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What do graphic artists talk about when the last proof has been signed off? Software of course. Graphics people spend more time obsessing about power, speed and design flexibility than they do carping about the bosses. Take Quark Xpress, the dominant design program for the past two decades. Good luck baking broad without flour or designing anything for print without Quark. And like any other staple, you tend to take it for granted. Along comes InDesign, by Adobe, to turn the design software discussion in a new direction. An amalgam of design programs for visuals, graphics and text, InDesign is a powerful newcomer to challenge the Quark world. Does InDesign anticipate a rapidly approaching digital future where workflow requires seamless compatibility or is it simply entrenching Adobe products in new ways? The graphics community has lots to say about it. Design programs blend the creative and commercial production process together, so the comfort level is as important as technical specs when evaluating the two. Canadian Printer eavesdropped on two savvy graphic artists (a husband-and-wife team) who are admitted Quark diehards pondering the relative merits of both.
They should know. With six Macs in a very small apartment, they're dedicated to the digital life. Here's what Gary Gehiere, the systems manager and graphic designer at the Guelph Mercury newspaper, and Trina Burkard, who handles design and prepress production at Golden Triangle Printing Inc., of Waterloo, had to say. It's an...