699. There’s a 30-day free trial of the Pro option.

➤3D Issue