Is QuarkXpress 6 ready for action?
Posted on May 31, 2004
Quark has dominated the print production industry for a long time, and with good reason – its software was feature-filled and well-targeted at the specialized needs of the publishing world. Unfortunately, somewhere along the road, Quark seems to have lost its focus. The quality of the software has gone downhill. Specifically, QuarkXpress reached its zenith at version 4, after which, it seems like the company lost touch with its users' needs.
Case in point: When QuarkXpress 5 was released, who really cared about Web publishing in the print industry? Sure, there were a few companies that may have found it useful to re-purpose their print work for the Web or other XML-based avenues, but most Web developers know that what works for print doesn't always work for screen use – they will instead re-design their layouts for the Web, and will use dedicated software like DreamWeaver or Golive to do so. They would have better spent their efforts expanding on the great existing features (such as better typographic control, a la Adobe Indesign), and adding more support for emerging technologies (such as OS X, PDF, font support, etc.).
Quark then made another mistake by taking far too long to release version 6 for OS X. And to make matters worse, they decided to move their operations to India. After all, considering the dismal reputation Quark had for tech support, how could moving their support group to India possibly improve matters? If the feedback on Web user forums is any indication, the tech support issues have only gotten worse. This has left the battlefield wide open for Adobe's Indesign, which, I must admit, is looking more appealing with every new version.
But, putting all the politics and complaints aside, the real question is whether current QuarkXpress 4 users should buy QuarkXpress 6. To answer that, we must look at several issues.
The deciding factors
Licensing and serialization
Quark has always had a paranoid attitude toward its users. They tried several methods of licensing and serialization that irritated many paying customers, such as the slightly vulgar-sounding dongle, and the juggling circus of inserting floppy disks with installer CDs. Things haven't gotten much better today. If you're lucky, you won't have any problems, but if you're one of the many unlucky ones, you can expect to hit a few bumps along the road when activating and upgrading, especially if you have a large number of users. If you've got time to kill, you may want to read the long list of user comments at Macintouch. (The Quark User Forums have been absent from Quark's Web site for a long time now.)
OS X compatibility
QuarkXpress 6 only works in OS X. While the first release of version 6 had some glitches, they seem to have been fixed in the 6.1 update. If you hate Classic, and want to work completely in OS X, then your choice is clear... you have to upgrade to version 6 (it's also noticeably faster than running version 4 in classic).
Legacy support
QuarkXpress 6 CANNOT save down to version 4 – it will only save to version 5. You need to have a copy of version 5 installed in order to save to version 4. Why would you need to save to version 4? Because many film houses and printers will not accept anything higher than version 4 (some will, but chances are they will down-save your file to version 4 themselves – wouldn't YOU rather ensure that nothing unpleasant happens to your file during conversion?).
New features
Whether the new features will impress you depends on how you work... it's certainly not a unanimous consensus that the new features are fabulous. Some so-called "new" features like Multiple Undo and Layers should have been implemented a long time ago, while others like the Web Layout feature have limited use for print professionals. The Tables and Synchronized Text features show promise, while the Projects feature seems to only increase the risk of putting all your eggs in one basket... after all, almost every long-term QuarkXpress user has had to deal with corrupted documents. (It should be noted that QuarkXpress 6 has a built-in function that seems to check the integrity of a file when it's opened, but so far I can't comment on how useful it is... if you have experience with this feature, please let me know.)
The industry trend
While I'm certainly no expert in industry trends, judging from the feedback from some film houses, printers, other Mac Artists, and assorted literature (magazines, Web sites), the consensus seems to be one of hesitation and caution. There seem to be enough problems (press issues with RIP, printing, device drivers, file/print/content servers, font conflicts, layers, tables, xtensions, relationships with vendors and partners, licensing and serialization) that nobody wants to take the plunge until some other poor saps have paved the way with time-consuming and costly trials. Designers seem to be the most willing to switch to version 6, largely because they're not aware of (or don't care about) the production problems involved.
Conclusion
The adventurous leap
If you want to work in an OS X-only environment, and you only have a few film houses and printers that you work with regularly, you may be ready to upgrade to version 6, with the understanding that you may need to iron out a few kinks here and there. You MUST discuss the issue with your film houses and printers and anyone else that you may need to send files to, and make sure that everyone is OK with it. Do as many tests as you can to see if your work is preserved when you down-save to version 5 and 4, because you never know when you may need to do so. I strongly recommend trying the demo before you purchase the upgrade, and make sure it works with your existing environment (printing, xtensions, etc.).
If you decide to go with this route, make sure you check out the QuarkXpress 6 tips pages.
The safe road
If you want to maintain a workflow that is compatible with the majority of QuarkXpress users in the industry (at least for now), and you want to keep the headaches down to a minimum, you should probably stay with version 4.11. Future updates to QuarkXpress will hopefully make it more stable and usable, at which time you will be able to upgrade with fewer problems.
(For those who are interested, I currently use version 6 only for testing, and to down-save the rare file from designers/partners. For all production work, I still use version 4.11 in Classic.)
Further reading
CreativePro has a good general review of QuarkXpress 6, with brief descriptions of some of the new features as well.
Designer-Info's review.
Macworld has a fairly positive review.
PC Magazine's review.
ZDNet's review and user comments.
A rather lengthy list of user comments at versiontracker (overall rating is very low).
Another long list of user comments at Macintouch.
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