InDesign Magazine Covers Your Version, Too

Mike Rankin

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I’ve been the Editor in Chief of InDesign Magazine for 26 issues (that’s 182 issues in dog years) and just as my predecessors did, I make it a point that we create an inclusive publication, one that offers value to all InDesign users, regardless of which version they use. I know that there are many users happily trundling along with CS6, or CS5, or even earlier versions.

That’s why I was chagrined recently to read an email from someone who had chosen not to renew their subscription to InDesign Magazine. This reader was not unhappy with the magazine, but had decided to stick with CS6, and not become a Creative Cloud subscriber. Thus, he felt the magazine would be less useful going forward, with articles about features he couldn’t use.

Of course, this made me sad because I hate losing any subscriber to InDesign Magazine. All of us who work on the magazine strive to make it as good as we possibly can, in hopes that it (along with the other benefits you get) will be more than worth the price of a subscription.

But I also wondered if this person had a point. Were we neglecting folks who work with pre-CC versions of InDesign? To find out, I combed through the content we’ve published since CC came out to see just how much of the magazine is relevant to people who are still using CS6 and earlier.

Short answer: nearly everything we publish in InDesign Magazine still applies to you, still offers you value and use-it-today information, whether you’re using the latest version of InDesign or not.

Let’s look at the details

Since the debut of InDesign CC, we’ve published 19 issues so far, containing a total of 124 original articles (not including the Best of the Blog content from here at InDesignSecrets).

In those 19 issues, we’ve published many reviews of InDesign scripts, plug-ins, and other related products. How many could run on older (pre-CC) versions of InDesign? All of them.

Out of the 124 articles I mentioned, how many were specifically about InDesign CC-only features? 14.

So by the numbers, almost 90% of InDesign Magazine is just as relevant as ever to folks who aren’t Creative Cloud subscribers. That’s 1250 pages of content in less than two years!

And it’s no accident. We’ve always chosen article topics that we think would be of interest to the most people. And we try to craft each issue so it works both as part of a subscription, and as a standalone product you can buy here at InDesignSecrets.

The typographic advice you’ll read in an InType article by Nigel French is timeless. InDesigner profiles of companies like Rolling Stone Magazine and DK Books are inspirational no matter what software you’re using. GREP tutorials by the likes of Peter Kahrel will supercharge your InDesign powers, even if you’re using CS3. Sandee Cohen’s InQuestion and InDesign 101 articles are full of indispensable information for all users. I could go on, but you get the point.

Of course, we always stay on top of new developments, and will continue to bring you detailed coverage of new features with articles like Steve Werner’s recent, What’s New in InDesign CC 2014.2. But because InDesign is such a deep application the new stuff will always be a small fraction of the whole picture. In short, we’ll always cover a balance of established features and new, cutting-edge stuff.

So whether you race to update InDesign CC the moment a new version is released, or if you’re sticking with CS4 forever, we’ll make sure that InDesign Magazine remains an indispensable resource for you. If you’re a current subscriber, thank you! And I hope you’ll stick with us. And if you’re not a subscriber, check out the benefits, grab a free trial issue, and give us a shot. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did!