Newspaper Layout Software: Affinity Publisher Pros & Cons, App Review

Markzware noticed a review of newspaper layout software, which appeared on the State of Newspapers website. It mentions Markzware’s IDMarkz macOS application to preview and convert Adobe InDesign files to many file formats and other applications.

Author/speaker/trainer, Kevin Slimp, “the news guru” and PDF inventor, wrote an article, called, “Affinity Publisher: Could this be the layout software newspapers have been waiting for?“. The article examines pros and cons of Serif’s Affinity Publisher page layout software, an InDesign alternative. The Publisher graphic design application can be used by creative professionals in newspaper layout design, printing, publishing, and other workflows.

Kevin notes that Publisher’s “… pros outnumber the cons …” Here is the gist of each:

Affinity Publisher Pros

integrates with PDF
works much like InDesign or QuarkXPress
costs about $50, as a one-time purchase (free beta & no monthly fee)
opens IDML (InDesign Markup Language) files
allows text import and placement

Affinity Publisher Cons

In a placed PDF, printer’s marks may disappear.
Changing page sizes in the document dialog hampers page creation.
Data merge seems problematic.
Imported Word files may have character issues (but can be fixed via InDesign’s “import options”).
Adobe CC fonts are unavailable, without a Creative Cloud subscription.

Video: “Affinity Publisher to be the Desktop Publishing Application of Choice within 5 years”~ Pat Marchese

In this video, CreativePro CEO, David Blatner, interviews Patrick Marchese, CEO/Co-Founder of Markzware, sponsor of multiple CreativePro Week events. During the interview, Patrick predicts that “With some potential additional functionality, [Affinity Publisher] will be the desktop publishing platform of choice in the future, even beyond InDesign, if you could believe that.” Markzware’s IDMarkz app, demonstrated in the video, helps users get native InDesign files into Affinity Publisher. This video can also be viewed on YouTube.

Mr. Slimp is a publishing company owner who pays monthly Creative Cloud subscription fees and writes that the Affinity suite apps are “great.” He indicates that Affinity Publisher is “something most publishers can use” to design, but is in no rush to switch from InDesign. He realizes publishers may find it more convenient, in the meantime, to use InDesign for processes involving data merge and scripts, for example.

Kevin has worked with a host of software companies and PDFs, and even tested the original InDesign beta. He advises publishers to test Affinity Publisher, to get an idea of the app’s UI and consider whether to switch from InDesign.

Serif has worked hard to improve Affinity Publisher. So, while some newspaper businesses may not yet be ready for the switch from InDesign, testing Publisher could be worth a shot.

*Convert Adobe InDesign files to earlier InDesign versions,*
*QuarkXPress, Affinity Publisher, Acrobat PDF, Illustrator,*
*and many other file formats, by using Markzware’s IDMarkz app.*

We appreciate that Mr. Slimp recommends the IDMarkz app, for InDesign users switching to Affinity Publisher. He shares an image of an InDesign page that was opened in Publisher, with the help of IDMarkz, which quickly converts InDesign, QuarkXPress, Acrobat and Illustrator files to Affinity Publisher files. You can read Kevin’s full article:
Affinity Publisher: Could this be the layout software newspapers have been waiting for?

Buy IDMarkz macOS

You can use automation features to convert InDesign, or export IDML, and open it in a selected application, today! Buy Markzware’s low-cost IDMarkz Mac Subscription (with free updates, throughout your 12-month subscription term), via the IDMarkz page.

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Do you use Adobe InDesign, Affinity Publisher, or other desktop publishing (DTP) applications? Have you opened InDesign in other applications or file formats? Share with Markzware on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, YouTube, and other websites.