First Look: QuarkXPress 8.0. Finally, the makeover designers have been waiting for

Submitted by natobasso (3922 points) on Thu, 2008-05-29 17:36

News

As much as the 7.0 revision of QuarkXPress was about complex, inter-related publishing workflows, the new version announced today is about a much-needed new look and a host of tools aimed squarely at graphic designers. Quark wasn’t necessarily wrong to focus on the hard-core production market in the last couple of versions, but neither were designers wrong to conclude the XPress interface was looking a little behind the times.

The success the Adobe Internet juggernaut hath wrought is testament that common interface design, predictable tool sets, and cross-application support is just as important as how well an application fits in to the daily demands of a production-heavy environment (where XPress has remained strong). And that publishing production is now a global business challenge needing a single-software solution, not a bunch of market-priced versions to support multi-lingual output.

So in some ways XPress 8 is an admission by Quark that Adobe is now setting the standards for how designers work. XPress 8 is much more “Creative-Suite like” in how it looks and works. But I’m glad to say Quark didn’t just copy a few interface ideas or settle on some standard keyboard shortcuts. By going back and re-focusing on the little stuff, they’ve actually made some giant strides forward.

Click the link to read the full article on creativepro.com

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---- Powerpoint is not a

Submitted by natobasso (3922 points) on Thu, 2008-05-29 18:01.

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Powerpoint is not a design application

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The Salon (blog): To discuss design problems of all kinds.

Will have to look into that

Submitted by 3dogmama (1401 points) on Thu, 2008-05-29 18:12.

Will have to look into that since I use both Quark and InDesign, but...I'll only bite if they've fixed the GD PDF and Duotone issues! I really put a client through the hoops of frustration a while back. Thank god she's still with me and has awarded me another big project.

Hmm, reminds me, still owe her a night of wine drinking over that one. Ah, the sacrifices one must make. ;)

"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."
— Frank Zappa

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

I'd say stick with ID if you

Submitted by natobasso (3922 points) on Thu, 2008-05-29 22:20.

I'd say stick with ID if you do any exporting of pdf files. ID just does it better.

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Powerpoint is not a design application

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The Salon (blog): To discuss design problems of all kinds.

Agree about the PDF export,

Submitted by 3dogmama (1401 points) on Fri, 2008-05-30 00:54.

Agree about the PDF export, but some of my clients' and their suppliers still demand Quark files.

Also, another bone about Quark--wonder if the 8.0 version allows a designer to lay out something larger than 48"? What gives with that?

"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."
— Frank Zappa

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

Drop the Hammer

Submitted by 3dogmama (1401 points) on Fri, 2008-05-30 02:26.

Man, now laser issues tonight...with...a...Quark file.
Black is white.

"Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."
— Frank Zappa

"I accept chaos, I'm not sure whether it accepts me."
Bob Dylan

Yes. . .

Submitted by ireid (1245 points) on Fri, 2008-05-30 21:41.

To me its a lot of improvements a little too late.

They've closed the barn doors after the horses have bolted!

Adobe's just gonna ramp up inDesign. The war continues! lol

"Try not, Do! or do not, there is no try."
-Yoda

I used to be a Quark

Submitted by KellyR (348 points) on Fri, 2008-05-30 23:06.

I used to be a Quark die-hard back in the day. I think the last version I ever used, though, was 4.something.

I lived and breathed Quark - thought it was the best thing around and really struggled when I was hired on at a place that used... prepare to shudder "PageMaker 6.5". I swear every day you'd hear me in my office griping. "WHAT? Why the hell do they do it this way? Ugh! Quark is so much EASIER!"

But then I just got used to PageMaker, and then when they launched InDesign with the CS suite and the LOADS of improvements, I stopped complaining.

I'm not sure Quark could win my business back voluntarily. I've definitely embraced InDesign and just really love how it works so seamlessly with Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, etc. Only makes sense - they're all Adobe products! Of course they're going to play nice with each other.

Hat's off to Quark for making improvements, though. If I'm ever forced to go back, I'm sure it'll make it more pleasant to work with.

Good gawd!!!

Submitted by JimD (2459 points) on Sat, 2008-05-31 03:53.

That "new and improved" interface looks worse than the old one. Ick!!!

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Visit The Graphic Mac for graphics and Mac OS tips, reviews, tutorials and discussion.

Ha ha. Polishing a

Submitted by natobasso (3922 points) on Sat, 2008-05-31 20:52.

Ha ha. Polishing a turd.

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Powerpoint is not a design application

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The Salon (blog): To discuss design problems of all kinds.

5+ years ago i might have

Submitted by gwells (1214 points) on Sun, 2008-06-01 04:40.

5+ years ago i might have cared. but they put so much effort into alienating their client base, they've made it almost impossible to want to go back.

i have quark 7 loaded on my machine, but i'm pretty sure i haven't loaded it up in a year. not since i got the indesign plugin (Q2ID) that will open any version quark file.