I’m still waiting for my review copy of the new QuarkXPress but of course I’ve read the press release and explored the Quark site - so how does it look on paper?

 The slogan that Quark has picked for the new release is “Revolutionizing Publishing. Again.” Certainly sounds good, but what does it actually mean?

Putting aside the new “Designer-Driven Typography”– and on the basis that this seems to boil down to settings for managing hanging punctuation that seems sensible – there are two new features that Quark is pushing that could live up to the revolutionary hype: the new interface and the new interactive design capabilities.

Again it’s easy to be sceptical…

In my experience “revolutionary” new interfaces often turn out to be minor tweaks to the positioning of menu commands and some new icons. In other words an excellent way of filling out a sparse new features list with half a day’s programming and doodling.

There’s even more scope for concern over Quark’s new interactive design capabilities. Essentially Quark lost the plot big time with its version 5 release which grafted mickey mouse web capabilities onto its high-end print design core. Now it’s going to add Flash authoring – aaagh!

It could be bad news – but not necessarily.

Its streamlined and efficient working environment is undoubtedly Quark’s greatest strength. At the same time there’s no doubt that generally it’s looking long in the tooth and that some areas are looking pretty prehistoric. If Quark can truly refresh and rejuvenate its interface and working method, it can press home its speed advantage and ensure that it’s InDesign that’s left looking like the lumbering dinosaur.

As for the new interactive authoring capabilities there’s a real chance that this is an idea whose come. Not, I hasten to add, in terms of converting a print publication into an HTML website. These are just too different and Quark’s web capabilities far too pathetic to bridge the gap – you just can’t expect to produce a professional website without touching code.

Ironically Quark’s saviour could turn out to be Adobe. I’ve just finished the review of the latest Acrobat 9 and the big advance here is the incorporation of the Flash player into the free Reader program. This really does open up a code-free route for turning design rich paper publications into design richer electronic publications.

Maybe DTP is about to undergo another revolution and maybe Quark will be at the forefront again.