Читать книгу Start & Run a Creative Services Business - Susan Kirkland - Страница 30

QuarkXPress is preferred in some advertising agencies and design studios. However, many designers have switched from what they call “Quirk” to the Adobe software InDesign. InDesign evolved from PageMaker and has proven over time to be more stable in larger publications and are particularly good at converting documents to PDF (Portable Document Format), the file format used worldwide for all kinds of output.

You must choose the software you feel most comfortable using. It makes no sense to buy software that inhibits your ability to produce quality work. Many designers have abandoned QuarkXPress for InDesign simply because Adobe is a larger, more stable company, one that they feel confident will be around to issue updates, provide user support, and satisfy customer demand. Remember that PostScript, a data-transfer file type developed by Adobe, is inherent in all Adobe software, but is not native to Quark, which can lead to problems with Quark PDF files. Just ask any printer whose prepress technician has stayed up all night to get their level 3 PostScript software to output the client’s level 1A PostScript Quark file.

Some programs are just not designed to handle the high-end requirements of today’s digital print equipment.

Since Quark is not a PDF native or quartz-based application, it has to fall back on QuickDraw to render the contents of the save as PDFoutput. QuickDraw can’t capture the incredible detail of PostScript, so Quark makes some internal transformations of its PostScript file. This is most likely the reason users complain of color and resolution shifts. It’s called color-space shifting and refers to the PostScript Printer Description (PPD) used to create the PDF. Sometimes Quark will take an existing PDF and misread the CMYK color space. One industry insider quipped: “Quark is trying to reinvent itself as a developer of work-flow management tools. If it can’t sort out problems like this one soon, it won’t have any work to flow.”

There are two levels of PDF in use today. The X-1A standard used by Quark is more restrictive, based on a limited set of acceptable color spaces (CMYK and spot). The more advanced X-3 standard allows for other color spaces such as RGB, provided they are appropriately tagged with ICC profiles. This is all handled automatically if you are using Adobe software and don’t check the box titled “Convert CMYK to RGB” when using Distiller. I’ve even heard that using Color Management (CMS) causes PostScript output to read CMYK as RGB. Turn it off before you export as PDF and avoid output problems.