Drupal as a print CMS using Scribus

Steve Yelvington started a discussion about using Drupal as a print CMS back in 2006 at http://groups.drupal.org/node/2018. Scribus was mentioned as one possible layout package. In 2009, some work was done as a proof of concept by Mariusz Słonina at http://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/Drupal_integration but I don't think it was ever finished. Hendrik Grahl has written about interfacing Scribus to a CMS at his blog, http://www.grahl.ch/category/posts/scribus.

I would like to see a project that leverages Drupal's ability to manage a workflow for a small publisher/organization combined with Scribus' ability to handle layout for professional printing. Processing steps would include input, editing, approval, proof-reading, etc. with the final state sent to layout in a form suitable for input to Scribus. Several types of content, some static (boilerplate) and dynamic (text and images) need to be managed to create a weekly or monthly publication. The layout editor should have visibility of the state of each of the pieces of content. When all necessary pieces are available (or at least enough to get started) the layout editor should be able to pull content from the database using a plugin Python script. The script should be able to be run repeatedly to load new content without overwriting previously downloaded content unless it has changed. This should allow the layout process to proceed as new content becomes available. The goal is to eliminate the need for cutting and pasting of content.

When layout is complete, Scribus should output a PDF file and upload it back to Drupal for distribution e.g. file download, e-mail attachment, printing, etc.

I do not have the experience to act as a GSoC mentor for this project, but I would be happy to discuss the requirements as I see them, and to participate in the testing.