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Fotolia and Quark Announce Free XTensions Software for Integrating the Innovative Image Bank Community Fotolia into QuarkXPress 7
Thursday 13. March 2008 - With FotoliaXT, images can be selected, positioned and purchased straight from a QuarkXPress 7 layout
Quark Inc., manufacturer of prize-winning layout and design software QuarkXPress, and Fotolia, operator of the international stock photography agency of the same name, announced today that within the framework of the QuarkAlliance Technology Providers Program they are making the FotoliaXT QuarkXPress 7 XTensions available free of charge.
With the aid of the Fotolia XTensions software, QuarkXPress 7 users will now be able to access the Fotolia community’s royalty-free images and illustrations – currently more than three million of them – straight from QuarkXPress 7, pull selected images using simple Drag&Drop, and position them into their print, Web, or interactive layouts. Following purchase, the preview image will automatically be updated with the high-resolution image. This makes it possible to work in a fully integrated way without leaving the application, which in turn considerably speeds up the creative process.
“A lot of our clients work with QuarkXPress 7,” explains Dittmar Frohman, CEO of Fotolia Germany. “So, the obvious thing to do is create a link between the layout and design software and our image collection. By doing this we are fitting in very well with the working habits of creative people: in this way, designers can select subjects from us without interrupting their creative workflow and carry on with the design inside QuarkXPress 7.”
Overview of Key FotoliaXT Features:
– Search, find and view first class Fotolia image material
– Store images in the Lightbox, a pre-selection tool
– Position images using Drag&Drop in print, Web or interactive QuarkXPress 7 layouts
– Automatic replacement of the preview with high-resolution images following purchase
– Uniform, global payment system using Fotolia credits within the QuarkXPress FotoliaXT palette
– Multi-lingual Web portal supporting all major languages
– Web-based application and therefore continuously up-to-date
– Possible to upload and sell own images
– Available for Windows (Mac version currently in preparation)
Fotolia membership and FotoliaXT download are free of charge. From as little as Euro 0.83, high-quality images at different levels of quality can be purchased from Fotolia. Users who register for the first time via the Fotolia XTensions software will be given a free start-up voucher for 7 Fotolia credits during the introductory phase.
“Image piracy on the Internet will solve itself in the face of such good prices,” says Dittmar Frohman. “Fotolia’s download terms and conditions give clear directives on originator’s and user’s rights, so that no buyer needs to worry about dissuasions for illegal use of images. We are delighted with the widespread acceptance of our licence and community models, and pleased that QuarkXPress 7 users can now make better use of these innovative opportunities.”
Using the XTensions software and QuarkXPress 7 photographers and artists can also put their own images onto Fotolia and offer them for sale. Once uploaded, the images practically do the rest of the work themselves, with Fotolia taking on the commercialization and invoicing.
“We are very pleased about the partnership with an innovative company like Fotolia,” comments Matthias Gilke, Marketing Manager Central Europe at Quark. “Not only are we delighted with the clever new functions which make it possible to research images and position image material directly into QuarkXPress 7 layouts, we are also excited by the open-minded community philosophy behind the whole system, which even lets creative artists earn money by selling their own images to other creatives.”