In fact, he sees the program’s ability to readily create PDFs as its biggest advantage. InDesign advocatesĮric Graffam, associate art director for Portland, ME-based bedding and decor cataloger Cuddledown of Maine, says that InDesign’s early difficulties with PDFs are long over. Then again, when Quark 5.0 was released in 2002, you couldn’t place PDFs in that program at all, he adds. “It was difficult to get PDFs and not have issues - instances where files were removed if you tried to select individual elements,” he recalls. When InDesign launched in 1999, some dubbed it “the Quark Killer” Hansen says, but the program had some significant problems at first. “It’s easy to follow, and those who have used it stay with it.” While there have been seven versions of Quark released since 1995, each of the iterations is similar to the original, and Hansen says that many designers stay with it out of habit. “Quark’s best asset is comfort,” he says. Josh Hansen, commercial team supervisor of Chanhassen, MN-based Banta PreMedia Services, a division of printer Banta Catalog, says that much of Quark’s success is due to its intuitiveness. As for which software best meets the needs of designers - that depends largely on whether the need for complex functions is more pressing than the need for familiarity.
#Indesign vs quarkxpress portable
Quark loyalists praise its ease of use and ability to handle large workflows InDesign fans admire its flexibility, such as the ability to create portable document formats (PDFs) in the file menu, its ease of managing workflows, and its cost-efficient upgrades. Catalog designers tend to prefer one of two layout programs: QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign.