using Scribus for a college newspaper

[rogerstbucks]

Hello,
I'm the adviser to a college newspaper. We've been using Quark for layout but I was thinking of switching to Scribus so that students could use the program on their home computers if needed. We publish a modified broadsheet, typically 8 or 12 pages, bi-weekly.  Would anyone have a sense of whether Scribus would b a good solution for us? Thanks.

[leaf]

Hello,
I'm the adviser to a college newspaper. We've been using Quark for layout but I was thinking of switching to Scribus so that students could use the program on their home computers if needed. We publish a modified broadsheet, typically 8 or 12 pages, bi-weekly.  Would anyone have a sense of whether Scribus would b a good solution for us? Thanks.

Will be best if You Attach any sample file (light pdf).
I'm Quark and Scribus user, and sometimes the Quark is better, sometimes Scribus, it depends.
Quark is:
- stable
- better in work with text (widow, orphan, tables, kern pairs, import character styles)
- better in long documents (page numbers above background, chapters)
- colors looks better (full Pantone palette supports, multink for dutone colors, trapping)
- can do file for iPad, eBooks.
Scribus is:
- free
- Is for Windows, Mac, Linux users
- can open pdf, eps, ps files as editable.
- gradient tools is better than in Quark
- is simple for new users
- can shows Total Ink limits for colors
- can show separate preview for colors - very useful
- align for object is simple and easy.
- flip option for object works, in Quark v 8 not.
- Scripts works on Windows and Linux etc not only in Mac.

etc
Scribus users can prepare books and newspapers, so rather will be ok for college.

[GarryP]

I'd agree that Scribus will be okay for producing 8-12 pages every couple of weeks.

One problem you may have is that Scribus doesn't have any collaboration tools. Essentially all of the people working on it will be working on their own copy.

However, that problem can be fairly easily overcome if each person works only on their own pages and those pages are then imported into another document before final editing.

Contributors can create their pages - using a standardised document set-up which you'll need to make beforehand to keep things looking consistent - and then use "File -> Collect for Output..." to get all of their files - the scribus document, images, fonts etc. - into a single folder which can be zipped (if necessary) for distribution to an editor.

The editor can then use "Page -> Import..." to collect the pages together into an initially blank document - using the same standardised set-up - possibly also using "Window -> Arrange Pages" to reorganise them.

Then all that should need to be done is some tweaking to get things looking right and/or an editorial summary of the whole issue, or whatever else you need to do before publication.

In my opinion, this is a much better way of doing it than passing a document between people one by one to add "their bit" as some people will inevitably wait until the last minute to do the work thus delaying the whole thing.

Anyway, I wish you success with switching to Scribus - if you do so - and I think everyone on the forum would like to see what you produce.

P.S. See this page http://wiki.scribus.net/canvas/Success_stories_2014 - and the other linked related pages (top right of that page) - for many fantastic examples of what's already been achieved with Scribus. Maybe they'll give you some inspiration and/or confidence in what Scribus can do.

[mnawij]

I use Scribus for creating either a 4 or 8 page newsletter every month or so for my church and works great.

mnawij