SAN FRANCISCO--Aug. 7, 2006-- Quark Inc. today announced the immediate availability of QuarkXPress 7 as a Universal application for Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger." The QuarkXPress 7.01 update, which is available at no additional cost for Mac users of QuarkXPress 7.0, was built to run at peak performance on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. QuarkXPress is the first major design and publishing tool to be released as a Universal application, and its new graphics engine, XDraw, leverages the power of Quartz 2D to achieve the highest-quality rendering of text and graphics. "QuarkXPress 7 delivers on our commitment to being an open and customer-focused company," said Jurgen Kurz, senior vice president of desktop products at Quark. "With this QuarkXPress 7.01 Universal update, forward-thinking designers and publishers can take advantage of high performance and optimum productivity of the latest Intel-based Apple hardware." "Xcode and other innovative Apple tools give developers the power to quickly and easily create Universal versions of their applications," said Ron Okamoto, vice president of worldwide developer relations at Apple. "We're thrilled to have Quark deliver a Universal version of QuarkXPress 7 to join the thousands of Universal applications now available for our blazing fast Intel-based Macs." GA Communications, a marketing and advertising company that works primarily with large retail-industry clients, is upgrading to QuarkXPress 7 on new Intel-based Macs. "Using QuarkXPress 7 on the new computers is just incredible in terms of speed," said Marc Konik, vice president of technology. "We're very excited to have the latest hardware and the latest version of QuarkXPress. QuarkXPress takes full advantage of the speed of the Intel-based Macs, and now we do more work in less time while maintaining tight deadlines and stay in step with the industry." QuarkXPress 7 is the latest version of the design and publishing software that transforms creative communications by empowering customers to achieve their design, production, and collaboration goals. This powerful upgrade combines more design features with job-driven production capabilities in a collaborative environment, delivering faster creative development and high-quality print production. QuarkXPress 7 is shipping now and is available through Quark resellers and partners worldwide and from the Quark online store at $749 for new users and $249 to upgrade. To learn more about QuarkXPress 7 and how to purchase or upgrade, visit the Quark Web site at www.quark.com/sales/desktop. The QuarkXPress 7.01 update is available for download from www.quark.com/universalmac.