Marg QuarkXpress

Liked that it paved the way for multi-page projects but unfortunately not a standard in the current print design world.

No completely user friendly with adobe suite.

Still use the software because our old documents are in Quark but i have been converting files to InDesign.

I used to use Quark professionally, but ever since switching to InDesign, I'll never use it again most likely.

Not as efficient as Adobe products, or as quick and organized

Switch to InDesign

Not currently using

Quark is the first "real" page layout software that I learned to use beyond the basic Microsoft Word world. My experience and mastering this program helped me land a job with a printing company 10-15 years ago, so learning this was a good stepping stone for me.

There were a lot of things I didn't like. It was pretty quirky. It didn't have the features, functions, bells, whistles and options as InDesign. Part of the InDesign appeal is the integration with the other Adobe products that makes life so much easier. Simply laying things out for an ad and getting everything to flow nicely was time consuming. I could often jump over to Adobe Illustrator and do my ad easier and then bring it in to Quark.

I haven't used this program in a good number of years other than jumping into it a few dozen times to convert a Quark file into something else so I could use it. I wouldn't waste time and money with this program though. Adobe products are superior and you can purchase a monthly subscription and get ALL of the Adobe family of products PLUS updated versions and new releases are included in the subscription. I've spent thousands on buying programs and then a year later the next version is out and you have to go buy it or fall behind a few versions. I love that I'm always up-to-date. I've worked at 2 printing companies and currently work with a dozen printing companies for various projects. They ALL use and prefer InDesign as their primary software program. I would consider InDesign the industry standard and Quark to be a long-distance 2nd place option. In my 8 years running a graphic design and prepress departments in 2 different printing companies, I almost never saw Quark files submitted. Pagemaker was more common, but that's not a very good option either.

It was a quasi-effective page layout tool. I learned this program on-the-job and self-taught myself the rest of the way. I was able to design flyers, ads, and newsletters, but it could be frustrating at times. One of my primary freelance customers required the use of Quark also, so I purchased a full version years ago. Learning this program was a good stepping stone for learning InDesign, which I consider to be way more advanced and effective.

Not much, I quickly switched to InDesign

It didn't keep up with the industry and I switched to InDesign

Buy InDesign

Desktop publishing

Manageable graphic user interface for entry users.

Not an "industry standard" and developed within a software flow. I prefer the monthly subscription contract that Adobe offers that keeps the software constantly up-to-date.

Explore the options that affect your workflow in your niche.

I'm the Director of Marketing and need a software platform that conforms with business I deal with on a weekly basis - something they can tune working files on the same version.