Learning Curve – InDesign vx Acrobat Pro

[garycurtis]

I've been long retired from publishing, but my son ask me to do the layout for some brochures for print. Which is easier to learn?

(I had 15 years experience on Aldus Pagemaker and started to learn Quark)

 

[chrfr]

I've been long retired from publishing, but my son ask me to do the layout for some brochures for print. Which is easier to learn?

(I had 15 years experience on Aldus Pagemaker and started to learn Quark)

Acrobat Pro is not a page layout program.

 

[Larry-K]

I've been long retired from publishing, but my son ask me to do the layout for some brochures for print. Which is easier to learn?

(I had 15 years experience on Aldus Pagemaker and started to learn Quark)

You oughta be able to figure out InDesign with a little work.

Sadly, the page layout paradigm hasn't improved appreciably in over a decade.

Acrobat, as mentioned, isn't a page layout program.

 

[Liquidstate]

I've been long retired from publishing, but my son ask me to do the layout for some brochures for print. Which is easier to learn?

(I had 15 years experience on Aldus Pagemaker and started to learn Quark)

Since my experience was a while back at the nyc ad agency level (I'm thankfully out of that game), I'm going to try to avoid info overload.

Pagemaker was a desktop publishing program that ended on the Mac with OS9. There is no native support for Pagemaker in OS X.

Quark was intended for use with large run presses and has a very steep learning curve.

With InDesign, Adobe attempted to span both of these programs. Thus, InDesign has some Pagemaker features like default settings, as well as templates for basic layouts, in case you don't have precise skills and so forth. But it also can be set up precisely.

BTW, I'm not sure what a page layout paradigm is. Designer David Carson certainly pushed print into new realms (Google him for more info).

Back to the OP's situation. Be aware that Adobe has stopped selling stand-alone programs on disks, and now only offers its programs on a monthly subscription basis. This obviously includes both InDesign and Photoshop. Note that there are no legal used programs, because Adobe does not permit licensing transfers. Also note that if you stop subscribing, you will not be able to open your files, even with an earlier version.

In other words, print is going through some significant changes since the Pagemaker days.

I'd suggest starting off by backtracking from the place you'd want to use to print your project. Find out their prepress requirements and get estimates. This gets into print run quantity and so forth.

It might end up being cheaper and faster and safer to oversee a freelancer who has the gear and software and experience to get it to run right the first time. Especially if they've already established a relationship with a printer. But make sure to get other estimates in case they are too cozy.

 

[benwiggy]

Be aware that Adobe has stopped selling stand-alone programs on disks, and now only offers its programs on a monthly subscription basis. This obviously includes both InDesign and Photoshop.

You can still buy Creative Suite 6 products direct from Adobe and from third-party retailers. InDesign will set you back $699 (or £660 in the UK - what a bargain!).

However, you are right that graphic design software is in a state of flux now as many people don't want to commit to Adobe's new rent-forever model with their "Creative Cloud" (otherwise known as Creative Cash).

Depending on the nature of the job and how much other work you think you'll do, you might want to farm it out, or search for another software product.

It's possibly still worth buying CS6 while you can, in the vain hope that Adobe will come to their senses in the future. It's still the industry standard, and if you've used Pagemaker, some of ID will be familiar.

 

[Liquidstate]

You can still buy Creative Suite 6 products direct from Adobe and from third-party retailers. InDesign will set you back $699 (or £660 in the UK - what a bargain!).

However, you are right that graphic design software is in a state of flux now as many people don't want to commit to Adobe's new rent-forever model with their "Creative Cloud" (otherwise known as Creative Cash).

Depending on the nature of the job and how much other work you think you'll do, you might want to farm it out, or search for another software product.

It's possibly still worth buying CS6 while you can, in the vain hope that Adobe will come to their senses in the future. It's still the industry standard, and if you've used Pagemaker, some of ID will be familiar.

I just checked and benwiggy is right. I had called Adobe about this when they made the announcement, and the phone rep told me they were going to subscription only. But the stand-alone disks are back for sale on the Adobe site, so they've sensibly backed off from their threat. At least for now.

So, back to the OP, if you're going to be doing ongoing support for your son's biz, it might make sense to buy CS6 while you can. As far as I know, there are no low-cost alternatives that will reliably and accurately prepress and print.

But as I advised in my first post, for accurate info, talk to the shops you get estimates from. They will know what will work.

 

[garycurtis]

Got it. I'll start shopping around for those old versions on disk. My recent passion digitally is in DSLR photography. Of course the big talk there is about the Cloud and about Adobe's latest marketing ploy and how it has backed everyone who is not a pro into a corner.

They ask themselves, "Is it really worth my while to use Adobe products costing $49/mo or $600 annually? For someone not earning a dollar through photography, the answer is probably no.

I bough LightRoom 5 in June. I sold it on eBay 3 weeks ago and switched to Apple Aperture. That's what I think of Adobe. And, who cares if there isn't an Aperture update in the near future. I refuse to live like a Serf.

 

[Liquidstate]

Got it. I'll start shopping around for those old versions on disk. My recent passion digitally is in DSLR photography. Of course the big talk there is about the Cloud and about Adobe's latest marketing ploy and how it has backed everyone who is not a pro into a corner.

They ask themselves, "Is it really worth my while to use Adobe products costing $49/mo or $600 annually? For someone not earning a dollar through photography, the answer is probably no.

I bough LightRoom 5 in June. I sold it on eBay 3 weeks ago and switched to Apple Aperture. That's what I think of Adobe. And, who cares if there isn't an Aperture update in the near future. I refuse to live like a Serf.

I agree. That's why I bought stand-alone PS6. I want to be able to open my work without paying a monthly fee. But except for PS, I am going to avoid Adobe software whenever there is a workable alternative (unless they stop this cloud rental nonsense).

One word of caution: be careful about shopping for cheaper versions of Adobe software from dubious sources or individuals. There are websites and people on Ebay and Craig's selling cheaper disk products where the individual product can't be authenticated by Adobe for various reasons. After doing this research, I decided to buy PS6 from a reputable source and not wander out into the wilderness.

Good luck with your project.

 

[chabig]

Use what most business' use--Powerpoint

 

[garycurtis]

Well, I was able to obtain a used copy of CS 5 by Adobe. To my surprise it is packed with 11 applications. InDesign is the feature I was interested in. Luckily, the interface and controls mimic closely the PageMaker program I knew so well in around 1990.

So, all is well.