At the Seybold Publishing Conference, Adobe Systems has introduced what it calls the next generation of publishing software, Adobe InDesign.
The layout software, aimed at graphics professionals, uses an extensible object-oriented architecture so that it can be easily tailored to specific needs, according to the company, which unveiled the new package during a keynote address here by Co-Chairmen Charles Geschke and John Warnock.
Users of InDesign can also directly open files from QuarkXPress 3.3 to 4.04 and Adobe PageMaker 6.5 from within the new software, which also supports Adobe PDF (portable document format) files.
InDesign is expected to be available for MacOS 8.5, Windows 98, and Windows NT 4.0 in the second or third quarter in North America, priced at $US699. The company expects to make the software available in French, German, International English, and Japanese, but did not disclose the timing of these releases.
Also at Seybold, Adobe rolled out PressReady, software for printing and proofing that works with some desktop color inkjet printers. The software allows designers to generate color comps in-house, according to the company, and uses color management based on industry standards. PressReady is expected to ship in the second quarter for Mac OS 7.6.1 or higher, and Windows 95, 98 and NT. It is priced at $149. It currently supports the Canon BJC-8500 color inkjet printer; Epson Stylus Color 800, 850, 1520 and 3000; and Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 895C, 1120C and 2000C. The company said it expects to expand the number of printers with which PressReady will work.
Adobe also announced PageMaker 6.5 Plus for Windows 95, 96, NT 4.0 and Apple Macintosh. Among the features that the software adds to the basic PageMaker package are the following:
-- 4,700 stock illustrations in Adobe Illustrator format, hundreds of design templates and 300 photos;
-- a palette for browsing and searching templates and image files (for Windows only);
-- a Windows plug-in that creates a Microsoft Office-style, icon-based toolbar with shortcuts to commonly used PageMaker features;
-- a Microsoft Publisher 97 and 98 file converter;
-- Photoshop 5.0 LE, which allows users to edit, retouch and enhance images.
Adobe PageMaker 6.5 Plus is scheduled to be available at the end of the month in North America for $499 or $99 for upgrades from previous versions. Localized language versions are expected to ship in April.
Adobe is based in San Jose, California and can be reached on the Web at http://www.adobe.com or at +1-408-536-6000.