Quark Xpress

[kalos]

hello

is Quark Xpress the best program to make a leaflet? any opinions?

thanks

[tomos]

is Quark Xpress the best program to make a leaflet? any opinions?

Some more info would probably be helpful.
Is a leaflet like a flyer (one x  A4 or similar size double-sided-print) or multiple pages ?
Is it going to be professionally printed?
Do you have Quark Express? What are your other options?
Are you familiar with it? (how much time do you have on your hands? - it might be worth getting it professionally done unless you actually want to spend the time learning to use a programme.)
etc etc

[kalos]

it is for a supposed drug

- Is a leaflet like a flyer (one x  A4 or similar size double-sided-print) or multiple pages ?
- Multiple pages

- Is it going to be professionally printed?
- Yes

- Do you have Quark Express? What are your other options?
- I have it, I am not familiar with it, so I want to learn the best software for such job

[40hz]

Quark Xpress can handle any print design and production job you can throw at it. It is one of the two publishing apps used by most professional designers, publishers, and print shops. The other app is Adobe InDesign.

Arguments about which is better mostly boil down to little more than personal preference and "upbringing" - and make about as much sense as arguments over whether a Ferrari is "better" than a Maserati. Either app is an excellent choice.

If you already own Quark, use Quark.

 

[kalos]

since I don't own any at the moment, which is more mainstream? Indesign or QuarkXpress?
also how many hours does one need to really learn them?
thanks

[40hz]

Both are mainstream. Quark is slightly more popular with people whose roots go back to when Quark was the professional's choice. Either is mainstream, with Adobe offering a more complete family of applications and a more comprehensive workflow model.  If I were buying for the first time today I'd probably go with InDesign - but that's just me. Five years ago I would have picked Quark.   

How long it would take to get proficient is a tough question. Depending on what your goals are, and how much typographic, print production, and design background you have, you could be talking weeks or years.

What are you looking to accomplish short and long term?

[kalos]

I need to create leaflets for drugs and presentations

[40hz]

Ok. If you're comfortable with basic print design and have some knowledge of typography, you could be fairly productive with a publishing application in a relatively short period of time. If you don't have that background it will be more challenging. InDesign and Quark are just tools. Like a brush or a tube of paint. A painter needs tools to produce a painting. But owning those tools doesn't automatically make someone a painter.

That being said, you should be able to produce something that will at least be acceptable in relatively short order if you put the time in and are organized and focused. You initial efforts may not be up to what a graphics professional could produce, but it should still be workmanlike.

 

[cranioscopical]

Just to state the obvious, there are good-quality templates available that should get you 75% of the way to an acceptable leaflet. There's also a good chance of finding something acceptable for less expensive applications than either QX or ID.

[kalos]

can you suggest me some good quality resources for templates, images, etc?

[tomos]

There is also the free Scribus (http://www.scribus.net/) - I did post about it here a while back but I'm not really qualified to comment much about it in the sense I'm not familiar with the two big layout programmes.


[edit] I'm not familiar with Scribus either, just messed around with it a bit a few years ago. [/edit]

[cranioscopical]

can you suggest me some good quality resources for templates, images, etc?

If you're looking for InDesign material, I'd start here, at Adobe. Corel also used to ship quite a few useful templates with its suites. They may have some on their current site,
and I'd certainly look at what's available for Open Office.

Another good way to start this journey would be to consult first with whatever print shop you have in mind for running the final material and find out what requirements and recommendations they have. Printing material often comes down to tight deadlines, and press time isn't the best time to find out you've put a foot wrong somewhere.

Good luck with your adventure