The first “big” book on QuarkXPress 8 is out, and it’s a great one: QuarkXPress 8: Production Tricks and Experts’ Tips. In its 244 letter-sized pages, editor Cyndie Shaffstall compiles the best real-world advice and techniques from 11 QuarkXPress experts.

Yes, there’s a chapter for newbies that covers the basic techniques to lay out a page. But the rest focuses on the big advances that Quark has made in recent versions of QuarkXPress.

If you want to know the straghtforward, low-down scoop on the following topics, this is the book for you:

• QuarkXPress 8 New Features
• Composition Zones
• Unicode and OpenType
• Clever uses for anchored items
• Table magic
• Layer tricks
• Understanding transparency
• Working with imported Photoshop images
• Using Picture Effects
• Creating spot varnishes and coatings
• Using the pen tools
• Surprising uses for shapes
• Using Job Jackets and Job Tickets
• Understanding trapping
• Creating Flash animations
• Building Web pages, forms and buttons
• And more…

You can order the book for $54.99 at ThePowerXChange.com.

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.