by , 1:25 PM EDT, April 5th, 2006

Quark is planning an invitation-only special "Launch Event" for QuarkXPress 7 in New York on May 23. According to Design Tools Monthly (subscription required), Quark isn't saying whether or not QuarkXPress 7 will start shipping on the 23rd, or if an official launch date will be announced. There is speculation, however, that if Quark's flagship product isn't released at the special event, it will be available soon after.

The new version of QuarkXPress will be a Universal Binary application capable of running natively on PowerPC and Intel-based Macs. It includes new transparency features, project collaboration tools, image editing, native support for Adobe Photoshop documents, Web export functions, and more.