QuarkXPress
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Quark will host iPad publishing seminars
As noted by MacObserver, Quark is pushing the new App Studio feature of QuarkXPress 9.1 by offering designers two seminars to help them use this new publishing tool. App Studio lets designers create their own multimedia-rich iPad magazine app using the familiar interface of QuarkXpress. It includes a suite of tools that'll let you create the app, distribute it through the App Store and publish new content as issues that customers can buy or download for free. Quark will be holding two one-day training events in October that'll walk attendees through these new iPad tools. The first event will be held October 20 in Denver and the second will be held in London on October 26.
Update your ancient Quark on the cheap
Oh, QuarkXPress. My fondest Mac memories are tied in with you. It was one of the first programs I ever learned on the Mac. It was also the most frustrating piece of design software ever -- guaranteed to crash the computer at least once an hour, and don't even think about using the Auto Backup feature on the early versions. I learned Quark back in version 3.1.1 and cursed its existence through the next decade ... until Quark 7. It did something that it had never done before -- not crash on my Mac. It was a stable piece of software and while definitely not my preferred design software, it doesn't make me want to cry in a corner if I have to use it. Quark Inc. is offering to upgrade any version of QuarkXPress - going back to version 3 - to the latest version (8.0.2) for a single upgrade price of € 399/£ 279/$299. So what if you don't have a serial number? Let Quark know. They have a database of serial numbers and will do their best to find the missing serial number so you can upgrade. Same if you never registered your license to begin with. Quark will also accept a fax or scan of the original installation CD, disks, or receipts as proof of purchase.And if you happen to have a licensed copy of Quark for Windows, you can still upgrade to version 8 since the upgrade will let you utilize the software on either Mac or Windows.QuarkXPress 8.0.2 requires OS X 10.4 or higher, G5 PowerPC or Intel processor, 1GB of RAM and 1GB of hard disk space.
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 DesignerQuark 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.
Quark announces Print Collection and QuarkXPress Server 7
Quark had two big announcements today. First up was QuarkXPress Server 7, which they'll be demoing this week in booth 4807 Graph Expo and Converting Expo in Chicago. Formerly known as Quark Dynamic Document Server (QuarkDDS), Server 7 incorporates all the new features of QuarkXpress 7, while Web-based, template-driven process and includes QuarkXPress Server Manager, a tool that "centralizes system administration, manages processing load on multiple servers, and provides reporting on automated publishing tasks."Next up was the Quark Print Collection, which will be available Oct 30, 2006 but is also being demo'd in Chicago this week. The Print Collection is a comprehensive set of prepress tools for QuarkXPress 7 and Adobe Acrobat 7 which enables the creation of "fully imposed, press-ready files at a price anyone who is involved in the print-production process can afford." The price in question is a mere $299 and the underlying technology was originally developed by A Lowly Apprentice Production (ALAP) Inc, which Quark had previously acquired. The Print Collection package includes Quark Imposer for QuarkXPress, Quark Imposer for Adobe Acrobat, Quark MarkIt, and Quark Item Marks.
Quark 7 goes Universal
Despite some recent logo troubles and the move of design and ad agencies toward Adobe InDesign, Quark seems to be climbing out of the hole it dug itself with its disastrous transition to OS X. Today with version 7.1, QuarkXPress 7–first announced at MacWorld and released in May–became the first major page layout application to make the transition to Universal Binary for the Intel architecture. This move comes a full 6 months before the announced release time-frame for Adobe Creative Suite 3. With today's announcements of upcoming Leopard technologies, it will be interesting to see what Quark has in store for us with its next version. Perhaps designers will be able to use Time Machine to go back and fix that pesky mistake they made 3 days ago. For now at least, we'll all just have to sit on our hands and wait like good little boys and girls.
Automator Action Packs galore
In my newsreader today I saw an 'iPhoto Action Pack' from Automator World that adds a handy action for workflows involving iPhoto: "Find iPhoto Item Path". While debating whether that was TUAW-worthy, my newsreader became bombarded with more headlines like System Action Pack, TextEdit Action Pack, Preview Action Pack... until I finally decided to post a roundup to cover them all in one fell swoop. So here you go kids, a whole batch of Automator Actions that add some missing abilities to everyone's favorite (or the only?) OS automation utiliity: System Action Pack iPhoto Action Pack Filemaker Pro Action Pack TextEdit Action Pack QuarkXPress Action Pack Preview Action Pack Photoshop Action Pack InDesign Action Pack These actions, to my knowledge, are provided free from Automated Workflows, LLC.[UPDATE: Automator World's admin stopped by to let us know that some of these action packs are actually demos of retail versions of these products offered by Automated Workflows, LLC.]
QuarkXPpress 7 released, but not as a Universal
QuarkXPress 7 has hit the streets, but it oddly isn't a Universal Binary (Steve Jobs, if you remember, announced at January's Macworld event that Quark had a beta UB version available). A UB update to version 7 is reportedly going to be made available later this summer (I guess Adobe isn't the only big software house having trouble). This new version brings plenty of new features to the table including enhancements to typography, color management, transparency (apparently it can do such advanced things as color opacity, drop shadows and alpha channels now), non-destructive mask manipulation, revolutionary 'Composition Zones' which let you design once and use anywhere with live updates, as well as improvements to productivity and collaboration, output and digital workflow and much more. Check out Quark's entire new feature list for the full details, as well as Macsimum News with summaries of what all the new features mean to you.Quark is also taking QuarkXPress on tour through seven US cities as well as Toronoto, Canada. Take a look at their schedule for details and registration information.
