Filed under: Software, Graphic Design
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
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.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Xanthor said 11:27AM on 5-29-2008
Anyone that uses Quark is beyond stupid at this point. They have a history of being one of the most arrogant software companies ever. Today their market share is a drop in the bucket compared to the market domination they once held because everyone experienced their awful service.
All of these new improvements have been in InDesign for years, and better integrated with the whole creative suite. The tide has changed so most design shops will only recognize InDesign files instead of the bloated Quark files.
There isn't a single reason why anyone should purchase this software...
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StreetStealth said 4:53PM on 5-29-2008
I can think of one reason and one reason only:
Quark could still come back to compete on price. The main problem with Adobe apps is that they're still rather expensive (though not compared to old Quark pricepoints, I guess).
I think Quark's only hope here is to slash the MSRP for a new, non-upgrade copy to something like $299 (actually, how about $149 while we're at it?) and hope to pick up the low end that doesn't want to spring for Adobe.
Otherwise, I hope they enjoy the dozen or so copies they'll sell at full price.
required said 11:47AM on 5-29-2008
I liked QuarkXPress a lot.
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Jim Salabim said 11:49AM on 5-29-2008
I hated QuarkXPress a lot.
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Steven Sande said 11:57AM on 5-29-2008
LOL! Yeah, many designers I know hate QuarkXPress but are required by their companies to use it, others think it is the greatest thing since...InDesign. It's a religious thing, just like Mac vs. PC.
TUAW Steve
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Bilbo said 12:10PM on 5-29-2008
I'm not interested in anything Quark puts out anymore, they are dead to me. (and most of the industry as well)
I went from loving XPress in the early nineties to hating it by the late nineties. They stopped innovating and began focussing on raping their our wallets not to mention treating their loyal customers like garbage. Inexcusable.
A large part of InDesign's success stems from Quark continually shooting themselves in the head. Adobe was smart enough to recognize the fact that XPress users were clamoring for something better and any excuse at all to dump Quark.
Adobe has done a great job. I love InDesign. I have no interest what so ever in even giving XPress another shot... unless of course Adobe drops the ball, but I don't see that happening.
So Quark is still playing catch-up? Who cares? It's too little, too late.
Quark is dead. They just don't know it yet.
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kevteljeur said 12:23PM on 5-29-2008
One of the reasons I got out of design was because it required me to use QuarkXPress. This was back when Xpress 4 was still big news and the only thing remotely like an alternative was Pagemaker 6. Reading their new features list is real 1998 nostalgia; how could they get away with not having this stuff for so long?
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alansky said 12:12PM on 5-29-2008
QuarkXPress 8: Sleek Interface, Better Typography, Same Lousy Company.
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Silo said 12:13PM on 5-29-2008
Totally agree with Xanthor...
Even if you imagine all things being equal between QuarkXpress and InDesign (which they're not), I'd still pee on Quark's grave. Those obtuse asshats made backwards, non-intuitive software for years and sat on their thumbs when it came to actually improving anything because (gasp!) they didn't have to! They didn't have any competition. Now it's all, 'look! over here! typography that actually renders properly!'.
While Adobe is no where near perfect (*cough* stupid software updating for one *cough*), I wouldn't use any product from Quark out of principle alone if I could avoid it. People who defend Quark actually know it's a backwards product, but they spent so much time learning it and crying over the process that now that they have their Quark merit badge they don't want to make believe all that effort, while not wasted because it kept them in a job, probably stole years from their life in both learn-time and stress.
Well, God bless 'em because Quark sure as crap doesn't care about you.
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Steven Sande said 12:15PM on 5-29-2008
Can you feel the love for Quark? ;-)
Yeah, I think Fred Embrahimi was too busy building Quark City in India to put a lot of time and effort into R&D for products. CEOs should never let their philanthropic endeavors get in the way of their companies. It's a good thing he's gone from Quark now, although (as noted multiple times here) it's too late.
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krisa said 12:22PM on 5-29-2008
Quark is dead.
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paul said 12:22PM on 5-29-2008
I was going to come with another "too little, too late" post, but it seems my work has been done for me. I shudder when thinking back to my Quark days, though if they offer a free demo, I'll probably check it out just to see what's changed. It would be very Quark-like to not offer a free demo, though.
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gerdozain said 12:30PM on 5-29-2008
Poor Quark. They should just realize that pro designers will never go back to Quark. Once you experience the power of InDesign, combined with it's seamless integration with the whole Adobe Creative Suite, you might as well delete the word Quark from your dictionary.
RIP Quark. I was not nice to meet you.
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Andrew said 1:01PM on 5-29-2008
A lot of you guys must not work for giant publishing companies. Believe me a lot of them still use quark.
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Jim said 4:44PM on 5-29-2008
I'm sorry but if your publishing house is still using Quark, you need to do some major cleaning up of your staff. Only a masochist, or someone being paid by Quark would use Quark. Its like how there are still people our there who think Avid machines are great or that AutoCAD is still a good product when there are much better and CHEAPER products available that dont require you to jump through flaming hoops to get working right. They are a dinosaur of the industry and need to be symbolically taken out back and shot.
Xanthor said 5:24PM on 5-29-2008
I do. Recent clients are IBM, GE, American Express, and FedEx Kinkos, plus many other Fortune 500's. And do you know what happens if a company would suggest I use Quark on their project?
I'd walk away cold. I've done it before. The reasoning is if they are that out of touch in technology, it can only bode very badly for all other aspects of their decisions.
Ian Kenefick said 1:38PM on 5-29-2008
I work in a Large Format Printers here in Ireland. I'd say the last time we received anything put together in Quark was about 9 months ago....
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Jason Bush said 2:06PM on 5-29-2008
What many of the Quark bashers forget is that without Quark what incentive does Adobe to keep innovating. Photoshop is massively bloated and Illustrator has gotten somewhat clunky. I dislike Quark for it's treatment of customers as much as the next guy, but without some kind of competition no new advances are made.
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Skeezle said 2:26PM on 5-29-2008
What about Photoshop? What keeps Adobe innovating that product?
Seabasstin said 12:28PM on 6-02-2008
I totally agree.
Quark does keep Adobe in check.
PSD and AI are complete garbage in the same way that Quark used to be in the early 00's; no real improvements, since there was no point or need; just add code bloat and interface bloat, with each release.
With the loss of Freehand there has been little to really keep AI competitive --There has been no competition.
PSD has not had any competition since the days of Xaos/Livepicture/Painter/Paintshop Pro/Corel, etc. and that was in the late 90's.
Today photoshop is probably the best example of a product designed without competition.
In fact I would venture to say, its EXACTLY like the 2 other dominant examples of mono-product dominance on the market; MS windows and MS office.
We all know how that story ends; windows Vista and Office 2007 RIBBONS...
Why o Why?
Pure Garbage...