In this article, we demonstrate how AI-supported product documentation, specifically MadCap Syndicate, helps companies to structurally reduce support pressure without adding extra support staff....
This AI-first browser lets me say “summarise this and send it to my team” — and it just happens....
Discover ChatGPT Agent - OpenAI’s next-level AI that acts, not just chats. It automates research, formatting, and documentation for tech writers....
How we became the “on-call” documentation team for compliance-heavy industries...
How to test your manual with 250 users (without scheduling a single Zoom call)...
Selling into the EU without a local address isn’t just risky — it’s illegal. Since July 2021, EU law requires non-EU businesses to list an EU-based economic operator on their products, or risk blocked shipments, delistings, and legal penalties....
7 upgrades that writing teams can use to automate their workflows in July 2025 (without hiring more people) ...
With Gemini 2.5, Google now leads in every key AI category. PLUS: The rise of AI-powered technical documentation and what it means for technical writers....
Discover the best AI tools for technical writing, image generation techniques, and prompt strategies. Subscribe to our free Understanding AI Substack for weekly, fluff-free AI tips tailored to technical writers....
How to make AI follow your style guide and tone (even if your doc is 40 pages long)...
DocRock™ enhances technical documentation for complex machinery and medical devices, ensuring fast compliance and reduced costs. Join our limited test phase to revolutionize your documentation process today!...
Discover how AI agents and intelligent virtual agents enhance technical writing without replacing human writers. DocRock™ cuts documentation time by 50–75%, boosts accuracy, and streamlines user manual writing with compliance-ready AI tools....
During this free webinar I am going to show you how to create a compliant user manual that helps you to avoid legal pitfalls for machinery, medical devices, electrical equipment, and other products by using our INSTRKTIV Framework....
In this edition we discuss ChatGPT´s capabilities to follow style guides, and the need for more clear and structured manuals in robot factories....
In this edition we discuss Perplexity’s enhanced reasoning capabilities, DeepSeek R1’s meteoric rise, and OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Tasks feature...
Today's update to the Guide to the Application of the Machinery Directive introduces a major development: digital user instructions are now allowed, aligning with provisions from the new machinery regulation....
This article gives an overview of all the changes in the new machinery regulation compared to the machinery directive in relation to the user instructions and goes into a bit more detail about digital manuals....
Erwin discovered his piece of paradise on the tropical island of Bali and works as a technical writer for INSTRKTIV. We asked him what motivated his adventurous move to a new country 12.000km from home, what a typical working day looks like for him, and how he experiences life on the Island of the Gods....
This article describes the pro's and con's of using machine translations instead of traditional translation agencies ...
In 2023 the machinery directive will replace the machinery regulation. This infographic shows how this affects your user instructions....
This article describes the 8 available conformity assessment modules and explains how to determine which procedure you should follow....
Jean-Pierre is a technical writer at INSTRKTIV and enjoys working for companies that outsource their manual creation. He spends fixed days each week providing capacity to companies that need help with their documentation. We asked him all about how he helps product owners and engineers balance their workload, create impressive manuals and other documentation for innovative products and boosting team efficiency....
JP is a technical writer with a background in international law and marketing. We asked him all about the projects he works on and what makes working with product leaders so interesting....
Interactive animation is an increasingly important form of animation. When done correctly, interactive animation often is more effective than any other form of instructions....
Lennard is an Industrial Design Engineer Graduate who swapped his nine to five job for a life working remotely. He mainly works for INSTRKTIV, creating user-friendly user instructions....
In this Masterclass, Christelle Damiens will teach us what the key success factors are to accelerate and maximise sales in Europe. She will talk about selecting the right countries, setting up European distribution and securing your anchor customers. You will also learn how to avoid any pitfalls....
In this masterclass, I will help you to determine what information should be included in the packaging and what content can legally be placed online, using a simple, step-by-step system that anyone can follow....
In this webinar we will outline what the effects for non-EU businesses selling products on the European market are when the new Market Surveillance Regulation comes into force. ...
In this article I will explain the different face masks. I will tell you what the requirements for the instructions for use are. You will learn if a manual must be included or not. ...
In this webinar, I will help you to determine what information should be included in the packaging and what content can legally be placed online to stay in compliance....
In this podcast episode, I am interviewing Paul Hoogerkamp on How to CE Mark a Product. ...
In this webinar I will outline a step-by-step approach to create compliant user instructions for machinery, medical devices and electrical equipment in 2021. I will share practical information for each step of my approach....
In this article I will show you step-by-step how you can create ANSI Z535.6 compliant user manuals for the U.S. market, by using the U.S.er-Manual-Method...
In this podcast episode, I am interviewing Martin de Graaf on How to CE Mark a Medical Device. ...
I see it as our duty together to emphasise the positive environmental benefits of digital information. You can help by sharing or liking this blog post. ...
In this podcast, I am interviewing Jens-Uwe Heuer-James, a renowned lawyer, specialising in product liability and product safety, particularly on topics such as CE conformity evaluation and technical documentation....
In this podcast, I am interviewing Martin Rieder, who has been part of the committee that developed the standard. ...
In this podcast, I am interviewing Dr. Hans van der Meij, who has been researching the principles of minimalism for almost 30 years. Hans explains the four principles and how they help to reduce training time while increasing learning. ...
In this podcast, I am interviewing Sven Ring, who has been part of the committee that developed the 82079 standard....
In this guide I’m going to show you everything you need to know when creating IFU for medical devices....
In this article, I will discuss some practical steps that will help you implement Industry 4.0. ...
In this guide I’m going to show you everything you need to know about the new 82079 standard....
How to Create Compliant Information for Use for the EU in 5 Steps...
Importers, manufacturers and distributors of products have different responsibilities when it comes to compliance matters. I have enhanced my CE marking article with these different responsibilities. ...
Products travel and have to deal with acceptance by other nationalities. CE marking has made things much easier. Do you want to know which countries accept CE marked products? ...
Brexit leaves the EU, tensions between Italy and the EU grow, populists gain power everywhere. Have we forgotten what working together all brought us?...
The Russian EAC Mark is similar to the European CE Marking, However, more products are covered by the EAC framework...
About to import goods from Asia to the EU? In this article, you will learn how to calculate import duties and VAT in 5, relatively speaking, simple steps....
The last few weeks I have been exposed to a lot of misinformation related to CE Marking, There is a lack of good information out there...
Choosing between whether to use text, illustrations or video in your techcomm should in principle always be based on how to serve the user of the information best. However, there might be some other things to consider as well now and then....
Our company exists mainly online. An advantage of that is that it is easier to find good people. The further you look, the more skilled people you find. Another advantage is that can I use the internet to travel more and not being limited to live and work from one location....
Where EU laws do require to translate your user instructions to the language where the product is being sold, this requirement does not exist for the product's label. Except in Portugal....
Whatever will happen after the Brexit, it will impact manufacturers, retailers and distributors of everything from consumer electronics to machinery as well as the e-commerce sector....
When the size of the product does not allow it, some mandatory product information is allowed to be placed on the packaging or in the user instructions. ...
I spent last week in Prague, Czech Republic. I was asked to be a backup speaker at the MadWorld conference. What topic did not make it to the finals?...
In this article, I am going to show you how to draw up a fully compliant declaration of conformity. And... after reading this post, you will be able to do this all by yourself, without studying for days about all those EU directives....
This blog post is available in German....
Technical Writing Tools: The Ultimate Expert Choice...
With the introduction of the New Legislative Framework in 2015 and he repealing of many product directives in 2016, few directives are left over that require a paper user manual. ...
How I Used the Thumbs Up Technique and Decreased Translation Costs by 20% Directly...
As a technical communication service business we chiefly develop user manuals for our clients. Our primary focus is on generating high quality content. Of course, to be competitive, we need to create the output in a fast and efficient way. That’s why we use (and are an authorized reseller of) MadCap Software. As a brand advocate and ambassador, I was honoured to be invited to the early beta test of the latest major updates and enhancements added to Flare 11....
This blog post is available in German....
