From the Publisher

By Elizabeth P. Valk

Olympic athletes know that extensive preparation contributes to a great performance, and that's a lesson our photo department has taken to heart. Operations manager Kevin McVea spent more than a year mapping out TIME's technical requirements for the Barcelona Summer Games. Readers will begin to see the results this week in our coverage of the opening ceremonies. Thanks to new equipment in place at our press center, we will be able to bring high- resolution images to our readers in special sections on the Olympics so long as there's a medal yet to be won.

In Barcelona, the daily work of seven photographers will be reviewed by associate picture editor MaryAnne Golon, Paris-based picture editor Barbara Nagelsmith and picture researcher Mary Worrell Bousquette. Imaging specialist Kin Wah Lam will transmit the edited selections to picture editor Michele Stephenson and assistant picture editors Karen Zakrison and Eleanor Taylor. A new Eastman Kodak 2035 scanner will be used to send pictures to us here at headquarters in a mere 45 seconds. The editors will sift through these low- resolution "first drafts" and pick the photos to be sent via satellite to them in publishable form.

Using scanning and transmission workstations developed by Israel's Scitex Corp., Kevin and his crew will be able to produce the final, high-quality photographs on site. The images will have the same sharp quality as those scanned on our premises and will be ready for use in the magazine. Notes McVea: "These innovations actually extend our deadlines. Four years ago, it took up to five hours to process and send a single image from the Seoul Olympics. With this technology, all that work takes just 35 minutes."

McVea, 30, makes it his business to keep track of cutting-edge technical developments. He worked at Newsweek as head of picture operations before joining TIME in 1988. Over the years, his job has grown from one primarily involved with logistics and coordination to the greater challenge of integrating electronic photo transmission into our operations. The new workstations aren't the only reason Kevin will be working under less pressure in Barcelona. His wife Barbara was due to give birth to their second child only two days after the opening ceremonies in Albertville last February, and he faced a harrowing round-trip journey to attend the birth. Happily, the McVeas' son Kyle decided to make his debut a bit early and was born (joining daughter Elyse, 2) four days before the Games.