Quark has introduced a new service that enables QuarkXPress 8.5 users to publish QuarkXPress content to the iPad. With its iPad Publishing Service for QuarkXPress, Quark will configure a starter iPad app with the customer’s logos and colors, and enable the enrichment of QuarkXPress content, which can then be published to that app.
The new service is designed for anyone from the individual designer to corporate publishers and book, newspaper, and magazine publishers who are interested in reaching the digital market quickly with richly-designed, interactive content at a fraction of the cost of conventional app development and publishing, says PG Bartlett, senior vice president of product management for Quark. Customers that use the iPad Publishing Service starting in February 2011 will be able to easily migrate to App Studio for QuarkXPress later in 2011, he adds. With the iPad Publishing Service for QuarkXPress, users can either convert existing print publications for delivery to the iPad or create dedicated iPad versions. As a part of the service, Quark will provide the following iPad publishing components to customers:
° The Quark Starter iPad App, which Quark will configure to the customer’s needs and prepare it for the customer to submit to the Apple App Store
° Free XTensions software that will allow QuarkXPress 8.5 users to enrich their QuarkXPress layouts with the sound, video, and interactive features that make digital content compelling.
° Conversion of enriched QuarkXPress layouts into “issue” files that can be published to their iPad app.
° A web-based service for managing apps, publications, and issues from anywhere at any time.
The components of the iPad Publishing Service for QuarkXPress are included as a part of the service while the configuration of the Starter iPad App will require a one-time US$495 charge per app. The conversion of the QuarkXPress layouts to iPad issue files costs $495 per issue.
The customer will also pay a license fee that is charged for each issue published. The cost of the license fee starts at $349 for publishing a single issue, and decreases depending on the number of issues purchased.
Apart from the one-time app configuration fee per app, a per issue conversion fee, and a per issue licensing fee, Quark doesn’t require any further commitment from customers, such as sharing revenue from sales made from the iPad app. Quark’s iPad Publishing Service will be available in February and interested customers can visit http://www.quark.com/Solutions/Applications/Digital_Publishing_Solutions.aspx to complete the online information form. A Quark representative will contact customers to get started.
Customers must have their own Apple Developer ID and will be responsible for submitting the app generated with Quark’s iPad Publishing Service to the Apple App Store. Also, the enrichment of QuarkXPress content must be done using QuarkXPress 8.5. Users on previous versions of QuarkXPress must upgrade to the latest version; current QuarkXPress 8 users can upgrade to version 8.5 for free.
