Quarkxpress 8 should steal users away from Adobe’s Creative Suite

Quark hopes with a new version of Quarkxpress to better compete against Adobe’s Creative Suite. The dtp package would include features that could previously only be found in Photoshop and Illustrator.

With the release of version 8, Quark wants to regain some ground from Adobe. Since the introduction of Indesign in 2002, this competitor has managed to get more and more users to switch from Quarkxpress to its Creative Suite – in which, in addition to a DTP solution, commonly used graphic tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator can be found. According to many graphic designers, Quark’s loss of market share is partly due to the company resting on its laurels for too long.

The new Quarkxpress will according to Appleinsider get a more intuitive interface. The graphical tools also require fewer mouse clicks and the hotkeys are standardized. Version 8 can also import and export Photoshop and Illustrator files. The addition of a new Bezier tool would also require significantly fewer trips to Illustrator, while the picture content tool combines a number of Photoshop tools.

Quark also gives Web designers new opportunities to create interactive Web content with the addition of Flash authoring tools. In addition, a document can be saved in Adobe’s PDF format. Other improvements can be found in the language support and the various tools for formatting texts. Appleinsider also reports that Quarkxpress 8 for OS X will be offered free of charge as an upgrade to users who purchase version 7 before August. The full version should be released soon after.