The first step in DTP is to define the shape and size of your page, along with some common parameters: margins and columns.Īs Scribus cannot import Quark or InDesign documents, it is necessary to set up the pages manually. Well, yes, but in a week or two we’ll be checking it out under Mac OS X. 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.Īt 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. 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.Īdobe has been busily gobbling up as many of Quark’s customers as it can, but it may be facing some competition soon. In the software field, competition is a healthy thing that brings lower prices and more features.īut there’s more. 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.Īll good news. In terms of software, these are interesting times for designers. 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. Another alternative to the big boys of design – and this one is free.

Scribus app mac