Gary, you are right. It has its uses like FreeHand which I use 2 or 3 times a year. But something in me is reluctant to learn everything of FreeHand - it appears far too complicated to me. In Xara everything is a snap, it's like playing with your creativity without limits. Xara is really interactive.

Over the last months I've decided to do the graphics with Xara, export them to *.eps or *.pdf, do the layouts, export them to *.eps or *.pdf, pack the text into a plain text file and send all the stuff to a subcontractor or a printer who will assemble all elements according to my specs and his needs. So I don't have to care if he is working in a RGB or CMYK space, or how he converts the files.

If the big blame will start rolling, it always rolls down the hill, where I am as the designer. So I can send the client my pdf file and prove that everything on my end was perfect. Then the ball will roll uphill to where it belongs: the printer.

Works excellent for me.

Don't forget: in the past theses tricky tasks have been provided by printers or some specialists, not the designer. I tried my best - just to discover that I'll be the fool if problems arise. The client doesn't pay me for color seps etc, so why go through all the hassle? It means additional work which I have to give away for free to the client. Does it make sense? No, not to me, not any longer.

I do the same with my photography: if the client wants chromes, he will get some duplicates. If he wants files, he will get files. But I don't integrated a color space profile anymore or do the seps - that's the task of the printer or whoever will laser/print/sep the material. If a client insists that I have to deliver this work without paying the extra time, I just kiss him good bye because I can't afford to waste time on jobs I don't get paid for, just to give the client a better chance to get something for free.

just a new and better workflow for me.