Denver, CO – July 10, 2007 – Quark Inc. today announced that its QuarkAlliance community of XTensions developers and members has gained significant momentum as partners and customers have adopted QuarkXPress 7, the latest version of Quark’s flagship software product.
Over 320 certified XTensions developers have released or are working to release XTensions that are specifically designed to extend the value of QuarkXPress 7 by providing users with new functionalities and features. The membership renewal rate among XTensions developers indicates that QuarkXPress 7 adoption has taken place faster than at any point in Quark’s history since QuarkXPress 4.
In addition, Quark has seen rapid growth among the group of XTensions developers that create solutions for QuarkXPress Server 7 in the Enterprise market. An average of three new developers are becoming certified each week. QuarkXPress Server combines the high-quality typography and graphic support of QuarkXPress 7 with server-based performance to enable on-demand creative communications.
To date, Quark has certified more than 2,000 XTensions developers in nearly 50 countries, providing millions of XTensions to Quark customers worldwide. Quark was an innovator and early adopter of extensible technology. Early XTensions such as Xdata, one of the first commercial XTensions, enabled very specific types of users to customize QuarkXPress to meet their very specific needs affordably. XTensions are also developed by individual companies for internal use, ranging from simple utility tools to XTensions integrated with large editorial systems.
“Markzware and Quark are long-term partners and, frankly, without Quark, there would be no Markzware. Over the years, Quark has helped us with several co-marketing efforts to promote our XTensions, and they’ve been a tremendous benefit to our business,” said Patrick Marchese, president, Markzware Software, makers of the world’s leading preflighting software.
Quark Showcases QuarkAlliance XTensions Developers and Members in Campaign Giving Customers 7,000 Reasons to Upgrade
Quark has launched a number of new programs to both support XTensions developers and members and to benefit Quark customers, including new pricing models and Quark customer events such as the Symposium series (www.quark.com/symposium).
In addition, Quark is highlighting the momentum within its QuarkAlliance community through a new marketing campaign that showcases developers’ XTensions and members’ products and services while offering significant value to QuarkXPress users.
Called “7,000 Reasons to Upgrade to QuarkXPress 7,” the campaign enables Quark customers to save over $7,000 in coupon offers from Quark and its QuarkAlliance partners when upgrading to the latest version of QuarkXPress. In addition, Quark is extending the program to customers who have already upgraded in order to offer them further value and opportunity for creativity.
Ranging from tools that convert Adobe InDesign documents to QuarkXPress products to enterprise font management solutions, “7,000 Reasons” offers customers special savings on programs from over 30 Quark partners as well as directly from Quark. Available through the end of September 2007, the entire program can be accessed at www.quark.com/7000.
“Quark’s latest effort, ‘7000 Reasons to Upgrade,’ in my opinion, is by far their most ambitious promotion,” continued Marchese. “It’s especially great, because both Quark and Markzware win, and the customer response so far has been wonderful!”
“Quark values our XTensions developers as key strategic partners, and we are very pleased to support their momentum through exclusive programs such as ‘7,000 Reasons,’” said Terry Welty, senior vice president, corporate marketing, Quark. “This program is not only a benefit to our partners but also to our customers who now have the opportunity to realize significant savings when upgrading to QuarkXPress 7.”