IStudio Publisher
Encyclopedia
iStudio Publisher is a desktop publishing
(DTP) application developed by c:four.
iStudio Publisher 1.0 was released on 6 January 2009 at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.
The most recent version, iStudio Publisher 1.1.8, runs on Mac OS X
10.4 Tiger
, 10.5 Leopard
, 10.6 Snow Leopard
and 10.7 Lion.
and word processing
of brochure
s, newsletter
s, magazine
s, poster
s, adverts, report
s, essay
s, greeting cards and many other document
types, of any page size, and with the option of spread
editing facing pages.
iStudio Publisher has been designed to simplify desktop publishing and enable users to get started quickly. Users are required to understand one main principle - each element of document content is held by a shape. All shapes act as content containers and can contain any combination of text in columns, text around their outline path, an image, a line style, a fill style, a drop shadow
and a text runaround ("wraparound"). Users can select and draw standard shapes from the Shape Library, construct shapes using the drawing tools provided, or create default shapes automatically when pasting, dragging in or inserting new content. Inspectors are provided to examine and adjust style and format settings of shapes, text and images.
iStudio Publisher can export colour managed PDF files suitable for use in a prepress
workflow
for professional print jobs. It can also export to EPUB
or RTF
file. iStudio Publisher has an XML
based file format and supports Unicode
character encoding. However, it does not yet support complex script rendering and cannot be used for languages written with Arabic
, Hebrew
, Indic and East Asian
(CJK) writing system
s.
The official user guide
"Introduction to iStudio Publisher" has been produced using iStudio Publisher and can be downloaded from the developer's website as an iStudio Publisher format (.ispx) document file, allowing users to see how it's been created. The user guide is also available in PDF format. Video tutorials and a Rapid Start Guide are also available.
iStudio Publisher 1.0.4 received a generally favourable review by Macworld
on Mar 9, 2009, although several expected features were found to be missing. The software developers have published a Development Roadmap of future iStudio Publisher updates, and users are invited to submit requests for improvements and new features.
Desktop publishing
Desktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer.The term has been used for publishing at all levels, from small-circulation documents such as local newsletters to books, magazines and newspapers...
(DTP) application developed by c:four.
iStudio Publisher 1.0 was released on 6 January 2009 at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.
The most recent version, iStudio Publisher 1.1.8, runs on Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
10.4 Tiger
Mac OS X v10.4
Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger is the fifth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Tiger was released to the public on 29 April 2005 for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X Panther , which had been released 18 months earlier...
, 10.5 Leopard
Mac OS X v10.5
Mac OS X Leopard is the sixth major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on 26 October 2007 as the successor of Tiger , and is available in two variants: a desktop version suitable for personal computers, and a...
, 10.6 Snow Leopard
Mac OS X v10.6
Mac OS X Snow Leopard is the seventh major release of Mac OS X, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers.Snow Leopard was publicly unveiled on June 8, 2009 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference...
and 10.7 Lion.
Overview
iStudio Publisher can be used for the page layoutPage layout
Page layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements on a page.- History and development :...
and word processing
Word processor
A word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
of brochure
Brochure
A brochure is a type of leaflet. Brochures are most commonly found at places that tourists frequently visit, such as museums, major shops, and tourist information. Brochure racks or stands may suggest visits to amusement parks and other points of interest...
s, newsletter
Newsletter
A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletters. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in...
s, magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s, poster
Poster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
s, adverts, report
Report
A report is a textual work made with the specific intention of relaying information or recounting certain events in a widely presentable form....
s, essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s, greeting cards and many other document
Document
The term document has multiple meanings in ordinary language and in scholarship. WordNet 3.1. lists four meanings :* document, written document, papers...
types, of any page size, and with the option of spread
Two-page spread
In page layout and typography, a spread is the unit formed by two adjacent, facing pages in a magazine or other publication, featuring a single image or a themed group of images...
editing facing pages.
iStudio Publisher has been designed to simplify desktop publishing and enable users to get started quickly. Users are required to understand one main principle - each element of document content is held by a shape. All shapes act as content containers and can contain any combination of text in columns, text around their outline path, an image, a line style, a fill style, a drop shadow
Drop shadow
In computer graphics, a drop shadow is a visual effect consisting of drawing that looks like the shadow of an object, giving the impression that the object is raised above the objects behind it. The drop shadow is often used for elements of a graphical user interface such as windows or menus, and...
and a text runaround ("wraparound"). Users can select and draw standard shapes from the Shape Library, construct shapes using the drawing tools provided, or create default shapes automatically when pasting, dragging in or inserting new content. Inspectors are provided to examine and adjust style and format settings of shapes, text and images.
iStudio Publisher can export colour managed PDF files suitable for use in a prepress
Prepress
Prepress is the term used in the printing and publishing industries for the processes and procedures that occur between the creation of a print layout and the final printing...
workflow
Workflow
A workflow consists of a sequence of connected steps. It is a depiction of a sequence of operations, declared as work of a person, a group of persons, an organization of staff, or one or more simple or complex mechanisms. Workflow may be seen as any abstraction of real work...
for professional print jobs. It can also export to EPUB
EPUB
EPUB is a free and open e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum...
or RTF
Rich Text Format
The Rich Text Format is a proprietary document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation since 1987 for Microsoft products and for cross-platform document interchange....
file. iStudio Publisher has an XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
based file format and supports Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
character encoding. However, it does not yet support complex script rendering and cannot be used for languages written with Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, Indic and East Asian
East Asian languages
East Asian languages describe two notional groupings of languages in East and Southeast Asia:* Languages which have been greatly influenced by Classical Chinese and the Chinese writing system, in particular Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese .* The larger grouping of languages includes the...
(CJK) writing system
Writing system
A writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...
s.
The official user guide
User guide
A user guide or user's guide, also commonly known as a manual, is a technical communication document intended to give assistance to people using a particular system...
"Introduction to iStudio Publisher" has been produced using iStudio Publisher and can be downloaded from the developer's website as an iStudio Publisher format (.ispx) document file, allowing users to see how it's been created. The user guide is also available in PDF format. Video tutorials and a Rapid Start Guide are also available.
iStudio Publisher 1.0.4 received a generally favourable review by Macworld
Macworld
Macworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
on Mar 9, 2009, although several expected features were found to be missing. The software developers have published a Development Roadmap of future iStudio Publisher updates, and users are invited to submit requests for improvements and new features.
Image formats
The following image file formats can be inserted into iStudio Publisher documents:| File Type | File Extension |
|---|---|
| AI - Adobe Illustrator Artwork | .ai |
| BMP - Windows Bitmap | .bmp |
| EPS - Encapsulated PostScript | .eps |
| GIF - Graphics Interchange Format | .gif |
| ICNS - Apple Icon Image | .icns |
| ICO - Windows icon | .ico |
| JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group | .jpeg, .jpg, .jpe, .jif, .jfif, .jfi |
| JPEG 2000 - JPEG 2000 | .jp2, .j2k |
| PDF - Portable Document Format | |
| PICT - QuickDraw image | .pict, .pct, .pic |
| PNG - Portable Network Graphics | .png |
| PSD - Adobe Photoshop | .psd, .psb |
| TIF, TIFF - Tagged Image File Format | .tif, .tiff |
External links
Reviews (most recent first)
- Appletell (Mar 10): "Appletell reviews iStudio Publisher for Mac OS X"
- MacFormatMacFormatMacFormat is a the UK's biggest computer magazine aimed at Macintosh users. It is published monthly by Future Publishing, and has been since 1993.-Content:...
(Oct 09): "c:four iStudio Publisher 1.1" - techradar.com (Oct 09): "c:four iStudio Publisher 1.1 review"
- MacUserMacUserMacUser is a biweekly computer magazine published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. and licensed by Felden in the UK.In 1985 Felix Dennis’ Dennis Publishing, the creators of MacUser in the UK, licensed the name and “mouse-rating” symbol for MacUser to Ziff-Davis Publishing for use in the rest of the world....
(Sep 09): "iStudio Publisher" - Jon Whipple blog (Aug 09): "Laying It All Out"
- AppYourMac (Jun 09): "iStudio Publisher: Desktop Publishing. Simplified."
- MacworldMacworldMacworld is a web site and monthly computer magazine dedicated to Apple Macintosh products. It is published by Mac Publishing, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California...
(Mar 09): "iStudio Publisher 1.0.4 Intuitive page layout tool for nonprofessionals"