18 October 2006

[design] Pariah S Burke Cracks the Multi-Page Size Code in InDesign

Pariah S. Burke has broken the one file=one page size law. Designers all over the world should rejoice about this one.

The first question InDesign (or QuarkXPress, for that matter) will ask the user on creating a new layout is "What size sheet are you gonna use?" You only get one choice. QuarkXPress has, since 6.5, had a new Project format which can be made up of multiple layouts, but the ingrained habits of layout artists die a hard death indeed; what many layouters have wanted was, say, a file in which several page-size spreads can live in the very same file with, say, a few legal-size foldouts (maps, for ex) and a few business cards...or even a layout file which contains all the components of your average business system (letterhead, business card, envelope) in one single file.

Pariah has teamed up with some very smart people who have caused this vision to become reality for Adobe Creative Suite users. In conjuction with the big brains behind the after-market Indy plugin maker DTP Tools, we now have this solution in the form of the plugin called PageControl.

It not only allows you to have a single Indy layout with multiple and nonstandard page sizes it also allows you resize odd sized pages at will, resize master pages and have those pages they refer to autmatically resize, and more. And since it's all the same document, you can have the same running information–page numbers, for example–continue thoroughout.

I'm proud to say that I got to beta-test this; it works like magic.

You can get a trial download (or just go ahead and buy it for $59) at DTP Tools' website here. Read Pariah's release about it on QuarkVsInDesign here.

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sorry but minor correction 6.0 was the first release to have the Project concept, and please correct me but I only see this as a crude attempt to copy that.

This is one of those Plug-in people wish had never been invented, it breaks all proffesional rules, will cost people thousands in additional pre-press expenses and have people laughing at anyone that uses it. unless heidelberg has developed a new printer that knows how to change imposition and paper itself. :-)

This is a good money maker for pre-press houses all over the world, and yet another plug-in for the list of what not to do and use when doing pro publishing.

cheap copy of XPress, If anybody really wants to do this use layout spaces in QuarkXPress, It will save you time and money.