Hikona should be of interest to any publishing company that makes high-resolution, press-ready PDFs from QuarkXPress.

These files have to be 100% perfect - the slightest error means the PDF has to be re-made and sent afresh to the printworks, slowing down the production process and possibly adding to the final bill.

At worst, the mistake might go unnoticed - and that could mean a reprint at huge expense.

Hikona will make sure that the PostScript file made from Quark will be output exactly to your specification. Why? Because your specifications for resolution, page size, orientation, bleed, registration marks, offset, halftone screen, etc will be 'hard-wired' into the code of Hikona itself.

All those crucial settings within the Quark print dialogue box - so easy for a Mac operator to get wrong or overlook - will be set in stone.

And because Hikona works on an entire folder of Quark documents, you can automate the process of creating your high-resolution PDFs for a particular job or publication. Just gather all the Quark docs into one folder (or create a folder of aliases) and run Hikona.

To see how that works, check out the KonaPDF for Quark page. Whereas KonaPDF will output low-resolution, "plain vanilla" PostScript files, Hikona will output 2400dpi (or whatever your chosen setting is) PostScript files with crops and trims etc.

The final quality of your PDFs will depend on your Acrobat Distiller settings.

Hikona is intended to be used for CMYK 4-colour process print jobs only. The program will output composite CMYK single page .PS files from all the selected Quark documents, including those that contain facing-page spreads. In other words, double page spreads will be split into single pages. Most commercial printworks require high resolution PDFs in this way. Hikona will have the page dimensions 'hard-wired' into its code - so it is suitable only for a particular job - the job you specify - and not for publications of a different page size.

You can buy Hikona via the PayPal options on the Purchase page. Then go to the Hikona Form page on this website to download a QuarkXPress document for you to fill in your Quark print options. Once completed, email it to us and we will email you the program.



 Requirements:
OS X 10.4 Tiger (tested on 10.4.10) or OS X 10.3 Panther (tested on 10.3.9). NOT tested on Leopard OS X 10.5.
QuarkXPress 6.5
The OPI extension in Quark to be loaded (though it should be left unchecked in the print dialog box)
Acrobat Distiller 6 or Acrobat 7
Mac OS system language to include British English
Default printer set to a PostScript printer

For the KonaPDF scripts to run smoothly, QuarkXPress should already be running, all required fonts and colour profiles loaded and active, and images properly linked (not missing).

Please note the requirement for the Mac OS X system language setting in System Preferences to include British English. It's doesn't have to be at the top of the list, just in it.

Users on Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger also need to update the Script extension in the Quark extensions folder. This is vital for KonaPDF to work in Tiger. The extension is included in the Output Enhancements XTensions software (user mode) for QuarkXPress and QuarkXPress Passport 6.5 available from the QuarkXPress website - go to Support, Desktop Downloads.