Member Avatar for Coach_Nate

Can someone tell me what the difference is (if any). Or is it a matter of preference?

Thanks,
Nate

PS - Sorry if this is in the wrong forum

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A short, up-to-date summary that builds on the points from and and focuses on practical choices today.

PageMaker is legacy software and has not been developed for many years; it should not be chosen for new projects. When you must work with old PageMaker files, treat them as archival sources: export a PDF to preserve visual fidelity, extract raw text and linked images where possible, and rebuild the layout in a modern app rather than relying on fragile direct imports. Background on PageMaker’s status is available here: Adobe PageMaker.

For current production work the decision is normally between modern QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign. Check three things before committing: (1) what your printers, clients or existing team require, (2) which app supports the specific prepress or specialty workflows you need (color management, PDF/X output, VDP plugins, scripting), and (3) file-exchange and long-term maintainability. If integration with other Adobe tools or a large third-party plugin ecosystem matters, InDesign is typically the safer pick; if a client or house style is tied to Quark, retain Quark. Read vendor histories and feature sets here: QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign.

Quick checklist for migration/selection:

  • Preserve a PDF master of any legacy file for proofing.
  • Collect/export fonts, images and raw text separately before rebuilding.
  • Confirm required PDF/X standard and color profiles with your printer.
  • Validate current licensing and platform support for the vendor you choose.

This keeps legacy work recoverable while moving production to software that has active support and modern prepress features.

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Member Avatar for peter_budo

Matter of preference. I f you use more Adobe products you will be more familiar with interface of Pagemaker. And oposite, if you work with Macromedia Quark will do it for you.

Member Avatar for tgreer

Neither works for "Web design". These are "page layout" applications, referring to printed pages, not web pages. And as I mentioned in your other thread (yep, you double-posted! That's a no-no, but we'll let it slide this time), your choice really depends on your workflow. For example, if you want to design meta-templates for a VDP application, you'd pick InDesign, as it has the most plug-ins for that workflow (xmpie PersonalEffect, for example). Similarly, if you're designing for eventual PDF production, you'd also lean toward InDesign.

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