Quark Inc.’s venerable XPress series is set to release version 7 at the end of this year or early in the next. Quark, feeling the heat from Adobe’s InDesign, is revamping its image and promising to implement changes demanded by its users. Will these changes bring back users who have defected to InDesign, will they even hang on to their current userbase? Read on to find out Quark’s plan of attack for QuarkXPress 7. Will Quark sizzle or fizzle?
Although Quark has been relatively tight-lipped about QuarkXPress 7, they outlined some of the new features users should look for in their new software.
The main feature Quark is pushing with XPress 7 is improved collaboration functionality. Several users can now work on the same page at the same time, cutting downtime for users when they waited for a page to be completed by others. XPress 7 incorporates what Quark calls “composition zones.” It allows, for example, a layout artist to work on a page design while another person completes an ad on the same page. Each person will see an updated page as soon as the other person saves the document.
Quark is also championing their new Job Jackets implementation which gives a project a consistent specification throughout. Job Jackets are based on Job Definition Format, which encapsulates the job information into the processed file to ensure every step along the process conforms to the wanted result. Quark calls this a revolutionary step beyond preflighting, however, such a process has been in the works for so long that it has become evolutionary rather than revolutionary. It would almost be irresponsible to release a product without promising JDF operability these days.
