The Scribus PDF Export dialog provides a great deal of control (click to enlarge)
I found PDF/X unattainable, however. While there were tabs for PDF/X export, they were grayed-out, and nothing I did could make them accessable. According to Scribus’s help, one needed to have color management turned on (easy to do in the prefs) and PPDs available where the program expected to find them. Both of these I had done to the best of my ability (I am *not* smarter than the average bear when it comes to this, as I am more of an end-user in this respect) but AquaScribus didn’t seem to recognize them. I also couldn’t change the location of the directory to look in in the Preferences.
Aside from the PDF/X woes, though, Scribus did a handy job of outputting PDFs in versions 1.3 and 1.4. A whole range of preferences are adjustable, from image compression method to security. It looks as though press-quality PDFs are well within the range of its capabilities.
Does It Handle Spot Colors?
Yes, it provides for spot colors. Scribus has an extensive color library of its own and the available color models are RGB, Web-Safe RGB, and CMYK. Other color libraries are not provided however one can compose one’s own colors in any of the three models based on CMYK/RGB color indices that can be drawn from any available chart of CMYK/RGB to Pantone (for example) conversions.
Any color can be edited, deleted, or copied and edited, and all one needs to to deem it a spot color is to check the checkbox in the color editor.
Does It Handle Clipping Paths and How?
Scribus does recognize clipping paths but the interface does not make this an obvious thing to access.
First one must select the graphic frame, then either control-click to bring up the contextual floating menu, or choose the Item pull-down menu, and from either click on “Extended Image Properties”. This name hides the window that controls use of clipping paths as well as access to PSD layers (Scribus will import PSDs).
The Extended Image Properties dialog box provides access to clipping paths via the “Paths” tab. Graphical thumbnails provide for positive identification. (click to enlarge).
Clicking the Path tab in this window will display a thumbnail list of clipping paths that are available for use. Clicking any one will implement the selection. To use no path for clipping, one must click the “Don’t use any Path” button at the bottom of this list.
The access is obscure at best and is not explained or reference in the online help. Complicating matters is the absence of any reference to the term “clipping path”; before I clicked on a path and tried it, it was still unclear as to what it was I was doing.
What about Preflighting?
This is a place where Scribus makes things as simple as they can be. When printing or exporting a PDF, a small window springs up with terse yet informative comments saying exactly what the problem might be. A dropdown list offers instant checking in four modes: PostScript, PDF 1.3, PDF 1.4, or PDF/X. Preflighting is also available directly by clicking on the traffic signal in the toolbar.
Does It Support Transparency?
Transparency is available in Scribus via the Color section of the Properties palette; there is a box for opacity there, which can be nudged up and down in increments of 10 percent or specified by typing in the exact amount desired. This is somewhat similar to the paradigm employed in InDesign and QuarkXPress.
Houston, We Have A Problem…But Scribus’s preflighting makes basic problems a cinch to spot.
Scribus will import and deal with the most commonly used graphic formats: JPG, SVG, TIFF, GIF, PDF,and PNG, amongst others. It will import PDFs PSDs and allow access to the layers for the purpose of showing, hiding, and setting blending. PDF import seems to take rather a while for any larger file, though; importing a PSD of a microphone took several minutes to do. The author of the program touts SVG as his favorite format for the moment.
Import of text files are geared toward the format generated by OpenOffice.org’s Writer. Writer understands MS Word so it’s possible that Word files can be imported but this alternative was not tested. Import attempts to map document styles to Paragraph styles or create new styles from imported documents.
Typography, Styles, and the Miscellaneous
Naturally, typography is a concern. Scribus’s controls include everything the typesetter expects to find: finely adjustable leading, kerning, tracking, baseline-shifting, and styling. There are a variety of stylings that can be applied with a mere click: underlining, sub- and super-scripting, outlining, shadowing. Type can be stroked and filled. There’s even a Story Editor, which uses the same keyboard shortcut at InDesign’s.
No well-dressed program should step out without paragraph styles, and Scribus has those, although they cannot as yet be composed by example. They are easily made and saved, however, and easily applied. Lines and rules can be styled and those styles can be saved as well. Naturally there are Master Pages, which seem to work in a familar way.
You can’t define a style sheet by example in Scribus, but the lush Style dialog give you ample power, high-end controls, and a preview (click to enlarge).
Is the interface intuitive, and is Scribus ready for prime time? Continue on to read our thoughts on the matter.
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Does it import Quark XPress files or Adobe InDesign files?
Hello, David. Thanks for the comment.
Sadly, no. Scribus does not import .qxd or .indd files and it looks like support isn’t in the offing any time soon. The Scribus online documentation actually attemps to explain why.
If I may be allowed the indulgence of paraphrasing:
1. Format Complexity: DTP file formats are reputedly amongst the most complex file format of any type. The help quotes an unnamed designer as comparing the Pagemaker document spec to “a 2m x 3m flow chart diagram with 6 point type”, then points out that it wasn’t until InDesign 2.0 that PM file import could be considered reliable.
2. Formats are proprietary: the formats are sometimes patent-protected and documentation is confidential, and reverse-engineering is something that could get them in deep legal trouble that they do not have the resources to meet. Interestingly, the documentation mentioned that they at one time had a .qxd importer in testing, but Quark apparently told them to bear off.
3. Wise use of resources: they simply feel that (perhaps partially as a result of the above), given the available pool of talent and effort, that energy at this time is best put toward developing a better Scribus, and that working on import filters is something of a distraction. Judging by the amount of development they’ve done with it, I’d say it was a pretty good call.
At this point the documentation suggest using EPS, SVG, or PDF exchange to work with other designers on other platforms. Most likely that would look to mean rebuilding these files under those other platforms.
DESIGNORATI
Hi!
Thanks for this favourable review. I would agree with most of the UI issues you raised and I promise we will address those on the road to Scribus 1.4. Especially new features like clip paths often start at some obscure place and wander to a reasonable place later when we get feedback from our users.
Some notes:
Scribus also exports printshop ready PostScript, just print to a file.
The paragraph on graphics formats mixed up PDF and PSD: Scribus does *not* import PDF yet, it can only place PDF as raster graphic in an imageframe.
PSD import is quite advanced though.
Scribus imports PS, EPS, SVG and OO Draw as vector formats — with varying quality. Improvements for that and also PDF import as vectors is on the roadmap.
Oh, yes, and a new bugfix release is available: 1.3.3.2. :-)
/Andreas
Andreas:
Thanks for your comment. I must give you credit for your commenting attitude: I’ve seen varying experiences with open source application providers that run from very good to very bad, and yours rates pretty hight.
I say that because there are, as you might be aware of, various open source developers who deal less well with commentary. While my review of Scribus was, in the preponderance, positive, there were items which I was less than impressed with; you dealt with that criticism with class. Since my overview of Scribus was focused on the technical, I couldn’t put it in that one reason I think that Scribus may well make it over the long term is because of the positive, affirmative engagement that Scribus team has about complaints and gripes I’ve experienced to date. I can, however, say that here.
Also, thank you for rectifying my comment on the PDF/PSD point. I’ll correct that with an update to the article.
You’ll also notice that I’ve announced the release of your 1.3.3.2 number. I was planning to do that before I saw your comment.
Good luck on your continuing development of Scribus!
DESIGNORATI
Is it possible to contact administration?
Thank for all