Alan S. Pringle, Director, implements new processes for developing and distributing technical content. His responsibilities include content strategy analysis for technical information, automating production and localization tasks (often with XML-based workflows), and managing schedules and budgets for complex consulting projects.

Alan guides books through the entire publication process as the manager of Scriptorium’s publishing imprint, Scriptorium Press. He is also the coauthor of The State of Structured Authoring, Technical Writing 101, and Scriptorium’s FrameMaker Workbook Series. He edited Publishing Fundamentals: FrameMaker 7 and Publishing Fundamentals: Unstructured FrameMaker 8.

As a technical editor for Fujitsu Network Switching in 1994, Alan rewrote and reorganized the flagship document for a phone switch, and he was the primary editor of English content that was translated from Japanese. While at Fujitsu, Alan began working with element definition documents (EDDs) in structured FrameMaker (then known as FrameBuilder).

In the 1990s as a new technical writer, Alan wrote documentation for a Lexmark laser printer. He then completed the production work on the localized versions, which taught him early lessons about the importance of considering translation when implementing publishing processes.

Alan holds a BA in English from Wake Forest University and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At the weekly student newspaper, Old Gold and Black, he managed the first section that transitioned to desktop publishing, and he later ran the paper as editor in chief.

When he’s not working, he’s eating (preferably pastry or chocolate), reading, traveling, or scoping out bargains.

Follow Alan on Twitter: alanpringle