QUARKXPRESS VERSUS PAGEMAKER
The Battle Intensifies: Which is right for you?
by Galen Gruman
PageMaker launched the desktop publishing revolution one year before QuarkXPress hit the shelf, but ever since the two have battled fiercely to be the market's best. QuarkXPress cemented it's position as the power user's program of choice in the early 1990s, but it's stalled at version 3.3 since 1993, while Quark has unsuccessfully attempted to enter new markets. Meanwhile, PageMaker has forged ahead.
Should you upgrade or switch to Quark's new version, or stay with or switch to Adobe's PageMaker 6.5, released earlier this year? The short answer is that most people should choose QuarkXPress 4 ($995; 303/ 894- 8888, www.quark.com). PageMaker 6.5 (895; 408/ 536- 6000, www.adobe.com) was a worthy competitor to QuarkXPress 3.3, but QuarkXPress 4 tilts the balance decidedly in it's favor.
The Key Layout Advantage
PageMaker started out mimicking the manual pasteup approach used in the days of waxed galleys and X-acto knives, when rulers and a fine eye helped you position images and text. That made the transition to computer-based publishing easier in the mid-1980s, but in today's electronic age, it's an anachronism that slows many users down.
On the other hand, not only is QuarkXPress strong in the area of sophisticated layout - where text wraps, the tight integration of text and graphics, and imaginative use of typography come into play - but it also lets you customize your layouts while maintaining consistent standards.
Book Publishing
Both programs offer similar approaches to long-document (or book) creation. Manuals, large reports, and traditional books are typically made up of files containing individual chapters, which you must group to maintain consistent style sheets and page numbers throughout. Neither program has a decided advantage in this area, and both programs' offerings are serviceable.
Macworld's Buying Advice
Based on the final-candidate release I used, I recommend QuarkXPress 4 as the page layout program of choice for professional and semi-professional users. QuarkXPress is simply more capable and flexible than PageMaker, and it's layout approach will save you time over the long term. Service bureaus also prefer working with QuarkXPress files, saying they process more easily, saving them time and you money.
It's true that PageMaker costs less - not only is it's list price $100 cheaper than QuarkXPress's, but its street price averages about $150 less. Still, the extra money that QuarkXPress costs (and the extra money many users spend to customize it with XTensions) is a very worthwhile investment.
Mac world will give QuarkXPress 4 an official rating once the product ships to customers, but unless something terrible happens in the final release, I expect a notably higher score for QuarkXPress 4 than PageMaker 6.5's Star Rating of Three Stars/6.8 (see Reviews, May 1997).
QuarkXPress 4 is not perfect, but it's a much better product all around than PageMaker 6.5. Therefore, QuarkXPress 3.3 users should think about trying QuarkXPress 4. Now may be the time to switch.
GALEN GRUMAN, Mac world's editor, is coauthor of 10 books on desktop publishing, including Macworld QuarkXPress 4 Bible (1997), Pagemaker 6 for Macs for Dummies (1996), PageMaker 6.5 for Dummies Internet Edition (1997), and the forthcoming QuarkXPress 4 for Dummies (all from IDG Books Worldwide).
Condensed from:
December 1997 - Magazine Feature
December 1997 page: 86
Copyright © 1997 Mac Publications, L.L.C.
To return to my homepage, click here
To return to the Holloman index, click here
This page hosted by 
Get your own Free Home Page