CACTUS Joins Hands with Taylor & Francis to Simplify Editorial Process with a Pioneering AI Solution

Cactus Communications (CACTUS), a science communication and technology company, announced a partnership with Taylor & Francis, a leading academic publisher, aimed at revolutionizing journal editorial workflows through its Paperpal Preflight for Editorial Desk solution.  

Paperpal Preflight for Editorial Desk is a robust hybrid (AI + human) post-submission manuscript check tool designed to shield academic journals against compromised manuscripts. Trained on millions of published scholarly articles, Preflight’s AI has been carefully designed to assist academic publishers and journal editors. Preflight for Editorial Desk offers 35 categories of checks focused on three key areas: research integrity, language quality, and technical compliance. The results are then presented in a comprehensive report, to help journal editors identify and weed out compromised manuscripts in minutes. It’s crucial to note here that Preflight for Editorial Desk is tailored to support and complement the editorial process, with all final decisions being made by experienced editors.  

While CACTUS, under its Cactus Labs division, consistently develops publishing solutions for top-tier publishers and societies, Taylor & Francis is also been actively incorporating AI to advance editorial processes. This partnership advances the partners shared goals of commitment to integrating AI into scholarly publishing.  

Nishchay Shah, the Chief Technology Officer at CACTUS, said, “Our joint efforts with Taylor & Francis in 2023 have fine-tuned our offerings, highlighting areas where our technology can be impactful. I’m proud to lead a team that’s making significant contributions to the academic community and the wider industry.” 

This year, the collaboration will make Paperpal Preflight for Editorial Desk and the Cactus Language Checker available to all Taylor & Francis journals. By simplifying the time-consuming manuscript evaluation and review process, these tools will equip journal editors to quickly assess and request author improvements in manuscripts, eliminating delays and streamlining the editorial process.  

Nikesh Gosalia, President of Global Academic and Publisher Relations, CACTUS, said, “Our strategic partnership with Taylor & Francis is poised to alleviate the concerns of both publishers and researchers, offering innovative, technology-led solutions that enhance efficiency and address critical pain points in scholarly publishing.” 

Preflight for Editorial Desk uses AI to evaluate each manuscript against the journal’s submission guidelines, and provides a detailed report, with suggested edits in track changes, in a few minutes. The automated assessments deliver clear, consistent, and unbiased results allowing editors to make more informed decisions faster. In case the results of the integrity checks are inconclusive, Preflight gives you the option to request an IntegrityGUARD human check by our PhD technical reviewers who have broad subject matter expertise. Based on the results, journal editors can swiftly decide whether to move a manuscript forward for peer review or to reject it right at their desk. 

“Working with Cactus Communications has been a positive experience,” said Stewart Gardiner, the Global Production Director at Taylor & Francis. “These technologies are relatively new, and Cactus Communications has been admirably proactive in meeting our needs by piloting solutions with selected journals and portfolios. I am particularly excited to see the impact of this expanded collaboration and to report on the feedback from our many stakeholders.” 

This collaboration marks a significant advancement in the field of scientific, technical, and medical (STM) publishing. The launch of Paperpal Preflight for Editorial Desk is a clear indication of a move towards increased efficiency and reliability in the world of academic publishing. 

If you’re interested in knowing more about how Paperpal Preflight for Editorial Desk can simplify your journal editorial process, drop us a line at preflight@paperpal.com, and we’ll be happy to help.