From what I’ve seen so far, it appears that a reviewer’s opinion of QuarkXPress 8 depends on their level of experience in using previous versions, their willingness to explore what’s new in version 8, and their bias toward InDesign (or their bias against Quark for sins committed years ago by people who are long-gone from Quark).

The first is in Macworld, PC World, and Digital Arts — it’s the same review in all three. I particularly enjoyed the insightful comments made by “wizenpub” at the end of the Macworld article:

Macworld – Review: QuarkXPress 8

PC World – QuarkXPress 8

Digital Arts – First Look: QuarkXPress 8

(Full disclosure: I had a hand in making sure that the technical details of Macworld’s review were accurate.)

The second is at Kevin Slimp’s website on Newspaper Technology. I’ve chatted with Kevin over the years, and this is the first time I’ve seen Kevin notably impressed by a new version of QuarkXPress.

Newspaper Technology – QuarkXPress 8 Release Full of Surprises for the Design Professional

I plan to keep my eyes open and make note of new reviews as they’re released. And you can keep your eyes on Planet Quark to find out about them.

Jay Nelson

Jay Nelson is the editorial director of PlanetQuark.com, and the editor and publisher of Design Tools Monthly. He’s also the author of the QuarkXPress 8 and QuarkXPress 7 training titles at Lynda.com, as well as the training videos Quark includes in the box with QuarkXPress 7 . In addition, Jay writes regularly for Macworld and Photoshop User magazines and speaks at industry events.