Utilities

Not everything a publishing pro does is done within InDesign. This page highlights the key utilities we think everyone should have in their software toolkit.

General | Fonts and Typography | Graphics and Color | Output and Prepress | Connectivity

General

• Repetitive Stress Avoidance feature article ( 3MB PDF file) and tutorial from Macworld (playable via Apple QuickTime;StuffIt archive, Zip archive). Save your hands, neck, back, and arms.
• Allume Systems StuffIt Expander (free, ), StuffIt Deluxe for Macintosh ($80, ), and StuffIt Deluxe for Windows ($40, ) let you open and create StuffIt and Zip archives.
• Gluon Software offers JobCapture ($199, ) for automated project time tracking on a per-document basis and PrintCapture for tracking print jobs and usage ($149, ).
• WinZip's WinZip ($40, ) lets you open and create Zip archives.
• Managing Editor offers several ad-management systems (prices vary upon configraution, )for display and classified ads, as well as plug-ins that integrate them into InDesign.

General | Fonts and Typography | Graphics and Color | Output and Prepress | Connectivity

Fonts and Typography

• There are many sources for fonts. The better ones include Adobe, Agfa Monotype, Asian Fonts, FontSite, International Typeface Corp. (ITC), and MyFonts. Also available are the free Computer Modern and American Mathematical Society (AMS) fonts for scientific publishing.
• You'll want a font manager to load fonts as needed and help you manage them for different proects and clients. While Mac OS X and WIndows Vista have PostScript font support built-in, Windows XP requires at least the free Adobe Type Manager (ATM) Light (free, ). To really manage your fonts and auto-activate them, Insider Software offers FontAgent Pro ($100,) and Extensis offers Suitcase Fusion ($100,).
• Having fonts is not enough. You also need to access the characters (glyphs) in them. Windows and the Mac have utilities (Character Map and KeyCaps, respectively) to access special characters, but neither holds a candle to Ergonis's PopChar ($30, . Be sure to see the Print Publishing page for shortcut charts to special symbols.
• FontLab has a whole bunch of font utilities for Mac and Windows; it's where to go for font-creation and editing tools, as well as font-translation tools. FontLab Studio ($649, ) is the top-of-the-line tool, supporting all font formats. Fontographer ($349, ) is a resurrected version of Adobe's once-dominant utility, updated with Mac OS X compatibility but witout OpenType support (FontLab also sells an old Windows version that is not compatible with Windows 2000 or later). TypeTool ($99, ) offers basic font-editing capabilities.
• Cross-platform publishers need to have the same fonts on both platforms. If your fonts were created for just one platform. you have several options to convert them. Acute Systems offers CrossFont ($45, ) to translates TrueType and PostScript fonts bidirectionally between Mac and Windows. FontLab offers TransType ($97, ), which converts fonts across platforms, as well as from TrueType to PostScript or vice versa. And UniDoc Systems offers Truekeys ($50, ) to convert East Asian TrueType fonts between Mac and Windows; note this site is in Chinese.

General | Fonts and Typography | Graphics and Color | Output and Prepress | Connectivity

Graphics and Color

• Adobe Illustrator for Mac and Windows ($599, ), Adobe Photoshop for Mac and Windows ($649, ), and CorelDraw ($399, ) are widely used graphics programs.
• To convert graphics formats to ones supported by InDesign, try Lemke Software's GraphicConverter ($35, ), Gold Software Development's Advanced Batch Converter ($45, ), or FlyDragon Software's Graphic Converter 2003 ($50, ). For digital camera and scanner files, check out Polybytes' PolyView ($30, ).
• Web graphics have special needs, such as optimizing display speed and handling image maps. Adobe Fireworks for Mac and Windows ($299, ) offers tools for these, as does Ulead's SmartSaver Pro ($60, ).
• Color swatchbooks are very handy to see what the colors on screen will actually look like on a printed page. There are several sources for the various color models available: Pantone (includes Hexachrome), Trumatch, Focoltone (A&P Publishing Network), Dainippon Ink & Chemical, Toyo, ANPA (Newspaper Association of America), and HKS (ANPA isn't supported in InDesign, so you'll have to simulate it).
• Pantone offers the HexWare software ($299, ) to add Hexachrome color capabillity to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as to InDesign.
• Tools such as X-Rite’s Eye-One Display colorimeter and MonacoEZColor MonacoEZcolor software and Pantone’s Huey calibrate your monitor and create a color profile specifically for it.

Output and Prepress

• Adobe's PostScript driver (free, ) is essential for Windows users to get around flaws in Microsoft's driver. The Mac version is optional.
• Inkjet printers sometimes need PostScript raster-image-processing (RIP) software. Epson sells PostScript software ($145 to $200, ) for many of its inkjet printers.
• A key need is preflighting — verifying the integrity, completeness, and compatibility of all elements in a layout. While InDesign's Package feature gathers necessary image files, fonts, and color profiles, that can be insufficient in a production environment. There are several good preflighting tools available: Extensis Preflight Pro ($400, ) and Markzware FlightCheck ($499, ). Markzware offers several other prepress utilities.
• Creo ScenicSoft offers the TrapWise software ($899, ) to trap EPS, PDF, and DCS files you create from InDesign and other applications.

General | Fonts and Typography | Graphics and Color | Output and Prepress | Connectivity

Connectivity

• Cacidi Systems offers Batch ($85, ) to batch-convert QuarkXPress 3.3 and 4.1 files, as well as PageMaker 6.5 files, to InDesign CS format. This lets you convert multiple files at once, without having to go through InDesign's various confirmation dialog boxes for each file.
• Markzware offers ID2Q ($199, ) to convert InDesign 1.5 through CS2 files to QuarkXPress 6.0 and 7.0 formats and Q2ID ($199, ) to convert QuarkXPress 3.3 through 7.1 files to InDesign CS and CS2 formats.
• Computer Associates' PC MacLAN ($200, ) lets PCs join Mac-based networks, whether AppleTalk- or IP-based. It provides better control over what items are accessed and shared than Mac OS X does, and unlike Mac OS X it allows PCs to use Mac-connected printers. It only needs to be installed on PCs.
• DataViz's MacOpener ($50, ) and Media4's MacDrive ($45, ) let PCs read Mac disks (floppies, CDs, Zips, SyQuests, external hard drives, etc.).
• Acute Systems' TransMac ($65, ) does the same for about $65.
• DataViz's MacLinkPlus ($100, ) let Macs read PC disks and also offers file translation. Most people don't need file translation capability because most programs now use the same file format on Mac and Windows, but if you tend to use older or specialty programs, MacLinkPlus is a necessity.
• Apple's Mac OS X supports PC disks natively as well, although with less control than the above programs allow.

General | Fonts and Typography | Graphics and Color | Output and Prepress | Connectivity

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