Libor Kubín The battle for software for the publishing industry is intensifying. Quark announced a new version of QuarkXPress 9 in March. Adobe is countering Creative Suite 5.5 today. What news await us?
Quark Inc.
Once the uncrowned king of all DTP studios, a breakthrough program QuarkXPress is proud of serial number 9. Today, however, it is no longer only used for typesetting. The latest version allows you to create e-book content for eReader Blio or ePUB. The creation process can be partially automated, for example, conditional styles, bullet points, numbering and labels will help you with this. There is also ShapeMaker, a tool for creating or editing complex shapes. Cloner allows you to "clone" layout styles and layouts on other pages.
Quark hasn't forgotten about the iPad either. App Studio will allow users to: “…build custom iPad apps, distribute them through the Apple App Store, and later deliver richly constructed, interactive content to the app”. But App Studio will not be released at the same time as QuarkXPress 9. The company has promised that it will be available as a free update within 90 days.
It is already possible to try the QuarkXPress 9 TestDrive demo, fully functional for 30 days. It is possible to create, save and print documents. Sales of the sharp version will start on April 26. If you decide to buy QuarkXPress 9 and have the demo version installed, just enter the verification code issued at the time of purchase, reboot and you're good to go. Free upgrade from version 8 to version 9 can be applied to all purchases made before April 30, 2011. Full version price $799, upgrade from version 7 and 8 for $299.
Adobe Systems Inc.
Adobe introduced Creative Suite 5.5. From the whole range of software, which is divided into different collections (Master Collection, Design Premium, Web Premium...) has been upgraded InDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, Flash Catalyst, Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Adobe Audition, Device Central a Media Encoder.
The advertising slogan of the new version is: "CS5:5 & any screen". Which can be seen in the added support for HTML5, CSS3, jQuery Mobile and content publishing for tablets.
Adobe InDesign CS5.5 supports e-book creation and export to ePUB format, tags for video and audio in HTML5 format. Newspapers are Folio Producer, Articles panel and Linked text.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS5.5 supports CSS3/HTML5 formats, integrates jQuery library. You can build native apps and their packages for Android and iOS operating systems using the new features of PhoneGap. Integration with Adobe BrowserLab enables better testing of dynamic websites.
Adobe After Effects CS5.5 it has its own image stabilizer that does not need to select the tracking points. Camera Lens Blur brings new video effects.
Along with Creative Suite 5.5, Adobe also introduced the option to subscribe to the software. You can subscribe for a whole year and it will cost you a month: Adobe Photoshop $35, Adobe CS5.5 Design Premium $95, and Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Master Collection will grant you $129. Subscriptions for individual months are, however, more expensive.
The Photoshop Touch Software Development Kit was also announced along with Creative Suite 5.5. This allows developers to create applications for phones and tablets that communicate directly with Adobe Photoshop CS5. At the beginning of May, the first three applications will be available. Thanks Adobe Easy will be able to finger paint Adobe Nav modifies the Photoshop CS5 toolbar on the iPad for easy access to tools. adobe color lava it will serve to "mix" the right color shade. Apps will cost from $1,99 to $4,99.
Sources: www.quark.com a www.adobe.cz
and is there anything specific new in Photoshop?
The list of programs that are updated can be found directly in the text. Photoshop and Illustrator are still at version 5. They will be updated in 2012.