The developers of the Scribus open source DTP software have probably released the last version of the 1.4.x development branch with the release of version 1.4.4. From now on they want to concentrate solely on the next major release in the form of the 1.6.x series, whose first alpha version (1.5.0) should be made available for testing later in 2014.
The Scribus version that has just been released contains a script to allow users to align images in frames and it is now possible to use page borders as guides for the snapping of objects. The autoquote script has been rewritten and has more available options. In addition, problems with the spellchecker that resulted in crashes have been resolved. A further new feature is and option for exporting work as PDF/X-1a.
A new colour palette has been added for geographers, whilst Scribus now comprise a further CMYK colour palette created by the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) for newspaper advertisements.
All the changes in the new version can be seen in the release notes.
In addition to the release of the new version, the Scribus team has also announced a new industry partnership. By collaborating with Software Consulting Services (SCS), which was involved in the invention of Quark-XTensions, commercial support will now be available for migration to Scribus. Furthermore, SCS is willing to work on future Scribus development and already offers a plug-in for the import of Layout-8000 geometry files into Scribus.
Scribus is available for the following platforms: Linux, BSD UNIX, Solaris, OpenIndiana, GNU/Hurd, Mac OS X, OS/2 Warp 4, eComStation and Windows.