A New Attitude
The new Quark is fond of proclaiming their renewed dedication to supporting their customers, and there is plenty of evidence to support their claim:
- Lower price: They lowered the price of QuarkXPress by $200 to be more competitive with InDesign. They also reinstated their $99 price for educational licenses.
- Free tech support: Quark offers unlimited free technical support by phone—in English.
- A manual and a video: The QuarkXPress 7 box includes a two-hour instructional video CD as well as a printed manual that explains how to use its new features.
- Two-computer license: Quark now allows users to install one copy of QuarkXPress on two computers (for example, on a desktop and laptop computer) to make it easier for mobile workers.
- Cross-platform license: QuarkXPress 7 can be installed on either Mac OS X or Windows with the same license code.
- License transfer: Transferring a license from one computer to another is as simple as choosing a menu item (QuarkXPress> Transfer QuarkXPress License)
- Trade shows: Quark now exhibits at most major trade shows, including Macworld Expo.
- Road shows: Quark is presenting "symposia" in cities around the world to teach users about the new features and to receive feedback on what customers want.
- Webinars: Quark has an ongoing series of live (and recorded) 90-minute overviews of specific features.
Based on feedback I’ve received from readers of our publication (Design Tools Monthly), Quark’s new attitude has persuaded many of their customers to stay with QuarkXPress. The most commonly expressed sentiment was relief—they had seen InDesign and weren’t looking forward to using it.