QuarkXPress

QuarkXPress is a desktop publishing software program used to design and produce sophisticated page layouts for print and digital media. Developed by Quark Software Inc., it was first released for the Macintosh in 1987 and quickly became a core tool in the early desktop publishing era. The program provides a workflow for combining text, graphics, and color to create magazines, books, catalogs, and other publications.

Over its history, QuarkXPress has evolved through numerous versions, expanding from Macintosh-only software to cross-platform support on Windows. It introduced features common to modern publishing tools such as master pages, paragraph and character styles, linked text frames, and color management. The product also incorporated prepress facilities and packaging options to streamline production workflows and, in response to competition from Adobe InDesign, continued to update its digital publishing capabilities.

Key capabilities include layout and typography controls, image handling, object linking, tables, and robust preflight checks to identify production issues before printing. The software supports PDF export and various prepress and color-management workflows and provides options for preparing files for both print and digital distribution.

QuarkXPress runs on macOS and Windows and is used by professional publishers, design studios, and marketing teams. While Adobe InDesign is widely used in many publishing environments, QuarkXPress remains in active use in several workflows and continues to be developed for traditional print production as well as modern digital publishing.