Here is some information from XChange about these XTensions:

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Enfocus Instant PDF 08 makes producing press-ready PDFs easy for creative professionals. Using award-winning Enfocus Certified PDF technology, it’s the simplest and most reliable way to create PDFs that comply with a print or advertisement vendors’ specifications. While working in their favourite creative application — Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, QuarkXPress, Adobe Acrobat — users simply select “Save as Certified PDF…” from the File menu and let Instant PDF 08 take care of creating their PDF, preflighting it, modifying it where necessary, and even sending it to their print provider — all without leaving their application. Users can remain productive in their familiar environment without having to worry about print styles, PDF export or other complicated PDF creation settings. And if they do run into problems, Instant PDF 08′s comprehensive in-application help not only gives them the answers they need quickly, but also contains tips on how to avoid making the same mistakes again in the future.

For print providers, Instant PDF 08 significantly reduces the load on customer service and pre-press operators because Certified PDF files are always output correctly right at the designer’s workstation. With award-winning Enfocus Certified PDF technology, the files are flagged as ready for output from the moment they arrive in an inbox.

MadeToPrint XT optimizes and extends output and print options in QuarkXPress and has been designed for professional users, who have to create, organize and control larger numbers of print-/output jobs. MadeToPrint XT helps to streamline these tasks as well as the creation of PDF, EPS and PostScript files. The XTension allows even complex print settings to be saved as repetitive jobs, thereby ensuring efficient and safe production.

MadeToPrint XT 8 provides features like batch processing, token-based file naming and flexible layer output that go beyond Quark’s output functionality. More than that, the XTension allows hotfolder based processing of XPress 8 files, thus enabling users to output QuarkXPress documents completely unattended. MadeToPrint XT’s latest version includes the new Imposition function, so users can print fully imposed PDF files from their QuarkXPress documents. Users can output fully imposed jobs, from booklets to N-up, choose between run list (e.g. 4 pages step & repeat) and imposition sheets (e.g. 2 pages A4 single sided). The preconfigured imposition schemes cover all common imposition configurations. Users simply activate the Imposition function and compile the required imposition scheme with the entries under the Runlist and Sheet configuration categories provided.

In addition, MadeToPrint XT allows for grouping of multiple print-job definitions into custom sets that can be invoked at any time to output the same document to multiple output devices, using the parameters specified for each device in its own print job. This means that with a single operation, a user can elect to have a document output to a black-and-white laser printer, a colour-proofing device, and a high-resolution imagesetter, and be assured that all settings in all dialogues are correct. Thus, MadeToPrint XT reduces media waste caused by improper settings of chooser selections, and allows for unattended output of QuarkXPress documents to any variety of formats.

Extensis

For a full review, have a look at Jay Nelson’s story in Macworld. 

Upgrades cost $50.

QuarkXPress 8
2-year ServicePlus membership (see below)
QuarkXPress 9 when it is released

Quark’s ServicePlus Maintenance Plan is normally reserved for companies that use five or more copies of QuarkXPress, but with this offer they’re waiving that requirement — owning just one copy gets you this deal. Its regular price is $528 per license!

ServicePlus gives you quite a few benefits, including (according to their website):

• Free Maintenance Upgrade of QuarkXPress Software, if an upgrade is released during ServicePlus term. (Quark is currently on a less-than-24-month release cycle, so your term is sure to include QuarkXPress 9!)
• On-site, two-day, GAP or transitional training for all creative staff; training days must be scheduled during enrollment period. (This may have a minimum seat requirement — be sure to ask.)
• Technical support provided through e-mail and a dedicated direct ServicePlus member phone number to Level 2 and 3 Quark technicians
• Concurrent usage of QuarkXPress 7/8
• Free replacement CDs.
• 25% discount on all Quark branded XTensions® for QuarkXPress.

Offer expires April 30 and you must use the following promotional Code: 0430QXPPROMO. (Your order must be processed by that date, and processing may take a few days — so get on it now.) 

Take advantage of this offer here:

• Email Quark at serviceplus@quark.com 
• Call Quark at 1.800.998.1716 (toll free) 

Canto Cumulus

New features in version 7.6 include: built-in rendering of PDF thumbnails and previews for files; generation of PowerPoint presentations from cataloged presentations, slides and images — without PowerPoint and even over a Web browser; and watermarking of files. 

Pricing is based on the size and complexity of the solution, and Canto offers a free WebEx live product demonstration.

In addition, you can add or remove objects such as registration marks, color bars, or any page item. You can add smaller PDFs to larger PDF pages, record Action Lists for batch processing many PDFs at once, create templates, convert text to outlines, check for ink coverage, view objects that overprint, and much more.

If you find a problem, it will take you to it and helps you fix it.

Version 8 adds the ability to convert colors using the Adobe CMS, Little CMS, or the default CMS on your operating system. Version 8 also supports PDF/X-4, converts font formats, checks for missing glyphs, allows custom PDF profiles, and more. Upgrades cost $199–$299.

Goe has 2,058 colors — almost double the number of colors in the PMS system, with many new blues, greens and neutrals. The colors are arranged chromatically in a logical new numbering system, making it easier to find similar colors.

The Goe system includes the GoeGuide, a fan-style guide that displays every Goe color; GoeSticks, adhesive-backed color chips that can be either permanently attached to a Palette Card that you can give to clients or printers, or temporarily stuck to a specially coated Palette Playground for color experimentation and chip reuse.

The Goe system also includes impressive myPantone Palette Software for building color palettes based on colors in images, for generating complementary colors, and for blending any two colors into up to 64 individual gradient steps. These palettes can be emailed to a client, or manually entered into design applications by using sRGB values displayed next to every swatch. The Goe system costs $499.

For much more info, see Pantone’s (very colorful) “white paper”

And now, along with QuarkXPress 7.31, QuarkXPress 7.31 Updater: Certified for Windows Vista & Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, it’s compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Version 1.02 brings full compatibility with Leopard, but no new features. (Version 1.01 is the latest version for Windows, and it has the same functionality as version 1.02 for Mac.)

If you haven’t yet looked at Quark Interactive Designer, you’re missing out. Here’s how Quark describes it:

“…it allows for the creation of Flash layouts without writing code, and it also enables users to repurpose print work for the Web and offers innovative design functionality. …create rich, interactive tours, online advertisements and design-driven presentations using QuarkXPress 7. The software features interactive buttons, animations and dozens of predefined actions for transitioning pages, playing sounds, sliding objects and creating interactive menus.”

X-Ray magazine has an excellent introduction to using it here. www.xraymag.com/articles/xray_v5n2_quid_1.html

• Spell checking is up to 500% faster.
• Files save up to 75% faster on local hard drives.
• Text can be navigated up to 50% faster.
• Collect For Output is up to 40% faster.
• Some projects save as much smaller files.
• Several new PDF Output Styles are included.

If you haven’t gotten it yet, there’s no reason to wait. The update is available as a 325MB download (requires registration).
QuarkXPress 7.3 Update

Quark’s website has a full list of Resolved Issues and Known Issues

Among our favorite bug fixes are:

• You can now save a project on a WebDAV server.
• Soft hyphens no longer affect normal hyphenation.
• Windows can be enlarged to any size on any display.
• Pasted text now always maintains its original formatting.
• Kerning values next to Drop Caps from QuarkXPress 6 are now maintained.
• Overlapping picture boxes with borders now output correctly.
• First-line indents now behave as they should.
• Images now overprint as expected.
• Some PSD image output issues are fixed.

But some problems still remain, including:

• Duotones from Photoshop in EPS or PSD format don’t work properly.
• Image pixels may shift when images overlap.
• Profiles in RGB images may not display properly.
• PSD files from Photoshop CS3 may not output spot or alpha channels.
• Importing PDFs from InDesign or Illustrator that use transparency or drop shadows on text may cause QuarkXPress to quit.

I applaud Quark for finally releasing standard PDF Output Styles (presets) that don’t disappear during a restart, even if it took 14 months to do so. (QuarkXPress 7 was released in late May 2006, without these basic PDF Output Styles.)

On the other hand, QuarkXPress’s kinda-sorta support for native Photoshop files makes it difficult to sell that feature. Nobody wants to remember a list of “can’t do” behaviors when designing a page — I thought we learned that when Adobe introduced their disastrous transparency features.

And how can a magazine publisher live with a limitation on what kind of effects its customers can apply within the ads they submit? No transparency or drop shadows on text in PDFs from InDesign or Illustrator? From the number of incredibly ugly ads I’ve seen recently, it seems that both of these effects are very popular with Creative Suite users.

I know that Quark has historically chosen which bugs to fix according to how many complaints they receive about each one, so maybe I’m over-reacting and these are actually rare and relatively obscure issues. I welcome someone from Quark to correct me.

The update increases QuarkXPress’s performance and stability when:

• Working with text-heavy and long documents
• Saving documents locally and on network drives
• Outputting documents that contain drop shadows
• Outputting multiple copies or specific ranges of pages
• Checking spelling

Version 7.3 also fixes a problem that caused text to reflow when opening documents created in previous versions.

Version 7.3 installs the following new PDF Output Styles, available whenever exporting a Layout to PDF. (In these Style names, “Quality/Resolution” refers to the images saved within the PDF: “Quality” = on-screen Preview Quality; “Resolution = Output Resolution):

• Press – High Quality/High Resolution
• Print – Medium Quality/Medium Resolution
• Screen – Medium Quality/Low Resolution
• Screen – Low Quality/Low Resolution
• PDF/X-1a:2001
• PDF/X-3:2002

The Passport version of QuarkXPress 7.3 gains localized user interfaces for European Portuguese, Russian, Finnish, Croatian, and Hungarian. Also, hyphenation and spelling support has been added for Ukrainian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Slovenian, Latvian, Estonian, Icelandic, and Slovak.

Quark’s website has a full list of Resolved Issues and Known Issues.

The update is available as a 325MB download (requires registration).

www.quark.com/products/xpress/73update.html