First we realized Desktop Publishing itself turns 25 this year, then it was Photoshop that also turns 20 in 2010 and now this:

Adobe InDesign 10 Years on the Creative Desktop!

http://www.indesign10anniversary.com/

Need to preflight or convert to or from Adobe InDesign, then Markzware is your source to free your content. Adobe InDesign Plug-ins and world-class applications that have been with InDesign and DTP every step of the way… Markzware.

Happy birthday InDesign!

“It’s features like that in all their programs that make Markzware one of my favorite go-to companies for problem solving programs, Xtensions and Plug-ins.”
Here was a very nice product testimonial we got submitted through the web site last night. It was such a great Markzware customer review, that I felt obligated to share it in full…

August 27, 2009 3:17:33 AM GMT+02:00
Name: Roy Behymer
Company: IPC Graphics
Country: USA
Website: www.ipcstl.com

Testimonial:
I have used many Markzware products over the years: Flightcheck Designer; Pub2ID; Q2ID; Markztools; Pict Attributes XT; PM2Q. There’s a reason I keep coming back and why I’ve purchased and recommended so many of their products, they simply work, which helps to make my work more simple. Even as we’ve progressed from one design program to another, dropping some along the way, Markzware’s products have always helped us, no matter which professional design program we use. Even their discontinued products are still useful for us. PM2Q still allows us to extract embedded files at full resolution from legacy PageMaker files when InDesign’s built-in conversion of PageMaker results in low resolution embedded files. It’s features like that in all their programs that make Markzware one of my favorite go-to companies for problem solving programs, Xtensions and Plug-ins.  Read more... (397 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

– YouTube recently added a new interface option for their users whom have a “YouTube channel page.” Markzware has activated this cool, modern interface and you can check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/MarkzwareTV

Make sure you check out the “Playlists” as there we have numerous categories, with our videos categorized. They include the following, with the Markzware support and product demonstration (Plug-ins, XT’s, applications, services, etc.) videos being the most popular:

• Graphic Arts & More
• Markzware Technical Support Videos
• Product Demonstrations – Markzware
• Markzware Testimonials (video)
• Interviews by Markzware
• Adventures or other videos
• Animations by Markzware
• Promotions and Specials

They also have integrated even better the ability to reply to one of our videos or to just make a new upload, via your own built in web-cam! It works great and here I give an impromptu intro to the re-designed Markzware video site on YouTube:

What better way to make sure your book layout or color graphics are in order than through industry education! So grab some popcorn and enjoy your Friday at MarkzwareTV!

Just about everyday in PrintWeek UK’s newsletter, you read of another printer going into bankruptcy. And it is no secret that publishers, especially newspapers, are having a tough go at it. (Even though I still think there are many opportunities, just takes getting with the times and trying new things, like this, for instance: Design can save the newspaper)

For those graphics and media companies in America, the auto-industry getting hit so hard, on top of an already down economy, makes for some extra challenges. As we read in this PrintCEO blog post:

A recent report at autoblog states, Obama administration’s auto task force slashed Chrysler ad budget by 50%
Source: http://printceo.com/2009/06/auto-industry-media-spending-during-bankruptcy

Not to mention all of the dealers (almost 2,000) that will not be out there advertising anymore or picking up their brochure prints, for their right to sell GM or Chrysler cars has been revoked, effective in many cases next week. The AutoBlog.com report stated this:

Chrysler is nearly two weeks into its bankruptcy, and the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker is already getting an idea of just how engaged the Obama administration plans to be in the process. Chrysler planned to spend $134 million dollars on advertising during its supposed nine weeks of bankruptcy, but the Auto Task Force has reportedly cut the figure in half.  Read more... (569 words, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

Bad, corrupted or crashing Adobe InDesign software documents are unfortunately a reality. Hopefully this will not be something you experience, but if you do, here is a great work-around for recovering flaky InDesign layout files. Note – here is a listing of the various InDesign error or crash messages you may get:
http://www.screencast.com/users/Markzware/playlists/Corrupt%20InDesign%20Files/

These are the instructions, with inventory list of software (XTensions and Plug-ins) needed. It is a work-around, however one which is working quite well…
SEE BELOW FOR A SERVICE WE ARE OFFERING TO *FIX* THESE FILES…

* = You need it
-= What to do

— — — — —
*QuarkXPress 6 or 7
*ID2Q from Markzware loaded
-Open InDesign file in QuarkXPress via ID2Q (Under “Utilities)
-Save (hopefully) converted bad InDesign file now as a QuarkXpress file to your desktop with a “.qxp” extension.
*InDesign CS2 or CS3
*Q2ID plugin from Markzware
-In InDesign (after Q2ID is loaded) simply to a “file->open”
-Select the salvaged file now in a “.qxp” or QuarkXPress form
*** If it opens, it is generally RECOVERED!***

TIP- after you get the InDesign salvaged it is BEST to then EXPORT it as an “.INX” or Adobe Interchange format.. this will zap any corruption that may be lingering in most cases… then you can work-on!  Read more... (357 words, estimated 1:26 mins reading time)

Preflight, in the graphic arts sense, is the process of checking a digital document before it goes to plate, print or otherwise output (exported – such as to PDF). It traditionally is a way to check quality before going to the printing press, digital or otherwise, but can also be used to check online banners and gifs. Preflight is best done on the source document, such as those created in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, QuarkXPress or Corel!Draw as some examples, before becoming a PDF (Portable Document Format). Similar to a pilot whom walks around and performs a pre take-off pre-flight check, preflighting for designers and prepress operators should be a must.

The term preflight was first used during a presentation in 1990 by Chuck Weger, a well know industry consultant. There were some early on postscript (rips) that interperted data and provided a preflight report of sorts. However the first true preflight application came from Markzware and was wisely called FlightCheck another term pilots also use.

Even before FlightCheck® was out on the market, Markzware applied for and was dully granted a U.S. Patent Number 5,963,641 – ‘Device and method for examining, verifying, correcting and approving electronic documents prior to printing, transmission or recording.’  Read more... (508 words, 1 image, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

American Printer, Mar 1, 2008

If you have been in the print industry for any length of time, you know that there are certain file types printers dread receiving from customers. Right at the top of the list is content created in Microsoft Publisher. You see, almost every prepress department out there is Mac-based, and Microsoft has never released a Mac version of Microsoft Publisher.

For those of us in printing, this is a bittersweet thing. We’re torn between the positions: “Why have they never deemed it necessary to make a Mac version for us poor saps who have to deal with the Publisher files people send in?” and “Thank God they haven’t made a Mac version of that program!” Microsoft Publisher is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an industry-standard application.

Unfortunately, with the shift toward a PDF workflow, more and more customers are using office software like Microsoft Word or Publisher to create their “print-ready” documents. This is bad news for printers, as we’d rather deal with professional programs, such as QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign, that deliver predictable, reliable results.  Read more... (759 words, estimated 3:02 mins reading time)

Hi everyone,

You’re invited to join the Markzware Users Group on LinkedIn.

This group is for people using, selling and integrating Markzware’s preflight and conversion tools.

Here we can network and communicate about FlightCheck, Q2ID (QuarkXPress to Adobe InDesign), MarkzTools and PUB2ID to name just a few of our products – and engage in general graphic arts discussions too!

Joining will allow you to find and contact other Markzware Users Group members on LinkedIn.

The goal of this group is to help members:

- Reach other members of Markzware Users Group

- Accelerate careers/business through referrals from Markzware Users Group members

- Know more than a name

– view rich professional profiles from fellow Markzware Users Group members

Here’s the link to join:

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/70725/106EFD509D8A

Hope to see you in the group,

— The Markzware Users Group Team

Getting started with Adobe InDesign Plug-Ins?

Is your team in need of more InDesign developers?

Want to be more efficient at developing InDesign Plug-Ins?

Getting up to speed with the InDesign SDK easily takes between two and six months of non-productive time.

Attending this one-day workshop will shave at the very least one month from this non-productive lead time.

No doubt you have a good idea what the cost of one developer-month is, so you can easily estimate what value this workshop is to you.

The workshop will be run on Monday, April 28th, on the first day of the Adobe Creative Suite Developer Summit, by Kris Coppieters from Rorohiko Ltd. The cost is only US$1149.00 per person.

To check availability and/or to register, e-mail us at training@rorohiko.com.

Make sure you book early – space is limited! More info about the rest of the summit can be found here:

http://blogs.adobe.com/notesfrommnr/2008/01/save_the_date_2.html#more