Pub2ID Publisher Plugin for Adobe InDesign – user praises
Temple Baptist Church
Markzware recently spoke with Pub2ID user Jana Amos, design communications at Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, about Pub2ID, the Adobe InDesign plugin to convert Microsoft Publisher to Adobe InDesign, and about the challenges of being in charge of communications and designs:
Markzware: Tell us a bit about your role with Temple Baptist Church.
Amos: I’m a graphic designer that works in conjunction with about 15 pastors and their assistants. I design all the church-wide information, but also work with the assistants on their individual design projects.
Markzware: How problematic are Microsoft Publisher files in terms of receiving and getting them through prepress?
Amos: Publisher files are pretty much the only ones the assistants send me that aren’t a plain email. Previous to the convert tool, I had to run Windows XP on my Mac through Virtual PC on my PPC and VMWare on my Intel Mac just to open Publisher. Then I would copy and paste into Word, saving the pictures separately. Then I could open the Word doc on my Mac to get the info needed in the design process.
Markzware: How did you learn about Markzware’s Pub2ID application? And what piqued your interest in this plug-in?
Amos: I had checked it out previously just by doing a Google search for Publisher converters. I also used to use FlightCheck Pro when I worked at a printing and newspaper firm. I attended a CS3 seminar from SkillPath and the print instructor recommended the product. In addition, we have a new ministry volunteering designing items, and I get a plethora of Publisher files from her.
Markzware: Have you personally used the tool to convert files (that originated in Microsoft Publisher) to workable Adobe InDesign documents? And if so, what are your impressions of the plug-in? Did you find it reliable, useful, seamless, easy to use?
Amos: They are always workable documents. I don’t leave “as is” usually. I always feel the need to tinker with things and sometimes I have to find Mac fonts that are compatible. People tend to have “messy” layouts: text with extra returns, missing elements from the design-side (not the converter), etc. Since I’m not a print-firm, I take the liberties to “fix” things a bit! But the converter is always perfect. The Mac/PC difference affects me ore than anything by the converter. It is very easy to use.
Markzware: Have you encountered any problems with the conversion? And if so, what types of issues have you run into?
Amos: Initially all my items were there, but would not be viewable in the preview display, nor would they print. I had great tech support help at Markzware. My files didn’t act the same on his systems, so we knew it was my end. I had installed a new hard-drive a couple of months ago, and just had some corrupt preference files. After a reinstall of my Adobe InDesign, everything went back to working.
Markzware: Generally speaking, would you say that the investment in Pub2ID is worthwhile? Do you feel as though it’s a technology that you’d recommend?
Amos: Absolutely! I probably use it 1-2 times per week, it’s so much less of a hassle than running Windows.
Pub2ID makes it easy to convert files from Publisher to InDesign. Pub2ID is available online at the Pub2ID Store.
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