Best program for making magazines

[Milee]

For art class we got this assignment to make a project that could be aboutanything we'd like, as long as it was a little art related.
I chose to make an art magazine because I'm an overachiever and figured it'd get me a good grade and at the same time be something I could actually learn a lot from...
ANYWAY, my question is whether anybody knows a good program for making magazines.
I'm currently debating between Adobe InDesign and Quark XPress because I've heard that those two should be the best on the market.
If not, please let me know - else, which should I go for Indesign or Quark XPress?
Just for the record, money is not an issue, I'll just download the 30-day evaluation copy of whichever program I decide upon, and then hope I can complete the assignment within those 30 days...

[Karen S. Garvin]

Okay, I have a lot of experience with both programs, and I personally prefer InDesign for several reasons:

1) it ties in well with other Adobe software: Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, etc.

2) it’s fairly easy to find support for the program online

3) there’s quite a bit of offline support, too: magazines, books

4) you can customize the software with plug-ins and scripts

That said, Quark is not a light-weight in the publishing field, and you’ll find lots of people who prefer that program. In my opinion, a lot of preference tends to be what you are familiar with.

Since you’re starting out, you might want to go with what you can find the most support for. Be prepared to spend some time getting familiar with the program (either one you choose); these are software programs for professionals, and they do assume that you know what you’re doing. :rolleyes:

[db2six9]

I agree with Karen on this one. If you are using the application for mainly layout, Use Quark as it is a very strong and intuitive program, but if you are familiar enough with, or will be incorporating elements from other adobe applications (ie Photoshop, illustrator) then use In-Design as the elements will work together (for instance you can arrange photoshop layers from within In-Design) much better than with Quark.

Ultimatly it depends on amount of graphic elements you are going to incorporate.