Quark / InDesign

seabee

Two questions:
1) If I provide a printing company with images or "pages" in tiff/pdf format is it a big job to compile them into booklet format using Quark / InDesign?

2) I'm going to do a course in Quark / InDesign when I get the time. Which is the most commonly used? Does one have any major advantage over the other?

Thanks

peejay1986

1) Its not a big job but providing them in a format other than Quark/InDesign's actual file format will mean it will be difficult to edit, and even if you do manage to edit them the likelyhood is they will lose quality.

2) At the minute Quark is more qidely used, especially in journalism circles. However InDesign is fast catching up and looks to be the program that will be used more often in the future. What I've found is that if you know either then you can pick up the other without trouble as they are very similar. Personally I'd choose the InDesign course.

rockbeer

seabee wrote: »

Two questions:
1) If I provide a printing company with images or "pages" in tiff/pdf format is it a big job to compile them into booklet format using Quark / InDesign?

There should be no need for this step. If you can create your pages as individual PDFs as they will appear in the finished booklet, your printer should be able to print direct from these. However you should check with the printer to make sure you're giving them exactly what they need.

2) I'm going to do a course in Quark / InDesign when I get the time. Which is the most commonly used? Does one have any major advantage over the other?[/QUOTE]

I'd favour indesign too, just prefer it and as peejay1986 says, it's becoming more widespread. Quark has got a bit stuck while indesign is moving forwards, plus indesign is fully integrated with the rest of the adobe cs suite. A big plus.

But also as peejay1986 suggests, the principles of page layout and design are more important than what particular software you use. Once you have the skills they're transferable, so you can use whichever you like best or whichever most suits the job in hand.

You could try scribus if you're looking for an open source professional dtp package to cut your teeth on. That way you can set your booklet up yourself and save the printer the trouble and yourself some cash.

seabee

Indesign it is then. Thanks lads