The product is menu-driven, and works with any QuarkXPress or InDesign document, allowing the user to create pre-defined 'placeholders', which are designated to receive variable data. DesignMerge can import text, picture, or article information from practically any data source, and merge that information into QuarkXPress or InDesign layouts to produce unique, personalized output.
DesignMerge can output to any PostScript printer and includes built-in image caching for incredibly fast output. In addition, we provide a number of optional print driver modules for high-end digital presses, including PPML and Xerox VIPP. The Pro Bundle also includes our CopyFit¯ software, which provides advanced on-the-fly copyfitting capability, GroupPicture¯ software, which provides support for fully-variable layout elements, and the Rules Module, which can be used to construct sophisticated conditional logic (if/then/else) statements.
| Capability | DesignMerge | Fusion Pro | XMPie uDirect | Creo Darwin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source: Meadows Publishing Solutions May 2010 | ||||
| Works directly with both Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress | ✓ | - | InDesign Only | - |
| Apple Mac & Windows Support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Supports Variable Text, Images & Articles (multip-paragraph, styled text) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Optimized output is compatible with any PostScript printer | ✓ | - | (optional) | Creo systems only |
| Includes support for PostScript, PPML and VPS output at no extra charge | ✓ | (optional) | (optional) | VPS Only |
| Separate Fixed and Variable dat streams (for EFI FreeForm) | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Supports concurrent job 'chunking' and print optimizations for efficiency | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Control output filename or PDF name via database field or conditional logic | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Provides print session summary, including errors | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Multiple-up layouts with support for 'Cut & Stack' output in document | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Automatic copy fitting of overset or underset boxes (MPS CopyFit) | ✓ | (limited) | (limited) | - |
| Copy fitting can be utilized and tested as a standalone module | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Supports user-defined 'Actions' via AppleScript or JavaScript | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Basic conditional logic support (Rules) | ✓ | (hand-coded) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Interactive testing features for conditional Rules and Actions | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Longest & shortest line testing | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Data preflight features to check for missing pictures and articles | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Variable Layouts & Master Pages | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Variable Groups (MPS GroupPicture) | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Create multi-page QuarkXPress or InDesign documents | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Save output in QuarkXPress or InDesign document format | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Complete setup is saved with each document (critical for archiving and support) | ✓ | - | - | - |
| PostNet and Intelligent Mail Bar Coding support with royalty-free fonts | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Data-Driven Graphics (pie charts, line graphs etc) | (optional) | (optional) | (pro version only) | (optional) |
