I Want to Switch from Adobe to Affinity Soon

[stephentiano]

I’m a freelance book designer/layout artist of 27 years’ and about a hundred books’ experience. I’ve ranted (and still do) against Adobe and its decision to extort its customers with that damned subscription model for InDesign, Photoshop, etc.

 

I started working in PageMaker many years ago and was thrilled to discover QuarkXPress 3.0, which allowed multipage docs—i.e., books—and way more precise ways of manipulating type and placing text and images on the page.

 

I didn’t like InDesign’s type-handling in its initial version, but tried it out in version 2, completed a book project in it and saw its promise. I ended up moving to InDesign because of how much better integrated it was with other essential Adobe software.

 

But the subscription model they moved to infuriated me from Day One and I resisted subscribing to the Adobe tools I use every day ‘til a year or so ago. I vowed to stay with my version of Creative Studio (InDy, Illy, Photoshop, and Acrobat Pro) ‘til it no longer ran on whatever Macintosh machines I was working on.

 

But as my “deal” on Creative Studio gets closer to expiring and it becomes more expensive, I’m ready to jump to Affinity’s comparable products.

 

I don’t have time for a rest run, as I’m on a long, involved book project at the moment. But I also need to begin planning.

 

Is Affinity Publisher ready for prime-time? I can deal with needing to get used to a new work setup, but it’s features I need to know about. Specifically, is there a limit to how many pages a file can run in Affinity Publisher? Is there a feature comparable to InDy’s Book option, that allows the bringing in together of individual documents?

 

Can InDy docs be worked on or import InDy files, holding on to formatting and styles? Can Publisher export to PDF? Can it export to EPUB and MOBI? How soon are prime-time-ready versions expected to be available?

 

Thank you.

 

Stephen Tiano, Book Designer

[Old Bruce]

1 hour ago, stephentiano said:

Specifically, is there a limit to how many pages a file can run in Affinity Publisher?

Is there a feature comparable to InDy’s Book option, that allows the bringing in together of individual documents?

 

Can InDy docs be worked on or import InDy files, holding on to formatting and styles?

Can Publisher export to PDF?

Can it export to EPUB and MOBI?

How soon are prime-time-ready versions expected to be available?

Pages: I have done hundreds (500+).

indesign book option: No

Indesign files cannot be opened.

Export to PDF yes

Export to epub & mobi No.

Primetime is a subjective term so the answer I have for you is I really don't know. It would be between Now and Never according to the definition of Primetime.

[stephentiano]

Thanks for responding.

I have to apologize for being flip with my "primetime" comment. I guess what I mean is, can it produce files that, at t he very least, are press-ready. It sounds like that's true. It's troubling, tho', that ebooks are not yet possible. If I may: Do you create pubs and/or mobi files? If so, what's your workflow, what with Affinity not yet capable in that area?

Thanks again.

[Old Bruce]

1 hour ago, stephentiano said:

t's troubling, tho', that ebooks are not yet possible.

I and a lot of others find it more than troubling. Still and all I find it is, for my needs at least, ready for primetime. There are a lot of missing things that you didn't ask about like Spanning columns for headers (workarounds) No Footnote or Endnote capabilities (No real workarounds) Tables are hard to use in some situations. 

The 3 apps have trials (I think 14 days, maybe 7) which you can try. I'd suggest looking at a test book you have done before, stripped down in size and then check the forum's search feature to get an idea of how things work or don't then download the trial(s) see how it goes with the pretend book.

[000]

For a first release, Publisher is fantastic and I have started using it for some smaller brochures and calendars ... holds up nicely.

 

While there is no file combining book option (yet?), you can substiture with the "sections" for now. Main readon why the booknfeaturenwas/is needed in InDesign is that the computernquitenquickly runs out of gas when files get big(ish) -- with affinity that hasn't happened to me yet.

 

Here in the forums some people from Serif have said, that InDesign (IDML) import is being worked on, no release date yet.

If you want something for books, take a second look at Quark XPress, they have quite upped their game lately and you can get a full version for around $600. Quark has books and InDesign import working and it cones without a subscription (but with the option tonpay $120 per year for all updates and upgrades - when you stop paying this fee, you get to keep the most recent version you own.

Quick edit: I prefer Publisher, but as I teach "design stuff" I keep up with Quark and InDesign, just in case I need the knowledge.

[Friksel]

4 hours ago, Old Bruce said:

The 3 apps have trials (I think 14 days, maybe 7) which you can try. 

I thought so too, but there happens to be no trial of publisher available at the moment. Still even buying it just to try for 40 euros now it's not that bad I'd say.

 

[Alfred]

14 minutes ago, Friksel said:

I thought so too, but there happens to be no trial of publisher available at the moment. Still even buying it just to try for 40 euros now it's not that bad I'd say.

 

When a trial version becomes available I expect it will last for ten days from first launch, just like the Designer and Photo trials. Serif’s money-back guarantee, covering any app purchased from the Affinity Store, allows you to apply for an unconditional refund within 14 days of purchase.

[stephentiano]

I have a beta of Affinity Publisher, so when I get some time, I could get a feel for it with that. I also have Quark 2015 on my iMac running Mojave. So I could upgrade Quark or use 2015. I guess  just like the idea of being able to buy Affinity outright and not even have to think about subscribing to anything. And at a more reasonable price than even just a Quark update.

But I'm really thinking I don't want to put myself thru acclimating to a new suite of programs without being able to do a good EPUB. Surely that needs to be in an early updated version.

[Bryce]

For most booklets/books we are using Indesign but this past week we did our first 4 page newspaper spread in Publisher just to try it out. Ran into a few things here and there but overall is succeeded nicely. 

Almost all of our signage is done in Affinity now. 

One thing I would like to see in Publisher, sooner rather than later, is Data Merge. In todays world data merge is extremely important for customized mail pieces.

[Medical Officer Bones]

I am going to be honest here. If your publishing targets include epub, apps and the web, this first version of Publisher is just not for you. It may take a while for Affinity Publisher to receive these targets, and I expect it will take at least one or two years based on Affinity's progress as a suite so far.

If you are dying to get away from Adobe, and require these publishing targets NOW, QuarkXpress merits a look. More expensive, though (you do get a deal if you own InDesign, btw).

And Affinity Photo and Publisher will still be nice replacements for Photoshop and Illy.

[stephentiano]

6 hours ago, Medical Officer Bones said:

I am going to be honest here. If your publishing targets include epub, apps and the web, this first version of Publisher is just not for you. It may take a while for Affinity Publisher to receive these targets, and I expect it will take at least one or two years based on Affinity's progress as a suite so far.

If you are dying to get away from Adobe, and require these publishing targets NOW, QuarkXpress merits a look. More expensive, though (you do get a deal if you own InDesign, btw).

And Affinity Photo and Publisher will still be nice replacements for Photoshop and Illy.

Yep, as I said, I have a Quark 2015 on my iMac running Mojave. I used Quark for years, so I know it well. So I could upgrade Quark or use 2015. I guess  just like the idea of being able to buy Affinity outright and not even have to think about subscribing to anything. And at a more reasonable price than even just a Quark update. I suppose I could use Scribus, as well, which I've gotten myself acclimated to.

In terms of Affinity, I'm just thinking I don't want to put myself thru acclimating to a new suite of programs without being able to do a good EPUB. You've helped dissuade me of Affinity at this time. I'll just have to keep on top of their upgrade announcements. I sure hope export to ePub is one of the first things they add to the next version!