The service allows people with no previous design or printing experience to customize professionally designed templates for business cards, postcards, flyers, brochures, appointment cards, coupons, letterhead and envelopes. Anyone familiar with common office software can create marketing materials in three easy steps, says Ray Schiavone, president and CEO of Quark.

Customers first browse through a selection of free, professionally designed templates, complete with suggested marketing text and stock photos. Then they customize the template with information about their company and, when finished, place their printing order to be picked up at a nearby printer or received by mail.

Customers can choose from among hundreds of templates to create one marketing piece or an entire matching set of items. Templates are created by designers using QuarkXPress 8 and can be sorted by product or industry.

QuarkPromote.com offers four-color, two-sided materials printed on high-quality paper and standard 5-7 day delivery by mail at a competitive price, says Schiavone. There are no hidden fees, and shipping is free. Major print franchises and independent printers across the U.S. have partnered with QuarkPromote.com, including Allegra Network, AlphaGraphics, PIP, Signal Graphics, and Sir Speedy, he adds.

QuarkPromote.com will also include a free directory of professional graphic designers that customers can use to find a nearby designer should they need other types of specialized materials. The designer and customer can then work together to create a logo, advertisement, or other items that go beyond QuarkPromote.com templates. Interested designers can join by creating a free account at http://www.ilovedesign.com. Listings in the free directory will be available on QuarkPromote.com beginning in December.