QuarkXPress 8: Sleek Interface, Better Typography

Quark Inc. announced QuarkXPress 8 at the Drupa printing exhibition in Düsseldorf today, the latest version of the high-end design tool for Mac and Windows. Many of the changes to QuarkXPress are in the areas of user interface and workflow, which were criticized by many users after the long-delayed release of QuarkXPress 7.

Some of the interface enhancements include:

• A picture content tool for moving, rotating, and scaling images in real-time

• New Bézier Pen Tools

• An enhanced measurements palette with new controls for modifying drop-shadows

• Drag-and-drop from the desktop, Adobe Bridge, iPhoto, MIcrosoft Word, and the hundreds of other applications that support drag-and-drop

• Instant access to master pages and exports to PDF, SWF, HTML and EPS

QuarkXPress 8 offers improved typographical controls for designers, including hanging characters with multiple presets. There's also built-in support for Flash content creation, which formerly required the purchase of Quark Interactive Designer

Quark also noted that designers who purchase QuarkXPress 7 at regular price between today and August 1, 2008 and those who purchased QuarkXPress 7 or an upgrade between May 1 and today will receive the upgrade for free. The package is expected to ship within 60 days, and no final pricing has been announced.

Thanks to Ling for the tip!

Update: Jay Nelson has a huge writeup of QXP8's features at Planet Quark.