Quark claws its way back into local market

Locals get a taste of QuarkXPress 8 as the once domiant software attempts to win back the graphic artists in Australia.

On a visit to Australia last week, Dan Logan, technical product manager from the US gave a series of workshops to media and designers alike to educate them about version 8's new features.

Logan, who has been with the company for the last 10 years, said that QuarkXPress 8 is aimed at desktop and enterprise users. "In the past, Quark has tried to swing its pendulum too far," he said.

New features include a picture content allowing users to grab, rotate and scale images in real-time; item tool and text content tool; a new Bezier Pen tools to draw illustrations directly in QuarkXPress 8 with the redefined Bezier Pen tool; an enhanced measurement palette and drag-and-drop to  drag text and pictures from the desktop, Adobe Bridge, iPhoto or any other application that supports drag and drop.

Many of these features attracted praise and enthusiasm from users, but Quark still faces an up-hill battle with Adobe's Creative Suite which is, according to Logan "a default product for most people."

He remains optimistic that there is still enough interest for QuarkXPress 8 to be successful.

"People are entranced by Quark because it's easier to work in," he said. "We don't expect to take on the whole market overnight; it will be a gradual process."

Pictured: Alex Nemeth (left) with Dan Logan (right).

Locally, Alex Nemeth, regional business director said that Quark is planning to roll out a new education program in educational across Australia and New Zealand.

Talk of this project has been on-going and in the pipeline for well over a year, but Nemeth believes it will get started in December-January.

"Schools and institutions have told us that we need to bring a lot to the table," he said.

"They want a partnership that involves training for staff and students and sponsoring of awards."

In the US, where Quark has always maintained a stronger presence, schools including the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Art Institute International are using QuarkXPress 8, Logan said.

"The US have two education relationship managers to manage this," he said. "We have some ground to catch up on in Australia."