What is Adobe InDesign?

24/08/2023

Adobe InDesign is a desktop publishing software application for creating flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, and books. Projects created using InDesign can be shared in both digital and print formats. InDesign is used by graphic designers, artists, publishers, and marketing professionals. It is developed and produced by Adobe Systems and is available individually, or as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe InDesign  was previously available as part of the Creative Suite.

What is Adobe InDesign  CC

Adobe InDesign CC is part of the Creative Cloud, a collection of applications used for design, marketing, and communications in print, video, and online. Adobe InDesign CC is available for use on either Mac OS or Windows computers. The CC designates that the application is part of the Creative Cloud. The current version of InDesign is InDesign CC 2020, which was updated in June of 2020.

InDesign CC provides access to other Adobe resources. Many of these services within InDesign CC involve additional paid services, in which Adobe collects additional fees beyond the monthly license for the CC apps. These include Adobe Stock which, for additional fees, provides access to images. Similarly, fonts from Typekit are available for additional fees beyond the cost of InDesign.

What is the difference between Adobe InDesign  CC and CS

Earlier versions of the app used the CS designation, which represented Creative Suite. InDesign CC is subscription-based, requiring a monthly or annual fee, while InDesign CS was available as a perpetual license which could be purchased and used forever with a one-time fee. Many of the same features necessary for working on projects are present in both the CC and CS versions of InDesign. While InDesign CS is no longer supported by Adobe Systems, it can still be used for many projects on Mac OS and Windows computers. While InDesign CC may not have received significant updates since the creative suite versions, related Adobe apps have been updated considerably. Users subscribing to the entire Creative Cloud for other applications can access InDesign CC as it is included. InDesign CC is useful if using the most current Windows operating systems.

Adobe InDesign History

The first version of InDesign was released on August 31, 1999. The program began development long before this, with a different company known as Aldus that was based in Seattle and created desktop publishing software. Aldus developed some of the first graphics and desktop publishing programs available for personal computers that were running early versions of the Windows and Mac operating systems. These included applications such as Superpaint and PageMaker. The first version of PageMaker was released by Aldus July 1985 and it provided a simplified graphical user interface that fit the Macintosh point-and-click user experience. PageMaker became popular for early desktop publishing use as a result. At the company’s height in 1990, PageMaker 4.0 hit the market and was considered advanced for its time, although it was starting to see competition from Quark, Inc., a smaller startup based in Denver who produced the electronic publishing software application QuarkXPress.

In 1994, Adobe purchased Aldus and acquired most of their software apps, with the most notable being PageMaker. In the years prior to the Adobe–Aldus acquisition, PageMaker had been losing significant market share to QuarkXPress. Quark had many more features and eventually pushed PageMaker out of the professional desktop publishing market.

In 2000, Adobe released the first version of InDesign with the intent to replace PageMaker and offer an application that was more competitive with QuarkXPress. With the dawn of Mac OS X, Adobe also had the first-mover advantage by offering InDesign as the first desktop publishing program native for OS X, as QuarkXPress was only available on earlier versions of the Mac OS at that time.

Adobe eventually bundled InDesign with Photoshop and Illustrator, and then added additional tools to deliver the Creative Suite. As many designers already used Photoshop and Illustrator, offering InDesign as part of these other applications caused it to be adopted more quickly. Within 10 years of its launch Adobe InDesign had displaced QuarkXPress as the preeminent desktop publishing tool.

How is Adobe InDesign  Used

Adobe InDesign  is used to create flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers, posters, business cards, postcards, stickers, comics, and many other types of documents or visual communication.

InDesign is an industry-standard for publishing design and is used by graphics and marketing professionals. It may be used in conjunction with other applications that are part of the Adobe Creative Cloud including Illustrator and Photoshop, or it can be used on its own. Images and illustrations are usually not created within InDesign, rather layouts using text, images, and drawings that often are built in other programs are assembled into a layout using InDesign.

What Does Adobe InDesign Do

InDesign provides the tools necessary to design pages and create visual layouts that can be used for both print and digital media. InDesign provides users a simplified way to create professional pages which can be published and distributed in print or online.

InDesign is especially useful for documents containing multiple pages, layouts that combine text and images, and those containing significant amounts of text.

How Much Does InDesign Cost

Adobe InDesign CC is available as a subscription, and the cost for InDesign CC varies based upon the subscription plan selected. An individual subscription for only InDesign is $19.99 per month when subscribed for a full year, and $29.99 per month if subscribed only for a single month. Adobe also offers a Creative Cloud plan that includes InDesign along with more than 20 other Adobe apps which costs $49.99 per month or $74.99 per month if only subscribed for a single month.

Academic discounts are available for Creative Cloud, including InDesign. Students and teachers can subscribe to all the Creative Cloud apps for $19.99 per month for an annual plan with proof they work at or attend an eligible educational institution. There is no month-to-month option for the discounted fees.

Non-subscribers can review files online created using InDesign with review capabilities added with InDesign CC 2020 without needing a subscription.

InDesign Mac vs. Windows Differences

InDesign works equally well on Mac and Windows computers. There are no significant differences between the Mac and Windows versions of InDesign. On similarly equipped Mac and Windows computers, InDesign performs equally well on both platforms.

Advanced users may find differences in the scripting languages. Mac users will use AppleScript to automate repetitive tasks, while windows users utilize Visual Basic Scripting, also known as VBScript.

Slight differences in the key commands exist between Windows and Mac systems, but the general functionality is identical. For example, users who prefer to work from their keyboard may press the Ctrl key along with the P key to print if operating on a Windows computer, while a Mac user would press the Command key along with the P key to perform the same task.

Ultimately though, the best computer to use for Creative Cloud, including InDesign depends on the processor speed and size of the monitor rather than the operating system.

Questions and answers about Adobe InDesign

What InDesign is used for

InDesign is used for creating print and digital documents including books, flyers, magazines, newspapers and brochures.

Who uses InDesign

InDesign is used by graphic designers as well as marketing and communications professionals to create flyers, brochures, magazines, and other content.

When was InDesign invented

InDesign was invented over several years by a team from Adobe Systems that included previous Adobe employees, employees that had worked at rival publishing software company Quark, and several outside consultants. InDesign was created between 1998 and 2000.

When did InDesign come out

InDesign first came out in the year 2000. It was announced at a publishing conference and Adobe focused their initial efforts after InDesign was launched on promoting InDesign to large agencies and design firms in New York City.

Who created InDesign

InDesign was created by a team of product managers and software developers from Adobe Systems.

InDesign was invented by this same team who worked with outside consultants to understand unmet needs with existing publishing apps.

InDesign was developed by software developers at Adobe Systems working under the direction of product managers.

Who makes InDesign

InDesign is made by Adobe Systems, a software developer headquartered in San Jose, California.

InDesign for iPad

Although it is frequently requested, there is no InDesign for iPad. InDesign is available on MacOS and Windows computers.

Are InDesign files cross platform

InDesign files are cross-platform. InDesign files can be opened on either a MacOS or Windows computer with InDesign software, regardless of the platform used to create the files.

When to use InDesign

Use InDesign when creating documents that are graphically rich with highly designed layouts combining text and graphics. It is useful to use InDesign for creating flyers, brochures, magazines, newsletters and other documents with complex layout needs that go beyond the capabilities of standard word processing tools.

InDesign without Creative Cloud

Although InDesign is included with a Creative Cloud subscription, it is also possible to obtain InDesign without Creative Cloud. InDesign can license separately as an individual app directly from Adobe for either the MacOS or Windows.

Which InDesign version is better

The best versions of InDesign are those that are part of the Creative Cloud, otherwise known as InDesign CC. This is because Adobe continues to support these apps and they operate on modern computers and operating systems. These apps also receive bug fixes. These versions of InDesign require a monthly or annual subscription. Older versions of Creative Cloud include a perpetual license which avoids monthly or annual fees, but they are not longer supported by Adobe and may encounter technical problems with newer operating systems.

(Source: agitraining)

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