Quark Express alternative?

imickimick
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
I have a small page layout project to do that I can easily do on my pc. However, I just recently bought my first iMac and would love to do it with this new machine.

I think that Quark would be a great program to use, but I sure can't justify the big price tag for just one project. What would be a good, possibly free, alternative for me?



--

20" iMac Core 2 Duo

1GB Shuffle

1GB Shuffle (2G)

8GB Nano (2G)

(Future MacBook)

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Adobe InDesign is the standard for page layout today. However, users who don't do layout for a living may be well served by Apple's own Pages.
  • Reply 2 of 11
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    You can get InDesign along with CS, which is a good deal. Even better deal if you get it with an edu discount. However, I still maintain that Quark has a superior workflow and feature set for maintaining templates and documents longer than 20 pages or so.



    What kind of project are you looking to do?
  • Reply 3 of 11
    jabohnjabohn Posts: 582member
    Try either Print Shop or Create or Print Explosion.



    Reading user comments and reviews, it seems that Print Shop is a great product. Pages will also do, but these products are more specific to DTP.
  • Reply 4 of 11
    imickimick Posts: 351member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel


    What kind of project are you looking to do?



    It's a simple flyer for a bike club. I can do it in Visio on my pc, but I'm trying to make the switch.
  • Reply 5 of 11
    macanoid(tm)macanoid(tm) Posts: 344member
    Have a look at this: Ragtime Solo. It's like InDesign and Office in one program.



    Quote:

    RagTime is an award-winning, full-featured business publishing suite. It combines word processing, spreadsheet, pictures, drawing, charting, and slideshows, in an intuitive and easy-to-use layout environment. It includes RagTime Connect, a direct link to ODBC databases like FileMaker Pro.



  • Reply 6 of 11
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    If you're just doing a single sheet flyer, DTP is overkill. I use Illustrator for a lot of small docs, but if you don't have that, almost any drawing program will do. Since OS X can export to PDF from any program that can print, you are free to use tools that wouldn't get the job done in Windows.
  • Reply 7 of 11
    imickimick Posts: 351member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me


    Adobe InDesign is the standard for page layout today. However, users who don't do layout for a living may be well served by Apple's own Pages.



    Pages looks like it would be just perfect for me. Sorry for the dumb question, but I assume that I can change page dimensions, then just take my pdf to a printer, right?
  • Reply 8 of 11
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Pretty much. However, I don't think Pages does bleed, so if you want to print full-bleed you'll need to pad the dimensions a little. A quarter inch (5mm) all around usually does the trick.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    imickimick Posts: 351member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel


    Pretty much. However, I don't think Pages does bleed, so if you want to print full-bleed you'll need to pad the dimensions a little. A quarter inch (5mm) all around usually does the trick.



    That won't be a problem. Mine is so simple that it'll likely be a single-colored flyer. I'll pick up iWork when I get to a place that has it - (not a lot of choice around here - Jefferson, WI).



    Thanks everyone for the info!
  • Reply 10 of 11
    turnwriteturnwrite Posts: 372member
    I like RagTime a lot too, though it isn't InDesign of course..



    I am really sad that they are discontinuing RagTime Solo (the free version) for Version Six. \
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