[WinMac] Re: Mac Desktop Printing [WAS:Re: Incompatibility]
Daniel L. Schwartz(expresso[at]snip.net)
Fri, 19 Mar 1999 13:30:06 -0500
Dear Darron (and Julie & Jordan, and everyone else, too!),
At 08:17 AM 3/19/99 -0800, you wrote:
>----------
>>From: "Daniel L. Schwartz" <expresso@snip.net>
>> Darron,
>>
>> Unfortunately, I can't wean my Mac customers off Quack and on to
>> PageMaker... It's as ubiquitous as Adobe Type Manager.
>>
>> Cheers!
>> Dan
>>
>Don't do 'em any favors (insert sardonic grin) with PageMaker. Quark is a
>better design tool than PageMaker. I was waiting for Adobe's new InDesign
>before deciding which app would replace PageMaker as our tool of choice for
>writing our technical manuals.
Every users' needs are different, and sometimes we "skew" our
recommendations accordingly. For example, PageMaker is quite handy for
producing a small newspaper because you don't need a lot of operator
training to get decent output. Also, PageMaker is "forgiving" enough so
that even if you use a bunch of text blocks (as opposed to creative use of
tabs, indents, and space before & after paragraphs) you'll STILL get a
useable product.
Producing a long document (such as a 300 page chemical catalog) is a whole
different issue, especially if you need to maintain links to placed images.
I _assume_ FrameMaker does a better job of this, and I guess this is why it
is so popular among professors who publish books... Perhaps K2 (InDesign)
will incorporate some of these functions...
>Quark is too buggy, always has been IMHO. If I can't rely on a tool to run
>more than two or three hours between crashes then I can't count on it under
>deadline pressure. Don't even get me started on Quark 3.0 and 4.0.
Forbes Magazine will not even accept QX4 docs... They _only_ accept QX
3.32 docs! One minor problem: If you have a G3 Mac (which pretty much
requires MacOS 8.5.1), QX 3.32r5 is not compatible. Quark's answer: Upgrade
to QX 4.04!
>PageMaker's design options are too limited and the antiquated code creates
>bugs of its own (useless table editor, automatic numbered list plug-in
>crashes every computer I've used, Mac and Windows), but at least it doesn't
>crash as often as Quark.
I manually assemble my multipage documents and run a laser proof...
Period. It's all part of the preflight process. I _still_ don't fully trust
the preflight tools when it comes time to commit to (expensive) film. :)
As for the so-called "Adobe Table 3.0" included in PageMaker, I agree it's
worthless. Personally, I create my tables like any other vector graphic in
FreeHand and then import it as an EPS: This way, I can scale & stretch as
needed... Handy if you need to eliminate widows at the bottom of the page!
Also, all I need to do is double-click on the table/graphic to edit it...
>FrameMaker is endlessly complex but has the design flexibility we need.
>
>InDesign has no indexing function, making it useless for technical
>documentation.
I haven't tried InDesign yet, but again, EVERY users' needs are different!
>We're switching to FrameMaker with our next project. Maybe you should test
>InDesign and try to steer some of your Quark customers that way. I have a
>few horror stories to tell about Quark's tech support if you need any
>ammunition. I can't believe those cheap SOB's make you mail back a
>registration floppy disk and make you pay the %$&**@# postage. Speaking of
>registration floppies, does anyone in Denver know about the new floppyless
>G3s? If so, would you please call Quark and give them a clue?
Actually, this IS one area where Quark got the message... They USED to be
very arrogant; but after a number of times being publicly trashed in the
press they FINALLY got it. In fact, they are now even sending out update
CD's without solicitation.
As for the floppyless G3 issue, according to Ric Ford's MacInTouch column
<http://www.macintouch.com> they know they have a double-header of a
problem , not only with the floppyless iMacs but also with the ADB dongles
used for Passport, which is all they are selling to the academic market.
[In some ways, though, I don't blame Quark - Or any software publisher -
for protecting their intellectual property with a dongle, AS LONG AS there
is 24/365 support in the event that there is a hardware failure... But that
is a whole separate issue!]
>--
>Darron Spohn
>Publications Manager
>ClickNet Software Corporation
>http://www.clicknet.com
>408.576.5952
Yours truly,
Daniel L. Schwartz,
Electrical Engineer.
Dan's Macintosh Consulting
239 Great Road
Maple Shade, NJ 08052
609-642-7666
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