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Quark launches new App Studio

Quark has announced the new App Studio, the next generation digital publishing solution that, it says, pushes the bounds of user experience without the high cost and effort associated with custom app development.

Quark says: By combining the market-leading HTML5 technology from the recent acquisition of PressRun with Quark’s existing digital publishing technology, App Studio is now the only digital publishing solution that allows users to create customised apps with HTML5, QuarkXPress, InDesign, and XML. Through a managed cloud environment, designers, authors, and extended teams are able to collaborate to create rich, interactive content that can be delivered across multiple platforms and devices.  

With HTML5 at its foundation, apps created with App Studio:

• Go beyond static, boring PDFs

• Feature searchable, fully selectable text

• Promote sharing, tagging, bookmarking, and other social media interactions

• Deliver small file sizes for quick download (titles created with App Studio are typically one quarter the size of apps created with alternative solutions)

• Reach iPhone, iPad, Android, and Kindle Fire now

• Deploy quickly to new devices as they are released

• Utilise QuarkXPress or InDesign for content creation and larger organisations can combine rich design with XML automation

• Keep content in an open standard that does not lock customers into proprietary formats

“Not surprisingly, smartphone and tablet users favor rich, engaging app experiences,” said Shaun Barriball (pictured), Vice President of Mobile Products for Quark. “Our aim is to remove the complexity around creating and delivering the best app experiences. With HTML5 at the heart of the new App Studio, content creators can start with their favorite design tools to deliver highly visual, interactive apps across devices – all from within a cloud environment.”

App Studio is the next generation HTML5 solution for app creation that helps designers produce engaging smartphone and tablet experiences. In contrast to competing first generation solutions, App Studio combines the advantages of HTML5 with native tablet and smartphone app functionality. This hybrid approach allows apps created with App Studio to be highly interactive, output in smaller files sizes, and deployed to emerging devices quickly. The advanced functionality of App Studio has been trail-blazed by award-winning apps such as Metro, BBC Good Food, My Ford, the British Medical Journal, and Stuff and Top Gear magazines.

App Studio will be available in the next 30 days. For more information and to sign-up and get notified as soon as the new App Studio is available, please visit www.AppStudio.net. The new App Studio is compatible with InDesign CS5 or higher as well as the soon to be released QuarkXPress 9.5.

Existing Customers

The transition to App Studio will be seamless for current PressRun customers. PressRun is being retired as a brand, and current PressRun users will be transitioned to the new App Studio automatically. For more information see www.pressrun.com. Current App Studio customers using the AVE file format will have the choice to continue with the previous App Studio technology, powered by Aquafadas and now renamed Quark AVE or migrate to the new, HTML5, cloud-based platform.

Pricing

With multi-issue apps starting at £69.95/€89.95 a month, the new App Studio is not only the most advanced, but also one of the most affordable digital publishing solutions for creative professionals. Up to 80 percent less expensive than the alternatives, App Studio pricing is tiered to offer solutions for the small or individual designer through to large, enterprise teams with complex digital publishing requirements.

About Quark

Quark says: “Quark’s software enables organisations of all sizes to meet customer demand for engaging, relevant communications when, where, and how they want them. Our solutions combine the power of XML with flexible layout and design to automate the delivery of customer communications to print, Web, and interactive experiences on the latest digital devices. Financial services firms, manufacturers, and governments around the world rely on Quark solutions to elevate customer communications to new levels, reduce time to market, and lower costs.”