InDesign vs PM7: Reviews Requested 4

[horqua]

My company is reviewing DTP software to see if our current use of PM7 is the best choice or if we should transition to InDesign. I would like to solicit some reviews/opinions from those of you in the ID world who may have knowledge of both programs. Here is some info about our company: we are a multi-national, in our US office we use PM7 for Windows, our Hong Kong office is using ID, in the US we share our files over a local network with the possibility of going to a global network to share with Hong Kong and London, we will continue using the Adobe suite of tools including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat Distiller and Reader along with MS Excel and Harvard Chart and Graph. If we should convert we will need to access older PM files and we will need language conversion capabilities. I know we can go to Adobe with all these questions, but I would like to hear from actual users rather that a company trying to sell us its software. I'd like to hear your opinions on switching to ID or remaining with PM7. I'd like to hear your stories on compatibility issues. Your honest opinions are appreciated.

 

[finderman]

I manage a multilingual communications company with links to Hong Kong and Europe. We are still running both applications. PM7 is a workhorse for small documents, templates, leaflets and forms. We also run our invoice and accounts templates using PM7. InDesign is used in publications were we require more sophisticated tools and a large degree of typographical control. Posters in several languages and publications with a high percentage of graphics are prepared using Illustrator.
Illustrator has a proven interface for handling Asian scripts and we can work with simplified and traditional fonts in the same document.
Good luck with your research

 

[Nohjekim]

I would check with the printers in your area, as I should have done. I know they will support PageMaker but do they support InDesign?

I like InDesign but had to go back to pageMaker after a brief period of use because no one around here supports it.

Even the local Kinko’s can't open the files and had problems with the ESP’s.

If your printers support it and you have to learn to use one or the other I would say Indesign, but you can't beat PageMaker for support. It's been around for ever and everyone has it.

Mike

 

[jimoblak]

One of the many benefits of InDesign is its full support for exporting PDFs, which is what I send to printers. Printers do not need InDesign to print your InDesign documents.

Adobe does not seem to have many plans for PageMaker in the future. There is no mention of PageMaker on the Adobe Expert Center on the adobe.com web site.

If HK already has ID, you should upgrade. They can read your PM files but you will not be able to read their ID files without InDesign.

 

[horqua]

FOLLOWUP
Many Thanks to all those who have offered their opinions of Adobe InDesign. As a Followup, our graphics department recomended to our managers and they accepted our proposal to add ID to our toolbox. This addition should happen in the next month. It is the opinion of our dept that we will continue the primary use of PM7 and supplement it with ID as the inevitable need arises. Our busy season arrives after the new year and we shall see how our needs change as we grow internationally. We do all our printing in-house using high output laser color copiers. That means we control all aspects of the product going out the door.

I will report back my first impressions when the time arises. Knock and the door shall be opened unto you. Seek and ye shall find!

 

[Nohjekim]

I wish printers around here would accept PDF files, none of the ones that I work with want to do so. I only use them for things that are printed digitally.

It would certainly make things a lot easier then sending them every file font and image that is needed for every job.

Maybe I'll sit down tomorrow and call around, but I'm afraid that it is usually the client that decides who prints the work I produce.

I did talk to one of the printers that I work with a few months ago and they seemed to believe that there were problems that weren't solved yet.

Mike

 

[jimoblak]

Nohjekim,

Sending PDF files to printers was not originally a piece of cake. A lot of it involves knowing how the printer will use your files. That is why printers prefer the original document file so that they can control how it is output.

If you can arrange all the details with them... telling them that you will be doing all the prepress work and they don't have to think beyond selecting File>Print, they welcome PDFs.

With the economy so bad, we had printers coming to our door for work. We told them that we use printers that either have InDesign or can accept PDFs. All of those printers said they could accomodate our needs one way or the other.

The 'problems' that weren't solved yet may be the following:
1) Yes, the early version of InDesign was a little flaky but 2.0 has been put through the paces. The only drawback to 2.0 is its processor requirements. You would not want to run it on a Quadra or Pentium 1.

2) Because InDesign is the newest thing, it eclipses a lot of the technology in a print shop. Some RIPs may choke on the advanced PS level 3 features of InDesign. So the problems that some printers may need to solve is more than purchasing InDesign 2... but also updating their RIPs and workflow.

 

[Nohjekim]

Thanks for the info.
I'm going to push a little harder.

Nohj