According to a Pira report, RFID and printed electronics will have a big impact on the printing and publishing industries 
A little longer than 80 days perhaps, but UV-cure inkjet is circumnavigating the globe at its own accelerating pace. Printing and Publishing
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| End of an era for QuarkXpress? |
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| Written by Catherine Carter | |
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The QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign debate was squaring up to be a fight on the scale of Ali versus Foreman’s Rumble in the Jungle.
In the red shorts stood the undisputed heavyweight Quark, while the challenger InDesign – sporting the white shorts – was lighter on its feet and collecting converts faster than Ali’s right hook. Quark’s foothold on the publishing industry began in the late 1980s when it took over the mantle of Aldus, whose PageMaker it left in its wake in the professional market. Such was its growth it was said that around 90 per cent of printers and publishers had their machines set up for Quark by the mid-1990s. But that was not necessarily because everyone loved the software. Some Quark users said it was cumbersome, unintuitive and had a list of problems as long as Foreman’s reach. Some pretty damning comments for software that in reality should be easy to understand and use as well as intuitive to deal with the wide range of files it would receive. So why did it become such a market leader? Initially there was not a suitable alternative. This led to Quark being readily adopted and almost having a monopoly on the market. Secondly, once the system was established in most operations it became very difficult to make a change – any change. For printers running around the clock it is very difficult to set aside a suitable time to make the switch to a new system. Once the machines are set up and the whole workflow is standardised, it can be a time-consuming operation to introduce new software. Not to mention the additional man hours needed to re-train staff. Quark has also been slow to upgrade its product. It introduced a Mac OS9 only upgrade (from version 4 to 5) in January 2002 – two years after the debut of OS X – and when InDesign already had a mature Mac OS X version on the market. Despite these main drawbacks Quark maintained its grip, although this was being increasingly loosened by InDesign, which had gone from strength to strength. Just like the famous Thrilla in Manila, it was looking like the industry leader Quark was losing out to the pace and flexibility of InDesign. Adobe could mimic XPress’s keystrokes, open Xpress 3.3 and 4/04 files, easing the task of transplanting a library of templates. It also offered improvements in typography and there was the multi-line composer for balancing text in columns, which was quite radical. InDesign was a new way of working, and also the product of a new way of writing software. Rather than producing a single, large executable, Adobe had written a collection of small routines that co-ordinated the use of a larger library of non-essential modules that were used as required. This made the application expansible and could even see it quickly emulate and surpass core Xpress selling points through simple additions rather than a core application update. Interest in InDesign was also ignited through Adobe’s clever marketing. Its Creative Suite 2 (CS2) is the latest incarnation of its image and layout software bundle in standard and premium versions. The standard edition includes Photoshop, ImageReady, Illustrator and InDesign, while premium is enhanced with GoLive and Acrobat 7.0 Professional. Both versions of the Creative Suite also include a new visual file browser, Bridge, which allows users to browse, organise and process the files of CS2’s various software elements, and those of some third-party products including QuarkXPress. Other developments include Version Cue, which lets the user return to earlier saved documents, and an upgrade to InDesign to allow it to place other CS2 products’ native files. Like most true heavyweights, Quark refuses to sit back and let its market share slide and is hitting back with the long-overdue OS X compatible alternative in the shape of Xpress 6, 6.5 and the forthcoming version 7. Commenting on Quark’s troubled past, Gavin Drake, Marketing Director for the UK, said: “I think a lot of that is old news rather than current news. In the past 12 months we have increased support and in the past three or four years we have brought out QuarkXPress 5 in 2002, 6 in 2003, 6.5 in 2004 and 7 in 2005.” Version 6.5 features improved image handling features, support for variable data printing and increased stability and reliability, including the handling and production of PDF files. New image handling features include support for native Photoshop files, such as control of layers and clipping paths from within QuarkXPress, and image manipulation via XTension Vista. Also new in 6.5 is an upgrade to variable data XTension XClusive. Originally developed by HP Indigo, it has now passed to Quark. The latest version adds support for variable data language PPML-T for printing to HP’s Production Flow workflow. Subsequent versions will support non-HP presses. Quark showcased the Unicode and Open Type support that will be available in QuarkXPress 7 at Typo Technica, the international typography conference for font technology developers, application developers and designers. The demonstration was the first public showing of the new font support capability of QuarkXPress 7, which increases the number of characters it supports to more than 64,000, and enhance users’ typographic and design possibilities, said Quark. Mr Drake said: “By supporting Unicode and Open Type, QuarkXPress 7 will offer a considerable increase in the range of typographical options for our customers.” Described as “the most significant upgrade in the product’s history”, QuarkXPress 7 will include extensive support for OpenType fonts and Unicode. The rewrite of the program also included extensive compartmentalising of the program’s source code, designed to make it easier to introduce future upgrades of the product. QuarkXPress 7 is “the biggest rewrite we’ve ever done, and the most significant upgrade we’ve ever done,” said Mr Drake. A new Quark feature is Font Fallback. This system lets a user tell the program how to handle a situation where a font doesn’t include a full set of characters for non-Roman characters, such as finding an alternative font to fall back to rather than refusing to display the imported text. Quark 6 supported OpenType, but could access only 350 characters. Now it can access 64,000 characters plus. Quark Job Jacket is another new feature. Mr Drake said 40 per cent of digital files were PDFs, with 60 per cent of those files needing to be corrected or recreated. The Job Jacket acts like an old-style file with job tickets and style sheets that can be accessed by all users. It guarantees output on the final press and allows greater collaboration between those working on the job. “We really believe this will have a monumental effect on job workflow,” said Mr Drake. “Quark Job Jacket is enabling us to re-engage customers.” Quark XPress 7 will ship later this year. Quark’s star is rising again with VNU Business Media Europe, Europe’s largest IT publisher, successfully implementing Quark Content Manager (QCM) for all of its UK magazine titles. Now it is rolling out the solution across all of its European publishing divisions. Ajit Patel, VNU’s Chief Technology Officer, said: “Content is our most important asset, and with today’s changing publishing environment, managing, storing, reusing and syndicating content efficiently is essential. We believe that Quark Content Manager is the best publishing-focused content management solution on the market today, and as such is enabling VNU to achieve its multi-channel vision and move ahead of our competitors.” The UK division of VNU has been the company’s primary test site for QCM in Europe. VNU has been in live production with QCM in the UK for several months. Each magazine title now stores and manages all of its content within QCM, including QuarkXPress, image, text and Word files. QCM can store just about any file type that the company chooses. It is also enabling the automated creation of high- and low-resolution PDFs for print and eBooks through the integration of Callas’ AutoPilot and OneVision’s Asura, as well as XML generation and automatic content feeds to PDAs and VNU’s websites and syndication partners. One of the important functions that QCM performs for VNU is content syndication. VNU content is syndicated to more than 100 countries. QCM has a Web-based client to access all of the content stored and managed within QCM. The company has also undergone internal restructuring, including the departure of Chair and CEO Fred Ebrahimi. Other changes include tripling the field staff and adding free unlimited tech support in English. Looking to the future, Mr Drake said customers can expect more of the same: “This is still a starting point for us. With version 8 and beyond, customers will really be able to see the difference.” Quark still has around 80 per cent of the market share and some industry commentators say the debate could be a moot point – as PDF Consultant Jon Bessant of Certitec points out, PDF is becoming the standard. If you can put out the format, it doesn’t really matter what you make it on. A PDF can be sent to the printer, it really doesn’t matter what was used to make it. Mr Bessant says technology advancements are one of the main reasons for this turning point. People are getting more confident at producing PDFs even without Acrobat Distiller, which in turn is making printers’ lives easier. Improvements in equipment and software have led to a smoother transfer, especially with printers’ rips being improved. He says to ensure trouble-free PDFs, creators should: “Talk to printers, be aware of standards in the industry and be aware how printers can help you. It is a milestone we are turning at the moment with standards out there – but it can be a minefield. I work closely with printers in the UK and Europe since the way in which they process your PDF file can be as important as the way it was originally created.” The either/or debate is also put to one side with the development of PlanSystem by Van Gennep. Unlike PlanSystem, which was only compatible with Quark, PlanSystem3 is open and universal to easily integrate with desktop applications, including Adobe InDesign, InCopy, QuarkXPress, QuarkCopyDesk, Microsoft Word and others. PlanSystem3 allows users to work with both InDesign and QuarkXPress pages in one edition, allowing transition from previous systems – ranging from page layout and copy editing applications to enterprise-wide workflow management systems. The latest version PlanSystem3 v.3.5 features MacOS X server and MYSQL database capabilities, advanced reporting and the ability to generate multiple user versions. The company says the software enables publishers, cataloguers, retailers and design firms to further streamline production and improve workflow efficiencies. Ton Van Gennep, owner and President of Van Gennep, said: “PlanSystem3 was created to provide customers with unparalleled process and collaborative workflow management that increases productivity and efficiency.” Next generation Adobe and Quark have taken some major steps in recent months to improve their products. After taking on board some of Quark’s main criticisms, Adobe has been listening to customers and is now winning points for introducing features requested. Quark is desperately trying to make up ground with the launch of improved versions. But companies producing PDFs need to concentrate on achieving the best output. They need to work with clients to ensure the equipment they are using and the way they are working are compatible. This sharing of information not only provides a guide as to which program will be the most suitable, it will also foster long-term relationships, and that can only be positive for both parties. Case study – Guardian Newspapers Guardian Newspapers, the world’s largest user of Quark QPS, switched to InDesign and InCopy in 2003. In total 1,000 users made the change during the project. “We wanted to automate our workflow from editorial to fulfilment,” said Derek Gannon, Director of IT. “It was a huge project.” The software’s use of standards such as XML, enabling integration with its website, was a key reason for the switch. InDesign and InCopy were integrated into the Guardian’s Oracle-based production tracking database, Octopus. It provided much of the integration itself and used plug-ins to the Adobe applications developed by Woodwing software. At the time, Adobe Creative Publishing Sales Manager John Cunningham said: “It’s a major breakthrough for us. Newspaper groups around the world will talk to the Guardian, and a lot of them will be influenced by the InDesign move.” The Guardian’s move followed the Telegraph’s changeover in 2001. Case study – Proximity London Integrated marketing agency Proximity London said the move to QuarkXPress 6.5 was much smoother than anticipated and the company is benefiting from the new features and improved reliability. With clients including Royal Mail, Sainsburys, Save the Children, Shell International and VW, Proximity London, part of the BBDO network, said the most useful feature in QuarkXPress 6.5 was the ability to work with multiple layout sizes using the new project functionality introduced in QuarkXPress 6. This feature enables users to maintain multiple items for a campaign, such as different-sized advertisements and posters, within a single project file. All of the different-sized layouts within the project file share colours, style sheets, preferences and more. This ability has saved time, and it ensures consistency and accuracy among the various items in a campaign. The company also praised the new PSD XTensions software, which enables the import of native Adobe Photoshop files into QuarkXPress. “The new support for native Photoshop files saves us huge amounts of time that was previously spent flattening image files and updating modifications made to image files,” said Michael Curtis, Group Mac Support Manager at Proximity London. “This brings us tight integration with Photoshop and powerful control over Photoshop layers, opacity, paths and more directly inside of QuarkXPress.” Proximity London did extensive advanced planning for its move from QuarkXPress 4 to QuarkXPress 6.5 to ensure a smooth and trouble-free migration. “We were very pleasantly surprised to find very few problems in upgrading to QuarkXPress 6.5. Any issues that we did encounter were very quickly answered by our contacts at Quark,” said Mr Curtis. “From a support point of view, we have been very impressed with Quark. We gave them a very hard time when they first asked to visit us, but they have delivered on everything they have promised, and the company has certainly turned the corner. “The Quark License Administrator has improved greatly in recent releases, and overall the number of IT support calls we receive from our users has reduced by 80 per cent since we moved from QuarkXPress 4 to 6.5.” Case study – BBC Magazines BBC Magazines switched from Quark and purchased 350 InDesign licences after a successful trial on It's Hot! magazine. The move saw the transitioning of the majority of the BBC's 40 publications to the software, including EVE, Olive, Good Food and Good Homes magazines. Julian Adams, Publishing Systems Manager, BBC Worldwide, explained the company's move to Adobe InDesign by saying: "We adopted Adobe software in response to the needs of the business. Adobe's software not only enabled us to produce our publications with greater efficiency but the support Adobe offered was also a key factor in our final decision." Mr Adams added that a key reason for moving to InDesign was because Apple was ceasing support for OS9, and running the existing Quark 4 software would have meant running on Apple OS X in 'Classic' emulation mode. At that time Quark 6 for OS X had not been launched. The latest version available does run on OS X natively, however. He noted: "The integration between InDesign and [Adobe] Photoshop and Illustrator, and some other InDesign features such as transparency, feathering and so on, means our designers can do so much more in InDesign without having to switch to another package and back to QuarkXPress." Takeaways
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