05-13-2008, 03:54 AM
[quote jdc]i bet if you ask your printer in LA what kind of files he gets -- but add PDF to your list -- then PDF would be on top by a ton
This.
I have managed a prepress/layout department for over 10 years, and X1A has become our format of choice for color work. At this point, I see around a 50/50 split between Quark 6/7 and InDesign CS3 as far as the initial layouts go. It was around 80/20 in favor of Quark 5/6 vs. InDesign CS2, with the occasional X1A file. CS and earlier weren't even worth tracking, and were pretty much worthless. We still use Quark for internal layouts, partially due to legacy templates, but mainly due to InDesign being slower (still!) and not playing as nicely with legacy PostScript Level 2 RIPs. Quark is very much still in the game, regardless of what recent design school graduates who received nice Creative Suite educational discounts might tell you.
Full disclosure: I will admit to some lingering InDesign disdain over the 1.5 upgrade debacle and false promises (read: lies) about how modular it was, and how easy it would be to upgrade faulty/buggy components. Both have become fine tools, but anyone who thinks one is better than the other just doesn't know both programs well enough. And, as Blankity Blank says, anyone who is serious should know both.
This.
I have managed a prepress/layout department for over 10 years, and X1A has become our format of choice for color work. At this point, I see around a 50/50 split between Quark 6/7 and InDesign CS3 as far as the initial layouts go. It was around 80/20 in favor of Quark 5/6 vs. InDesign CS2, with the occasional X1A file. CS and earlier weren't even worth tracking, and were pretty much worthless. We still use Quark for internal layouts, partially due to legacy templates, but mainly due to InDesign being slower (still!) and not playing as nicely with legacy PostScript Level 2 RIPs. Quark is very much still in the game, regardless of what recent design school graduates who received nice Creative Suite educational discounts might tell you.
Full disclosure: I will admit to some lingering InDesign disdain over the 1.5 upgrade debacle and false promises (read: lies) about how modular it was, and how easy it would be to upgrade faulty/buggy components. Both have become fine tools, but anyone who thinks one is better than the other just doesn't know both programs well enough. And, as Blankity Blank says, anyone who is serious should know both.