Discover how MathType and Mondadori revolutionized math formula typesetting with seamless workflows and long-term content reuse.
From a Useful Tool to a Strategic Company Reference
When Pietro Curci joined Le Monnier (an Italian publishing house) in the mid-1990s, he was already on the lookout for ways to modernize the production of educational content in his company, especially the most complex part: math formula typesetting. As head of the graphic office, his responsibility was clear: ensure quality, consistency, and efficiency in a publishing environment.
It was during those years, well before Le Monnier was acquired by the Mondadori Education Group (the biggest publishing company in Italy) in 1999, that Curci discovered MathType for Word. The equation editor quickly became indispensable, offering a way to produce clean, editable, and reusable formulas, something that was unheard of at the time. The Mondadori Education Group operates in three main areas: books (publishes fiction, non-fiction, children’s, educational, and academic books); magazines (publishes leading Italian print and digital magazines), and retail (manages a large network of bookstores and online sales). It is also active in education, digital content, and international licensing.
When the transition to Mondadori Education happened, so did the natural evolution of MathType from a useful tool to a strategic standard. Today, as Head of the Graphic Office for the Humanities Area for high schools, Curci oversees a large part of the group’s editorial workflow, and MathType remains at its core. Nearly three decades later, it remains a cornerstone of Mondadori Education’s editorial workflow. “Our solution is used by DeaScuola and Rizzoli Education, which are part of the Mondadori Education Group”, explains Curci.
What started as a practical solution for writing equations in Word has grown into something much bigger. Over time, MathType has become deeply embedded in how Mondadori Education works.
It’s not just used by one team or for one task, but it supports different departments and adapts to various parts of the production process. Whether in editorial or digital, MathType has proven to be flexible and reliable, earning its place as a shared reference point across the company.
The Challenges
In the mid-1990s, Le Monnier -and later Mondadori Education- needed a reliable tool for producing complex mathematical content. Curci recalls the limitations of early typesetting systems, particularly when it came to consistency, reusability, and integration with publishing tools like QuarkXPress.
“We needed something stable that would allow us to reuse content across editions and titles,” Curci explains. “MathType gave us formulas as images, and an image, as I always say, is forever. It was revolutionary“.
But over time, challenges evolved. The rise of digital publishing, colored content, and interactive formats pushed editorial tools beyond what black-and-white workflows could support. Ensuring compatibility with new operating systems and modern layout tools became a strategic necessity.
Mondadori Education and Wiris: Joint Efforts to Improve the Product
Mondadori Education adopted MathType in its early versions and never looked back. The company standardized its use across internal and external collaborators. Layout professionals, editors, and authors could all work with the same equation editor, streamlining collaboration.
“With the plugin installed in our platforms, we can extract formulas without redigitizing them. It saves time and reduces errors, something essential when you’re dealing with 5,000+ formulas in a textbook”, affirms Curci.
When Curci and his team encountered barriers -such as color rendering issues, EPS compatibility, or font glyph problems- they didn’t give up with MathType. Instead, they worked closely with Wiris, contributing practical solutions and insights based on their real-world workflow.
MathType’s flexibility in exporting MathML for digital editions, while maintaining high-quality image-based formulas for print, allowed Mondadori Education to meet evolving demands without rebuilding their content library from scratch. As Curci affirms, “Thanks to the embedded MathML, we can easily export the formulas as code and reuse them in digital formats”.
The Implementation Process
The implementation of MathType at Mondadori Education was the result of a clear vision: to establish a unified, efficient workflow for mathematical content creation. Once MathType proved to be a reliable solution, it was adopted as the official standard across the organization. This meant that all external vendors producing math formula typesetting layouts were also required to work with the same tool, fostering consistency and compatibility across every stage of production.
One of the key advantages of MathType was its ability to generate formulas as images, allowing for the long-term reuse of content. Thanks to this, legacy materials could be updated by simply adjusting style preferences, eliminating the need to recreate thousands of formulas from scratch.
The integration of MathType enabled seamless collaboration. Editorial teams received manuscripts with embedded formulas and passed them on to layout professionals, who could extract and edit the formulas directly, greatly reducing manual intervention and improving version control.
Throughout this process, Pietro Curci played a crucial role in bridging the gap between user needs and technical development. His collaboration with Wiris led to the resolution of various challenges, such as color rendering issues in EPS files, overprint settings in InDesign, and glyph compatibility. These contributions helped shape subsequent versions of the equation editor and ensured its alignment with real-world editorial demands.
Why MathType Is Essential to Mondadori Education’s Editorial Excellence
Over the years, MathType has established itself as a trusted and indispensable tool within Mondadori Education’s editorial ecosystem. Its ease of use, compatibility across platforms, and ability to generate both print and digital outputs have made it a core component of the company’s workflow. The following key benefits highlight why MathType continues to play a strategic role in ensuring quality, efficiency, and long-term content reuse at Mondadori Education.
- Preserved editorial legacy. “MathType is irreplaceable,” says Curci. “Without it, we would have lost a huge amount of content or had to reinvest in recreating everything”.
- Increased efficiency. Automated extraction of formulas from documents, coupled with standardized workflows, greatly reduced manual effort and error rates across the team.
- Ease of use. The platform requires no advanced technical skills, making it accessible to a broad range of professionals. “The fact that it has a simple interface doesn’t mean it’s not good. Otherwise: with just a few clicks, you understand what to do to save and typeset formulas”, affirms Curci.
- Flexibility and reusability. Formulas can be adapted to new design preferences with minimal effort, reducing rework.
- Support for digital formats. Built-in MathML export facilitates the production of reflowable, accessible digital textbooks.
- Collaborative customer service. The collaboration with Wiris has enabled Mondadori Education to resolve technical challenges like spot color management, overprinting, and font compatibility, ensuring consistent output across print and digital.
- Cross-department adoption. MathType is used not only by in-house editorial teams but also by all external layout professionals who contribute to Mondadori Education’s math formula typesetting publications. Its status as a shared standard enables a smooth production chain.
- Future-proofing. Despite working with older machines to maintain compatibility, Curci and his team are eagerly awaiting the new MathType release. The goal: support newer systems while maintaining continuity.
Looking Ahead Together
We’re entering a new era of innovation, driven by the evolution of our products and the needs of the STEM community. At Wiris, we’re actively working on meaningful improvements of MathType to better support today’s editorial and educational challenges. And we’re not doing it alone, as Mondadori Education and Pietro Curci continue to be by our side, offering their insight, testing new features, and helping us shape what’s next.
For Curci, it’s not just about modernization, it’s about continuity: “I’m not looking for glory” he says. “What I care about is sharing knowledge and ensuring that future generations can build on what we’ve created. Experience is meant to be passed on, not buried”.
Mondadori Education’s relationship with MathType is not just about software: it’s about editorial integrity, long-term thinking, and the power of collaboration. “I’ve worked closely with Wiris for years. I’ve seen how they listen. This isn’t just about Mondadori Education: it’s about keeping a shared legacy alive across the publishing world”. “If one day we had to stop using MathType, it would be a significant loss”.
