Quark is getting ready to release the latest version of its widely used page-layout and design software. QuarkXPress 8 [1] is expected to be available within the next two months, the company says.

According to Tim Banister, Quark’s general manager of desktop technology, the upgraded software is intended to support “the way designers work today” and strives to be “the most accessible professional page-layout software for new users to learn.” It allows for synchronized and simultaneous design across print, Web and Flash, and allows users to incorporate video, sound and animation through an interactive layout tool previously available through a separate software application; Quark Interactive Designer.

The system also supports eastern and western typography for more than 30 languages and is, according to Quark, the first page-layout application to offer hanging characters with paragraph-by-paragraph control, multiple presets and the ability for users to create and share their own hanging character settings.