This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Missing information on v1.9, v2.0, and the iPad release..(November 2022) |
Developer(s) | Serif Europe |
---|---|
Initial release | 19 June 2019 |
Stable release | 2.1.1 / 15 June 2023 [1] |
Operating system | macOS, iPadOS and Windows |
Available in | 9 languages |
Type | Desktop Publisher |
License | Proprietary commercial software |
Website | affinity |
Affinity Publisher is a desktop publishing application developed by Serif for macOS and Microsoft Windows (with an iPadOS version being developed). It is a part of the Affinity product line along with Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer.
Affinity Publisher serves as a successor to Serif's own PagePlus software, which the company discontinued in August 2017 to focus on the Affinity product range. [2] It has been described as an alternative to Adobe InDesign, [3] [4] [5] due to its primary focus on desktop publishing workflows for both printed and online media, including common features from this industry, such as master pages, OpenType support, linked text frames, and end-to-end support for the CMYK color model. [6]
Affinity Publisher includes StudioLink technology, [7] developed by Serif, which allows owners of Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo to use the vector and raster graphic editing functionality of those applications for editing content directly within Publisher [3] [8] (in addition to its own, smaller set of native vector and raster editing features). [6]
File formats supported by Affinity Publisher (in addition to the Affinity suite's native file format) include Adobe InDesign Markup Language (IDML), [9] Adobe Photoshop PSD, PDF, JPG, TIFF, PNG, and EPS, [10] with export functionality for the PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3, PDF/X-4 standards of the PDF/X file format. [11]
The iPadOS editions of Affinity Photo and Designer also include support for Affinity Publisher files. [10]
The first promotional video for Affinity Publisher was shown by Serif in December 2017, demonstrating features such as the drag & drop functionality, and text flow between frames. [12] [13] A free public beta of the software was made available for both macOS and Windows on August 30, 2018. [14] [15]
The first full version of Publisher (using the 1.7 version number, to align with other Affinity products) was first released on June 19, 2019, [16] in conjunction with Serif's 2019 'Affinity Live' event, [17] during which the company also announced the StudioLink integration features for the first time. [18] Publisher was made available for purchase directly from Serif's website and also available from the Mac App Store and Microsoft Store.
Publisher was updated to version 1.8 in February 2020, introducing support for importing Adobe InDesign's IDML file format. [9]
Serif stated that an iPadOS version of the software was planned for release in 2020. [16] [18]
Affinity Publisher received generally favorable reviews following its initial release in 2019, with the application's range of features, its StudioLink integration with Affinity Designer/Photo, and non-subscription pricing model commonly cited as positive areas. [19] [20] [21] Limitations noted by reviewers of the initial release included its lack of support for InDesign's document (INDD) & markup (IDML) files [19] [20] (although Serif added IDML support in February 2020 [9] ), [22] for footnotes & endnotes, [23] and for GREP-based and nested styles. [23]
Many reviews drew comparisons between Publisher and InDesign, [19] [23] [22] often noting that Publisher's first release did not have all of the features required to serve as a full replacement; [19] [22] however, CreativePro also acknowledged it as having additional tools that are not present in InDesign or other desktop publishing applications. [23]
In December 2019, Apple named Publisher the “Mac App of the Year”. [24]
macOS is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and laptop computers, it is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Microsoft Windows and ahead of ChromeOS.
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1987 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the most used tool for professional digital art, especially in raster graphics editing. The software's name is often colloquially used as a verb although Adobe discourages such use.
QuarkXPress is a desktop publishing software for creating and editing complex page layouts in a WYSIWYG environment. It runs on macOS and Windows. It was first released by Quark, Inc. in 1987 and is still owned and published by them.
PagePlus was a desktop publishing program developed by Serif for Microsoft Windows. The first version was released in 1991 as the first commercial sub-£100 DTP package for Microsoft Windows. The final release was PagePlus X9, which was released in November 2016. In June 2019 it was officially replaced by Serif with Affinity Publisher.
Adobe InDesign is a desktop publishing and page layout designing software application produced by Adobe Inc. and first released in 1999. It can be used to create works such as posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, presentations, books and ebooks. InDesign can also publish content suitable for tablet devices in conjunction with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. Graphic designers and production artists are the principal users.
iWork is an office suite of applications created by Apple for its macOS, iPadOS, and iOS operating systems, and also available cross-platform through the iCloud website.
A number of vector graphics editors exist for various platforms. Potential users of these editors will make a comparison of vector graphics editors based on factors such as the availability for the user's platform, the software license, the feature set, the merits of the user interface (UI) and the focus of the program. Some programs are more suitable for artistic work while others are better for technical drawings. Another important factor is the application's support of various vector and bitmap image formats for import and export.
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Adobe Lightroom is a piece of image organization and image processing software developed by Adobe Inc. as part of the Creative Cloud subscription family. It is supported on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and tvOS. Its primary uses include importing, saving, viewing, organizing, tagging, editing, and sharing large numbers of digital images. Lightroom's editing functions include white balance, presence, tone, tone curve, HSL, color grading, detail, lens corrections, and calibration manipulation, as well as transformation, spot removal, red eye correction, graduated filters, radial filters, and adjustment brushing. The name of the software is based on darkrooms used for processing light-sensitive photographic materials.
Apple's Macintosh computer supports a wide variety of fonts. This support was one of the features that initially distinguished it from other systems.
Serif (Europe) Ltd is a privately owned British developer and publisher of software. It provides software and associated products direct to customers through its website and contact centre in the United Kingdom, and through retailers.
Serif have a range of software products, which are listed below.
Affinity Designer is a vector graphics editor developed by Serif for macOS, iPadOS, and Microsoft Windows. It is part of the "Affinity trinity" alongside Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher. Affinity Designer is available for purchase directly from the company website and in the Mac App Store, iOS App Store, and the Microsoft Store.
Affinity Photo is a raster graphics editor developed by Serif Ltd. for iOS, macOS, and Windows, alongside Affinity Designer and Affinity Publisher. Development of Affinity Photo started in 2009 as a raster graphics editor for macOS. Its first version reached general availability in 2015 with the Windows version launched a year later. It is a successor to PhotoPlus which Serif discontinued in 2017.
macOS Sierra is the thirteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name "macOS" stems from the intention to unify the operating system's name with that of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada. Its major new features concern Continuity, iCloud, and windowing, as well as support for Apple Pay and Siri.
Boxy SVG is a vector graphics editor for creating illustrations, as well as logos, icons, and other elements of graphic design. It is primarily focused on editing drawings in the SVG file format. The program is available as both a web app and a desktop application for Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, and Linux-based operating systems.