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More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser. Home / Editorial / The Low End Designer Scribus: Another Alternative to Quark, InDesign 2004.11.17 Another alternative to the big boys of design - and this one is free. This week the Low End Designer is taking a break from the beloved Macintosh to have a quick squint at what the open-source world of Linux has to offer designers. In terms of software, these are interesting times for designers. Not only has Adobe ramped-up development of InDesign, but Quark has come back with XPress version 6.5 - and a new entrant has come into the field in the form of MLayout. All good news. In the software field, competition is a healthy thing that brings lower prices and more features. But there's more. Linux Eats Adobe's Lunch The last place one would expect to find professional-level design applications is in the open-source world, but with a lot of hard work and collaboration, a free, powerful layout application has finally arrived: Scribus. Adobe has been busily gobbling up as many of Quark's customers as it can, but it may be facing some competition soon. Not only is Scribus easily capable of even midrange design work, given time it looks like it will be a credible challenger to Adobe InDesign and Quark XPress. At present, it is lacking some niceties such as Word file import, Quark import and Pantone support, but none of these will pose a problem to a designer on a budget. This week we're testing it using Linux. Heresy, you say. Well, yes, but in a week or two we'll be checking it out under Mac OS X. Using Scribus The first step in DTP is do define the shape and size of your page, along with some common parameters: margins and columns. As Scribus cannot import Quark or InDesign documents, it is necessary to set the pages up manually. The developers themselves say, "DTP file formats are very complex internally - probably the most complex on a PC. Creating import/export filters is a task far more complex than importing a spreadsheet or simpler word processing file formats." This is something of an impediment, but it is not an uncommon problem. Adobe InDesign can open files from Quark 4, but not Quark 5 or 6. Quark cannot open any InDesign files whatsoever, nor can version 6 "save down" to version 4! Showing a degree of forward thinking and openness to competition that neither Quark nor Adobe display, Scribus uses open standards for its native file format, meaning that Scribus files may eventually turn out to be openable in other layout applications. When testing Scribus, I set up a 297mm x 386mm document; this page size slightly squatter than most tabloids and roughly analogous with the size of the UK's Independent newspaper. The margins are set unevenly in order to create a box of 265mm x 340mm - this is the minimum printable area on each page. On some pages, items can be outside this central rectangle, on others it would result in items not being printed. Within this central rectangle, I went on to define the main layout. Scribus handles columns in a slightly different manner from other DTP apps, but it is efficient and very useable. Earlier editions of Scribus could not handle multi-columnar text frames; the designer was forced to use text frame linking, a technique for running text from one frame to another that is more usually employed when spreading text across two separate pages. Adding text or images is a simple case of drawing a frame on the page and importing the relevant plain text or image file. Color Management Color accuracy is one of the major advantages of the Macintosh as a print production platform - and one of Linux's major disadvantages. For years now the Mac OS has included Apple's own color management software, ColorSync. Color management standards are dictated by the International Color Consortium and now Linux has a compatible solution in the form of LittleCMS. Some users may not need to install LittleCMS, but for professional output it is a must. With LittleCMS installed, PDF files produced in Scribus should be printed just as they appear on screen. Without it, you'll be guessing how any given color will come out in print. Once the design was finished, it was a simple case of export to PDF - you don't expect the local bureau to support Scribus, do you? In a few weeks time, Low End Designer will be running a Mac OS X test of this application. Stay tuned. Low End Designer Mailbag From Bob Russo I bought ThinkFree a couple years ago after a positive review in Mac Addict Magazine. I was looking for an alternative to buying Office X since switching completely to OS X. It was horribly slow and unable to correctly open and often would crash on many Word documents. I found that using Office 2000 running in Classic was better. I went back and forth with ThinkFree's technical support. They asked me to send them an example of a document that would crash the application, which I did. They didn't have any answer except to wait until ThinkFree 3.0 was released. Was it ever released? I don't know, I had to buy Office X. Bob, Thanks for your comments - I think we'll be advising against ThinkFree Office until we've seen some of these problems fixed! J. From Dan Wilson I thought the article about Quark Killers on LEM was really interesting. I used to be a Quark user, but I migrated over to InDesign. Adobe had a very attractive upgrade price for Photoshop users. One layout app you overlooked is PageStream. It was originally developed for the Atari ST in 1986, then ported to the Commodore Amiga. I was a beta tester for version 3; at the time, it included a Quark import feature which worked well. PageStream is a full-featured layout app, and it's available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Amiga. Dan, Thanks for the email. I have looked at Grasshopper's website and requested a copy of PageStream for review. Nothing as yet, but if I get it I will certainly share my experiences with LEM readers. The ST had some good layout apps - hardly surprising, since the ST was more-or-less a Mac-clone. I remember Calamus from the ST days also, but getting it to run on a Mac is unnecessarily complicated, requiring MagiCMac, the TOS emulator. All the best, J. Letters sent may be published at our discretion. Email addresses will not be published unless requested. If you prefer that your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style. Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com At present, it is lacking some niceties such as Word file import, Quark import and Pantone support, but none of these will pose a problem to a designer on a budget. This week we're testing it using Linux. Heresy, you say. Well, yes, but in a week or two we'll be checking it out under Mac OS X. Using Scribus The first step in DTP is do define the shape and size of your page, along with some common parameters: margins and columns. As Scribus cannot import Quark or InDesign documents, it is necessary to set the pages up manually. The developers themselves say, "DTP file formats are very complex internally -- probably the most complex on a PC. Creating import/export filters is a task far more complex than importing a spreadsheet or simpler word processing file formats." This is something of an impediment, but it is not an uncommon problem. Adobe InDesign can open files from Quark 4, but not Quark 5 or 6. Quark cannot open any InDesign files whatsoever, nor can version 6 "save down" to version 4! Showing a degree of forward thinking and openness to competition that neither Quark nor Adobe display, Scribus uses open standards for its native file format, meaning that Scribus files may eventually turn out to be openable in other layout applications. When testing Scribus, I set up a 297mm x 386mm document; this page size slightly squatter than most tabloids and roughly analogous with the size of the UK's Independent newspaper. The margins are set unevenly in order to create a box of 265mm x 340mm -- this is the minimum printable area on each page. On some pages, items can be outside this central rectangle, on others it would result in items not being printed. Within this central rectangle, I went on to define the main layout. Scribus handles columns in a slightly different manner from other DTP apps, but it is efficient and very useable. Earlier editions of Scribus could not handle multi-columnar text frames; the designer was forced to use text frame linking, a technique for running text from one frame to another that is more usually employed when spreading text across two separate pages. Adding text or images is a simple case of drawing a frame on the page and importing the relevant plain text or image file. Color Management Color accuracy is one of the major advantages of the Macintosh as a print production platform -- and one of Linux's major disadvantages. For years now the Mac OS has included Apple's own color management software, ColorSync. Color management standards are dictated by the International Color Consortium and now Linux has a compatible solution in the form of LittleCMS. Some users may not need to install LittleCMS, but for professional output it is a must. With LittleCMS installed, PDF files produced in Scribus should be printed just as they appear on screen. Without it, you'll be guessing how any given color will come out in print. Once the design was finished, it was a simple case of export to PDF -- you don't expect the local bureau to support Scribus, do you? In a few weeks time, Low End Designer will be running a Mac OS X test of this application. Stay tuned. Low End Designer Mailbag From Bob Russo I bought ThinkFree a couple years ago after a positive review in Mac Addict Magazine. I was looking for an alternative to buying Office X since switching completely to OS X. It was horribly slow and unable to correctly open and often would crash on many Word documents. I found that using Office 2000 running in Classic was better. I went back and forth with ThinkFree's technical support. They asked me to send them an example of a document that would crash the application, which I did. They didn't have any answer except to wait until ThinkFree 3.0 was released. Was it ever released? I don't know, I had to buy Office X. Bob, Thanks for your comments -- I think we'll be advising against ThinkFree Office until we've seen some of these problems fixed! J. From Dan Wilson I thought the article about Quark Killers on LEM was really interesting. I used to be a Quark user, but I migrated over to InDesign. Adobe had a very attractive upgrade price for Photoshop users. One layout app you overlooked is PageStream. It was originally developed for the Atari ST in 1986, then ported to the Commodore Amiga. I was a beta tester for version 3; at the time, it included a Quark import feature which worked well. PageStream is a full-featured layout app, and it's available for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Amiga. Dan, Thanks for the email. I have looked at Grasshopper's website and requested a copy of PageStream for review. Nothing as yet, but if I get it I will certainly share my experiences with LEM readers. The ST had some good layout apps -- hardly surprising, since the ST was more-or-less a Mac-clone. I remember Calamus from the ST days also, but getting it to run on a Mac is unnecessarily complicated, requiring MagiCMac, the TOS emulator. All the best, J. Letters sent may be published at our discretion. Email addresses will not be published unless requested. If you prefer that your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style. <This article is available in a printer-friendly version.> Low End Mac Reader Specials Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core 8GB kit $232 / 4GB kit $116 / 2GB kit $72. New Macbook 2GB DDR3-$65. HARD DRIVES available -- Free shipping / LIfetime warranty. Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, MacBook Pros and more. Optical Drives for Apple iBooks, Powerbooks, MacBooks, MacBook Pros in Stock. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here. OWC: Big Drives, High Performance - Not High Prices! SATA 3.5" up to 1.5TB. Notebook up to 500GB. FW up to 6.0TB. 1.0TB Drive Models from as low as $97.99 www.MacSales.com Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac. Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs. Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you. Jason Walsh is a journalist and designer living in Ireland who has worked in design for several newspaper groups, including Mirror Group Newspapers. Walsh was art director at Gorgeous, a women's lifestyle glossy, and the East Belfast Observer, a weekly local paper. Recent Low End Designer Columns The top Mac design applications of 2004, 01.10. What are the best Mac design programs released or updated in 2004? Scribus: Free DTP on the Mac, 12.21. "The question is, all other things being equal, is Scribus up to the job of professional DTP? The answer is yes, with a few caveats." Preparing for Scribus: Working with X11 and FinkCommander, 12.10. Two free tools that help get *nix software installed and running under OS X. ThinkFree Office: Slow, unpolished, yet useful, 12.01. Despite the name, this isn't free software, and it really calls for a higher end Mac, but it does the job. More in the Low End Designer index. Links for the Day Mac of the Day: Clamshell iBook G3/300 MHz, Sep. 1999 - innovative, rugged, heavy, clamshell laptop introduced AirPort and was a huge hit. Group of the Day: G-Books is for G3 PowerBooks and iBooks. July 4 in LEM history: 00: When Randy met Mac - 08: Wouldn't life be great with an iSlate? - Mac Pro overclocking, Windependence with Darwine, Blu-ray for Macs, and more Recent Content on Low End Mac iPhone 3GS Overheating, Battery Life App, 240 GB Upgrade for 5G iPod, Total Baby App, and More, iNews Review, 07.02. Also low cost international calls, U-verse remote DVR control, Sync Blocker USB-to-Dock cable, Rocket Taxi improved, and more. MacBooks Top Amazon Sales, EFI 1.7 Problems, Pros and Cons of Built-in Batteries, and More, The 'Book Review, 07.02. Also make a bootable SD Card, Leopard on a 9" Dell netbook, MacBook Pro and Air reviews, triple WiFi range, bargain 'Books from $179 to $2,300, and more. Apple Tops in Satisfaction Again, Slim Profits on Mac mini, Ultimate Photo Setup, and More, Mac News Review, 07.02. Also tips for cloning hard drives and moving files from old Macs, Clickfree Transformer turns USB drive into a backup drive, maximum Mac Pro RAM, and more. Refurb MacBook Pro Deal, Fastest Mac Browser, 256 MB Modules for WallStreet, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 07.01. Also more Safari 4 feedback, praise for Camino, MacBook cracks, looking for Craigslist software for Macs, and more. Amazon.com v. Interstate Sales Tax: Everyone Loses, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 07.01. Amazon.com is standing up to states that are trying to have it collect sales tax on interstate commerce, which most see as a violation of federal law. Introduction to Autofs in Mac OS X, Keith Winston, Linux to Mac, 07.01. "Autofs is often used in enterprise environments to set up network-based home directories and other network mounts for users at login." Optimized Software Builds Bring Out the Best in Your Mac, Dan Knight, Online Tech Journal, 06.30. Applications compiled for your Mac's CPU can load more quickly and run faster than ones compiled for universal use. Checking Out Safari 4 on an Old PowerBook, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 06.30. Safari 4 is the fastest it's ever been, but it's not without some frustrating drawbacks. Intel's Promise Fulfilled: More Processing Power per Processor Cycle, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 06.30. Apple promised improved CPU efficiencies when it announced the move to Intel in 2005. Three years of MacBooks show the progress. Is Steve Jobs' Health Essential to Apple's Future?, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 06.30. Steve Jobs' health is an important thing, but Apple has demonstrated that it can be profitable without him. More links in our archive. Recent Deals Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, 07.02. Full version DVD, $140; 5 user family pack, $370; 10-user Server, $299. Best Mac Pro Deals, 07.02. Used 3 GHz 4-core, $2,000; 3.2 8-core, $2,900; refurb 2.8 8-core, $2,399; new 2.66 4-core, $2,290 a/r; 2.26 8-core, $3,070 a/r; 2.66, $4,499; more. Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, 07.02. Used 17" 1 GHz PowerBook, $689; 1.67 GHz, $749; hi-res, $1,029. Best Xserve Deals, 07.02. Used 2 GHz single G5, $800; dual, $1,000; refurb 2.8 GHz 4-core Xeon, $2,100; new 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,888; 8-core, $3,449; 2.66, $4,799; 2.93, $5,999. Best iPod touch Deals, 07.01. Refurb 2G/8 GB, $179; 16 GB, $259; iG/32 GB, $279; new 2G/8 GB, $215; 1G 16 GB, $210; 2G, $275; 2G/32 GB, $369. Prices include shipping. Best 13" MacBook & MacBook Pro Deals, 07.01. Used 1.83 GHz, $595; 2.0, $629; new 2.0, $889; 2.13, $925 after rebate; refurb 2.0 Unibody, $949; 2.4, $1,099; new 2.26 MBP, $1,119 a/r; more. Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 07.01. Used 867 MHz Combo, $400; 1.33 GHz, $448; 1.5 GHz, $599; 1 GHz SuperDrive, $509; 1.33 GHz, $599; 1.5 GHz SD, $679. Best Apple TV Deals, 07.01. Refurb 40 GB Apple TV, $199; new, $220; refurb 160 GB, $279; new, $320. Prices include ground shipping. Best G4 iBook Deals, 06.29. Used 12" 800 MHz Combo, $290; 1 GHz CD, $299; Combo, $370; 1.33 GHz, $428; 14" 1 GHz Combo, $399; 1.2, $465; 1.42 GHz, $500. Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, 06.29. Mac OS X 10.0, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3, $50; 10.3 Server, unlimited users, $130. Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 06.29. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $39; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional. Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 06.29. Close-out 500 GB Time Capsule, $199; 1 TB, $350; AirPort Extreme Base Station, $130; refurb AirPort Express, $85. More deals in our archive.

Mac of the Day: Clamshell iBook G3/300 MHz, Sep. 1999 - innovative, rugged, heavy, clamshell laptop introduced AirPort and was a huge hit. List of the Day: G-Books is for G3 PowerBooks and iBooks. Email Lists Consumer  advice, reviews  guides, deals Apple History Best Used Mac Buys Used Mac Dealers Video Cards Macspeak About Low End Mac Contacts The Low End Designer ©2004 by Jason Walsh. Entire Low End Mac site copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to the webmaster.   LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.   Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.   Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.   PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.   Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Computer. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, and PowerBook are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.