Magazines on the iPad. Three years ago, it seemed like a no-brainer. Designers would use simple tools to turn pages for print into pages on screen. Apple would make it easy to sell them as apps. Freed from the costs of printing and distribution, everyone could be a publisher. An industry would be transformed.
Yet here we are in 2013, and digital publishing is still complicated and expensive. There’s no credible software for creating magazine apps from scratch, and dozens of competing systems for generating them from page layouts created using existing desktop publishing packages. Since most of them charge hefty fees to actually publish your app, you’ll want to choose carefully. But where do you start?
In MacUser Vol 29 No 6 (June 2013), on sale from today, we look in depth at the digital publishing market. Our cover feature explains the state of the art and the issues to consider. Then we summarise the features and pricing of 21 of the leading solutions, including those from Adobe and Quark themselves, the alternatives for both InDesign and QuarkXPress users, and some emerging rivals with different approaches. Whatever the size or nature of your publishing project, don’t miss it – you won’t find an overview like this anywhere else.
Finally, our Desk of the Month winners should inspire you to send your own workspace snapshots to mailbox@macuser.co.uk. As always, you could win a beautifully made Just Mobile accessory.
Find us at newsagents, supermarkets and bookshops; on your doorstep when you sign up here; on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch via Newsstand in the App Store; or to read on your Mac or iPad. Missed a crucial issue? Find it online here.
