Affinity Publisher

Affinity Publisher serves as a successor to Serif's own PagePlus software, which the company discontinued in August 2017 to focus on the Affinity product range.{{Cite web|url=https://www.printweek.com/print-week/star-product/1168748/star-product-serif-affinity-publisher|title=Star product: Serif Affinity Publisher|last=Eccles|first=Simon|date=2019-09-17|website=PrintWeek|access-date=2019-11-21}} It has been described as an alternative to Adobe InDesign,{{Cite web|url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/affinity-publisher-creates-competition-for-adobes-indesign/|title=Affinity Publisher creates competition for Adobe's InDesign|last=Pruitt|first=Ant|date=2019-06-24|website=TechRepublic|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.provideocoalition.com/affinity-publisher-an-affordable-alternative-to-adobe-indesign/|title=Affinity Publisher: an affordable alternative to Adobe InDesign|last=Antunes|first=Jose|date=2018-08-31|website=ProVideo Coalition|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17}}{{Cite web|last=Sartain|first=JD|date=2019-08-27|title=Alternatives for Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop and more|url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/3407798/13-alternatives-for-adobe-acrobat-photoshop-illustrator-indesign.html|url-status=live|access-date=2019-11-21|website=PC World|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201211243/https://www.pcworld.com/article/3407798/13-alternatives-for-adobe-acrobat-photoshop-illustrator-indesign.html |archive-date=2020-02-01 }} due to its primary focus on desktop publishing workflows for both printed and online media, including common features from this industry, such as master pages, OpenType support, linked text frames, and end-to-end support for the CMYK color model.{{Cite web|url=https://www.windowscentral.com/serif-launches-affinity-publisher-unique-integration-its-suite-apps|title=Affinity Publisher is now available from Serif|last=Endicott|first=Sean|date=2019-06-19|website=Windows Central|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}}

Affinity Publisher includes StudioLink technology,{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/australia/mac-life/20190901/281608127044396|title=Affinity Publisher: Layout for Less|last=Banks|first=Adam|date=2019-09-01|website=MacLife|access-date=2019-11-21}} developed by Serif, which allows owners of Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo to use the vector and raster graphic editing functionality of those applications for editing content directly within Publisher{{Cite web|url=https://macdailynews.com/2019/06/19/serif-launches-affinity-publisher-with-stunning-new-studiolink-technology/|title=Serif launches Affinity Publisher with new StudioLink technology|last=|first=|date=2019-06-19|website=MacDailyNews|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17}} (in addition to its own, smaller set of native vector and raster editing features).

File formats supported by Affinity Publisher (in addition to the Affinity suite's native file format) include Adobe InDesign Markup Language (only import of IDML files into Publisher, no export of IDML),{{Cite web|url=https://9to5mac.com/2020/02/26/affinity-photo-designer-and-publisher-updated-to-version-1-8-custom-keyboard-shortcuts-come-to-ipad/|title=Affinity Photo, Publisher, and Designer updated to version 1.8|last=Benjamin|first=Jeff|date=2020-02-26|website=9to5Mac|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-07}} Adobe Photoshop PSD, PDF, JPG, TIFF, PNG, and EPS,{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/creative-software/indesign-rival-affinity-publisher-is-officially-out-you-can-use-full-affinity-suite-in-app/|title=Serif just launched its InDesign killer Affinity Publisher|last=Lee|first=Giacomo|date=2019-06-19|website=Digital Arts|access-date=2019-08-17}} with export functionality for the PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3, PDF/X-4 standards of the PDF/X file format.{{Cite web|url=https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/DTP-Affinity-Publisher-tritt-gegen-Adobe-InDesign-an-4452064.html|title=DTP: Affinity Publisher tritt gegen Adobe InDesign an|last=Becker|first=Leo|date=2019-06-20|website=Heise.de|access-date=2019-11-21}}

The iPadOS editions of Affinity Photo and Designer also include support for Affinity Publisher files.

The first promotional video for Affinity Publisher was shown by Serif in December 2017, demonstrating features such as the drag & drop functionality, and text flow between frames.{{Cite web|url=https://9to5mac.com/2017/12/14/affinity-publisher-for-mac-tease-video-2018-beta-release/|title=Affinity Publisher for Mac teased on video ahead of 2018 beta release|last=Benjamin|first=Jeff|date=2017-12-14|website=9to5Mac|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.provideocoalition.com/affinity-publisher-sneak-peek-serifs-dtp/|title=Affinity Publisher: a sneak peek at Serif's DTP by Jose Antunes|last=Antunes|first=Jose|date=2017-12-18|website=ProVideo Coalition|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17}} A free public beta of the software was made available for both macOS and Windows on August 30, 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://9to5mac.com/2018/08/30/affinity-publisher-public-beta-mac-download/|title=Affinity Publisher free public beta goes live for Mac users|last=Benjamin|first=Jeff|date=2018-08-30|website=9to5Mac|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/creative-software/affinity-publisher-free-beta-of-new-indesign-rival-now-available/|title=Affinity Publisher: a free beta of the new InDesign rival is now available|last=Lee|first=Giacomo|date=2018-08-30|website=Digital Arts|access-date=2019-08-17}}

The first full version of Publisher (using the 1.7 version number, to align with other Affinity products) was first released on June 19, 2019,{{Cite web|url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/06/19/mac-page-design-app-affinity-publisher-comes-out-of-beta|title=Mac page design app Affinity Publisher comes out of beta|last=Gallagher|first=William|date=2019-06-19|website=AppleInsider|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}} in conjunction with Serif's 2019 'Affinity Live' event,{{Cite web|url=https://macsources.com/affinity-live-event-scheduled-for-june-19-news/|title=Affinity Live Event Scheduled for June 19|last=|first=|date=2019-06-17|website=Mac Sources|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17}} during which the company also announced the StudioLink integration features for the first time.{{Cite web|url=https://www.creativebloq.com/news/affinity-publisher|title=Affinity Publisher launches, and reveals a ridiculously cool new feature|last=Hamilton|first=Ruth|date=2019-06-19|website=Creative Bloq|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}} Publisher was made available for purchase directly from Serif's website and also available from the Mac App Store and Microsoft Store.

Publisher was updated to version 1.8 in February 2020, introducing support for importing Adobe InDesign's IDML file format. Version 1.9 was released in February 2021, adding speed improvements, with Serif claiming that certain tasks would be up to 10 times as fast.{{cite web |last1=Endicott |first1=Sean |title=Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher are now up to 10 times faster on Windows |url=https://www.windowscentral.com/affinity-photo-designer-and-publisher-get-major-update-version-19 |website=Windows Central |access-date=1 April 2024 |language=en |date=4 February 2021}}

Serif stated that an iPadOS version of the software was planned for release in 2020; it was eventually added in 2022 as part of the 2.0 update to the Affinity suite.{{cite web |last1=Gallagher |first1=William |title=Serif overhauls whole Affinity range, adds new iPad Publisher |url=https://appleinsider.com/articles/22/11/09/serif-overhauls-whole-affinity-range-adds-new-ipad-publisher |website=AppleInsider |access-date=1 April 2024 |date=9 November 2022}}

Affinity Publisher received generally favorable reviews following its initial release in 2019, with the application's range of features, its StudioLink integration with Affinity Designer/Photo, and non-subscription pricing model commonly cited as positive areas.{{Cite web|last=Paris|first=Steve|date=2019-07-16|title=Affinity Publisher DTP software review|url=https://www.techradar.com/reviews/affinity-publisher|url-status=live|access-date=2019-08-17|website=TechRadar|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713173817/https://www.techradar.com/reviews/affinity-publisher |archive-date=2019-07-13 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.windowscentral.com/affinity-publisher-review-professional-grade-publishing-minus-subscription|title=Affinity Publisher is professional-grade but doesn't require a subscription|last=Endicott|first=Sean|date=2019-06-28|website=Windows Central|language=en|access-date=2019-08-17}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/australia/maximum-pc/20191001/282454235655932|title=Work With Images in Affinity Publisher|last=Evenden|first=Ian|date=2019-10-01|website=Maximum PC|access-date=2019-11-21}} Limitations noted by reviewers of the initial release included its lack of support for InDesign's document (INDD) & markup (IDML) files (although Serif added IDML support in February 2020), for footnotes & endnotes, and for GREP-based and nested styles.

Many reviews drew comparisons between Publisher and InDesign,{{Cite web|url=https://creativepro.com/review-affinity-publisher/|title=Review: Affinity Publisher|last=Caplin|first=Steve|date=2019-07-02|website=CreativePro|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17}}{{Cite web|url=https://bigtechquestion.com/2019/06/25/review/affinity-publisher-review/|title=Affinity Publisher review: can it replace InDesign?|last=Jefferis|first=David|date=2019-06-25|website=The Big Tech Question|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-08-17}} often noting that Publisher's first release did not have all of the features required to serve as a full replacement; however, CreativePro also acknowledged it as having additional tools that are not present in InDesign or other desktop publishing applications.

In December 2019, Apple named Publisher the “Mac App of the Year”.{{Cite web|date=2019-12-02|title=Apple celebrates the best apps and games of 2019|url=https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/12/apple-celebrates-the-best-apps-and-games-of-2019/|url-status=live|access-date=2020-02-03|website=Apple.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203050542/https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/12/apple-celebrates-the-best-apps-and-games-of-2019/ |archive-date=2019-12-03 }}

• Comparison of desktop publishing software
• List of desktop publishing software

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://affinity.serif.com/publisher/}}

{{Desktop publishing software}}

Category:Desktop publishing software

Category:2019 software

Category:Windows graphics-related software

Category:MacOS graphics-related software

Category:MacOS graphics software