Quark's iPad App Creation Tool Finally Ships for QuarkXPress

CreativePro Staff

Quark has been tantalizing QuarkXPress users since January with news of a tool for turning page-layout files into applications that run on Apple’s iPad. Now that capability has finally come to QuarkXPress 9 with the free 9.1 update, which includes a new layout space called App Studio.
Jay Nelson, who reviewed QuarkXPress 9 for CreativePro.com in April, will put the App Studio through it paces, too. Look for his ancillary review to appear on this site soon. But until then, here’s Quark’s description of the four App Studio components:
“1. QuarkXPress 9. The new App Studio layout space within QuarkXPress allows designers to create dedicated vertical and horizontal orientations simultaneously with content that can be automatically synchronized between orientations. Designers can enrich content with pictures, slideshows, movies, and audio, as well as scrollable layouts that are unique to tablet devices.
“2. App Studio Factory. To create branded apps designers use App Studio Factory, the standalone Mac OS X software included with QuarkXPress 9.1. App Studio Factory enables designers to create customized App Studio apps using predefined app templates that offer a variety of features, including in-app purchases and in-app subscriptions. [Editor’s note: Yes, Windows users, you read that right. App Studio Factory is Mac-only!]
“3. App Studio Issue Previewer. Designers can test App Studio issues with this free app by downloading it to their iPad from the Apple App Store, or by installing it on a Mac and running it in the iOS Simulator.
“4. App Studio Publishing Portal: Designers use the App Studio Publishing Portal to manage their App Studio apps and issue files, including when and where issues are published and tracking when and where issues are sold.”
For the really curious, there’s also a downloadable App Studio User Guide.
What Does It Cost?
App Studio is free to registered owners of QuarkXPress 9 as part of the QuarkXpress 9.1 update. However, there are some costs to publish to the iPad. For each app you create, you must buy one $149 app template license. If you’re publishing a multi-issue magazine, you also need to buy an issue license pack from Quark. Check out https://www.quark.com/Products/AppStudio/Pricing.aspx for a full pricing rundown.
Do you want to see what all the brouhaha is about but don’t own QuarkXPress 9? Quark will let you try QXP 9.1 (complete with App Studio) for 30 days, even if you’ve already downloaded a QXP trial version. If you decide it’s worth buying, you’ll pay $299 to upgrade from QuarkXPress 7 and 8, or $799 if you don’t own earlier versions of the software.