Читать книгу Start & Run a Creative Services Business - Susan Kirkland - Страница 31

If you design complex, layered, single-sheet brochures, you may still prefer QuarkXPress. But if you want a no-nonsense layout program for bread-and-butter work such as software manuals, use InDesign. Adobe has incorporated many of the features that made Quark attractive to designers when it first hit the market, and there’s not much difference in capability anymore. Keep in mind that if your favorite print shop only accepts files created in PageMaker, compatibility may make it profitable in the long run to switch. There is a converter that works between the two programs, but much like ocr, you may still have to rework the end result so it matches the original, particularly text blocks, which don’t convert well. If you want to rely on a converter, plan on spending money for last-minute corrections. It would be great if all software programs worked for all job requirements, but that’s not the case. You will create a more stable document if you import graphics created in a program designed for specific functions as opposed to doing the calisthenics of making something like Microsoft Word do what it wasn’t designed to do.

My preference is Adobe Freehand MX because it is an excellent alternative to Adobe Illustrator when creating logos and PDFs. Freehand has stability and conversion capability when it comes to creating Encapsulated PostScript (eps) files for placement in layout programs. Freehand also allows you to save your documents in more than ten different formats, including several compatible versions of Illustrator files, Photoshop files, PDF, GIF, JPEG, and Flash. Your best bet is to choose Adobe Creative Suite and you’ll have everything you need.