Jump to content
You must now use your email address to sign in [click for more info] ×

Recommended Posts

We are still months away of Publisher's Public Beta.

There will be more information closer to Beta's release.

Stay tuned.

 

Hello out there,

 

I am new here, so sorry if I say something stupid. To me, Affinity Designer has already so many useful features that I wonder if you really need to develop a complete new application for a publishing solution or "just" an extension for Affinity Designer with some DTP-typical page- and texthandling abilities and i/o options (I hope that does not sound disrespectful, its of course still a lot of work)

 

Instead of epub- or other digital exporters, the killer feature for Affinity Publisher could be somewhere else. I work for many german publishing houses (who mostly stopped updating their thousands of Indesign copies at version 5.x, by the way). They will surely defect to any other affordable software solution than Adobe. But meanwhile they pay more money for their publishing systems (like Vjoon K4, Woodwing, Van Gennep, QPS or Censhare) than for their Indesign-licences. 

 

So why not focus on collaboration? With a simple (local and/or web based) publishing system, especially for small to mid sized groups with different workplaces (home office), the Affinity Publisher would be the killer. For magazines, books and also crossmedia projects there is no need of extravagant design features.

 

I work with Indesign everyday since Version 1.0 and usually need maybe 30% of its abilities. Most commonly its placing and handling text, vectors and pictures in different tasks (layout, editing, proofreading etc). And while we rarely take advantage of all the exiting Indesign FX, we more and more frequently miss some good workflow features.

 

My two cents. I really hope you continue the Publisher project and I'd love to become a beta tester as well. Good luck!

 

Uwe

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome ucb to this forum as it is your first post, it seems.

 

I'm not sure what your workflow is but as far as I am concerned Designer has almost zero features for what I would consider publishing. Of course, you can combine text and graphics on a page or artboard but you can't even centre text vertically in a text box. Heck, you can't even see the non-printing characters in a typed text. Let me be clear, I am not bashing Serif here at all. They've decided that Designer is not an application meant for publishing. That's why they are developing Publisher for that.

 

As to inDesign, unlike you, I use a lot if not most of the features that inDesign offers. Text variables, automation through JavaScript, nested styles, grep, etc, you name it, as long as it helps produce my documents quicker. I use it for leaflets and long documents like books, catalogues, etc. But is it perfect, absolutely not.

 

And that's why when I heard that Serif was coming out with a new professional publishing software I was very excited. However, my excitement has been tempered of recent by how much their timetable has slipped and by the fact that realistically, for Publisher to compete with inDesign, it may take the Affinity team year (5 or more, a wild guess) before I can use it professionally, I mean fitting it into my workflow. My only hope is that it will be worth the wait.

 

Of course, like everyone else here in this forum, I will be the first to take it for a spin when the beta shows up. I also look forward to contributing my few cents towards making Publisher better and bugs free (in as far as it is possible).

 

Best regards

2017 27” iMac 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 • Radeon Pr 580 8GB • 64GB • Ventura 13.6.4.

iPad Pro (10.5-inch) • 256GB • Version 16.4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Will Publisher support import and export of InDesign files?

 

 

This was asked and answered before.

 

Yes, and if I remember correctly, the answer was no: because the Indesign format is proprietary to Adobe and therefore Serif can neither read nor save in that format.

 

So far, the Affinity apps are pretty good at importing pdf files, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

RE InDesign Import / Export.

 

If Serif wanted to, they could write an IDML Import / Export filter. The IDML format is well documented and is freely available from Adobe's devnet web site. 

 

IDML is the only means of sharing InDesign files between a particular ID version and an older version. It's a common practice. IDML is also one of the means to get InDesign files into QuarkXPress via a IDML -> QXP plug-in. (Another plug-in available runs from within QXP and converts a native ID file into QXP format but I don't know if they use IDML as an intermediary format.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The day Publisher can replace InDesign will be a day to celebrate for so many of us. Too bad the release got rescheduled. :(

+1

 

…so eager to replace InDesign that I love but it is

an Adobe product!   :( …the last one I use! 

www.kodiakmedia.at

TeamViewer: 668 015 544
Skype: kodiakonline
 
If personal taste is involved,           Light is free,                       Mother Nature provides the light
discussion is pointless.                   capturing it is NOT.               but talent renders the image.
                                                                                                                        (Charlychuck)
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Yeah, subscription is a nice idea (for Adobe), but not for me. I wish them luck, but after 25 years of buying and using their products I, for one, am switching to something more reasonably priced.

 

I've weaned myself off Photoshop and I'm in the process of weaning myself of Illustrator. If I can add InDesign to the mix then that would be amazing. I don't think Publisher will be an InDesign killer for a while though. It'll probably take a couple of versions before it has most of the features we're looking for. I get the feeling this product will hit the ground jogging and build up to a run, in subsequent years. But an Adobe free future looks more plausible.  :)

Thats the problem i was always using Amiga stuff ,and  even now I still do., I never had any problems oh yeah better output quality.If only people would have kicked the tires.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, subscription is a nice idea (for Adobe), but not for me. I wish them luck, but after 25 years of buying and using their products I, for one, am switching to something more reasonably priced.

 

I've weaned myself off Photoshop and I'm in the process of weaning myself of Illustrator. If I can add InDesign to the mix then that would be amazing. I don't think Publisher will be an InDesign killer for a while though. It'll probably take a couple of versions before it has most of the features we're looking for. I get the feeling this product will hit the ground jogging and build up to a run, in subsequent years. But an Adobe free future looks more plausible.  :)

 

I've used Quark, InDesign and PageMaker in my time, but, in all seriousness, none of them, and I mean none of them, have beaten the more recent versions of Serif PagePlus for sheer speed of getting the job done, and no loss of quality or features as far as I am concerned. If Affinity Publisher can be anything like their Windows PagePlus offering then we are all in for a very sweet time.

 

(Compared to PagePlus I don't know how anyone gets to the end of a day with Quark, etc.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've used Quark, InDesign and PageMaker in my time, but, in all seriousness, none of them, and I mean none of them, have beaten the more recent versions of Serif PagePlus for sheer speed of getting the job done, and no loss of quality or features as far as I am concerned. If Affinity Publisher can be anything like their Windows PagePlus offering then we are all in for a very sweet time.

 

(Compared to PagePlus I don't know how anyone gets to the end of a day with Quark, etc.)

 

Try a 600 page book with images on nearly every page, most with some sort of transparency and, aside from navigating around, try editing text. It is painful in PP. And make that book also have 15-35 page chapters with running headers and footers.

 

Or, try a relatively simple cookbook wherein the contents are given you as a data file from their CMS and not only flow it in the hour you receive the data, but also as it flows into its single, flowing text frame have it 95% styled. 

 

I could go on.

 

There is a place for PP in my work-flow. But it is rarely an appropriate choice, especially if one collaborates with others. The same is going to hold true with APub for me. Most of my work comes from corporations, publishing houses, etc. I need to use what they use as a contractor. APub may well one day be adopted by these concerns, but it is 5 or more years away from competing on a feature basis with PP, much less ID/QXP. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And this is totally fine. The *pro* segment HAS already Indesign and Xpress, what we need is a nice *semipro* solution.

 

APu was and is advertised as a professional solution. Sorry, semi would be not what is expected and what we would wait for another year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are differences in word usage. Professional means clearly different thing to different people. I use it in the dictionary meaning: Engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as an amateur (Oxford).

 

The high end of the professional usage in DTP is in the hands of Indesign and Xpress. Serif has many times said they don't target *this* area. But professional usage includes many use cases that don't need the power of Indesign and Xpress - This is the area Serif is targeting from everything I have read till now.

 

And this area of the professional segment is interesting for many semi pro users, too. I don't know what you understand under a semi, but I understand it as non professional users that work on the same level as a professional. Perhaps we use different definitions here.

Mac mini M1 / Ryzen 5600H & RTX3050 mobile / iPad Pro 1st - all with latest non beta release of Affinity

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And this area of the professional segment is interesting for many semi pro users, too.

You used “semipro” because MikeW made examples why apps fail to be professional.

 

Serif does not advertise a “nice semipro solution”, that you think “we need”: “Affinity Publisher will be crafted to help professional designers get the very best results on every layout, page, magazine, book, and digital publication, with stunning typography and vibrant colour.” 

 

If you have not completed an appropriate degree, it is not easy to get professional results.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see, the same problem as in video editing where the Hollywood guys don't get that wedding photographers doing a movie are professional users, too - And hating Apple for targeting this segment and not the high end with FCPX...

Mac mini M1 / Ryzen 5600H & RTX3050 mobile / iPad Pro 1st - all with latest non beta release of Affinity

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Serif does not advertise a “nice semipro solution”, that you think “we need”: “Affinity Publisher will be crafted to help professional designers get the very best results on every layout, page, magazine, book, and digital publication, with stunning typography and vibrant colour.” 

 

If you have not completed an appropriate degree, it is not easy to get professional results.

Two comments, submitted with all due respect for all who have an opinion about all this:

 

1. The operative phrase in the Affinity blurb about Publisher is "will be crafted." It is somewhat pointless to speculate at this point about what that will or won't be included in the app or to what extent it help professionals working in how many of the various fields mentioned.

 

They have invited those interested to participate in the Publisher beta program when they start that in 2017. Why not wait until then to offer feedback about which features need further development to meet the needs of whatever pro field(s) you are working in?

 

2. I believe there are many ways to get "professional results" & several ways to define that. An "appropriate degree" does not guarantee anybody will get them, nor prevent those without a degree from doing so. If someone has the imagination & the talent to make a living doing this kind of work, what does it matter if they have a degree or not? Either way, are they not professionals?

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could care less whether someone does this stuff for their income, part of their income or none of their income. I don't generally use the word professional tied to income. I tie it to the capabilities, performance and results of the application.

 

Heck, in most every (maybe every) industry, I see results from so-called non-professionals that are the envy of those making their income from the work. There are many reasons why this is so. But suffice to say it is simply this way and always has been.

 

Case in point of a gentleman who uses Excel for stunning art work (in case y'all are unaware of him):

http://kotaku.com/old-japanese-man-creates-amazing-art-using-excel-wait-499616608

 

Is this man a professional artist? Hobbyist? Does it matter? I don't know about you, but Excel wouldn't even be on my short-list for vector design or art work. I would be proud to turn out such work.

 

Sort story as regards a statement R C-R makes (his point #2). In the late 1980s when the business I created was beginning to grow, we had applicants for designer positions from "the guy someone knew" who loved to draw, to the very best designer that the design schools were churning out. Over the years we invariably hired the people without degrees. They knew art. They took creative direction. The so-called new professionals "knew everything" and they took design criticism personally.

 

In any case, the point is, AD, CD, AI, XDP, DP, ID, QXP, PP, etc., are simply tools to achieve an end. Other than jumping on the "newest and best" software bandwagon, at the most basic level, these applications need to be able to achieve the desired results for the person purchasing a license in as efficient a path as possible. Only the person doing the work is likely to really know if a particular piece of software fits that criteria.

 

As with AD, I will take a wait and see outlook on APub. If and when either can enhance my work experience enough to be useful to me, a license will get purchased.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think we are going in circles here.

 

I agree that there is no substitute for real talent and no amount of studies will compensate for that.

However, most of us use various programs to do a given job as quickly as possible and as professionally as possible to be competitive and to pay for the overhead incurred, etc.

 

We can argue what professional means but let's take it at face value here.

 

In case of Affinity Designer I expect to find the tools that can facilitate my job as a desktop publisher.

 

We can argue what an average desktop publisher is and what tools he/she needs.

 

This forum here represents a vast array of users. Those who want to design simple flyers and whose who design books, magazines, catalogues, etc.

These two groups of people need completely different set of tools. I doubt whether Affinity can satisfy both types of users keeping the program closed, that is without allowing others to develop solutions, etc. All this however is pure speculation because we simply don't know what to expect.

 

Yes, I can use other programs to achieve similar results but at what cost. And yes, I expect Affinity Publisher to compete head to head with Quark and inDesign.

 

Regards

2017 27” iMac 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 • Radeon Pr 580 8GB • 64GB • Ventura 13.6.4.

iPad Pro (10.5-inch) • 256GB • Version 16.4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Edit: Deleted the hugest text wall I've written to date here in Affinity's forums.  It was about trying to explain why I as a fully professional ( before employed and now freelance professional) multi profiled artist/graphic designer/graphic grunt (and what I consider professional for a software aplication, being the capability of doing a non infinite number of things at the market's required specs for that type of project, even if not doing ALL things possible in every area and market niche) do firmly believe that AD is totally professional (if you are prepared to combine it with some other tools for specific cases) , and same story goes with A. Photo, and surely will be the case with A. Publisher. And why I do believe a tool non capable of dealing well with 600 pages, if allows doing fantastic brochures at cmyk needed profiles and all specs, is still a great professional tool.  And all this not still considering the amazing factor of the no rent/super low price.

 

But was extremely long, no one would have read it.

AD, AP and APub. V1.10.6 and V2.4 Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Ryzen 9 3900X, 32 GB RAM,  RTX 3060 12GB, Wacom Intuos XL, Wacom L. Eizo ColorEdge CS 2420 monitor. Windows 10 Pro.
(Laptop) HP Omen 16-b1010ns 12700H, 32GB DDR5, nVidia RTX 3060 6GB + Huion Kamvas 22 pen display, Windows 11 Pro.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I read it all. Thank you for putting the record straight as it were.  :)

 

I didn't get a chance to see it. :( It would have been nice if SrPx had left it intact and simply appended the 'TL;DR' version. :)

Alfred spacer.png
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for Windows • Windows 10 Home/Pro
Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher 2 for iPad • iPadOS 17.4.1 (iPad 7th gen)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.