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Choosing the software that's right for you will depend on many
variables. You will want to gather information from the software
vendors, independent reviewers, and people you know.
General
Considerations
You will also want to find out the following about each software program you are considering:
- Compatibility - Does it run on Mac, IBM PC, or both?
- Stability - Does it tend to crash?
- Scalability - Will it grow with your needs?
- Support - Does the company that created it provide good support?
- Ease of Use - Is it easy to use or cumbersome?
- Ubiquity - Do lots of other people use it?
Specific Considerations
Desktop publishing (DTP) software varies widely in terms of ease of
use, technical sophistication, and cost. If you're producing simple
documents like flyers, certificates and newsletters, you can get
everything you need from Microsoft Publisher™ or Print Shop™. These
programs are easy to use and don't require a large investment of time
to learn. However, if you produce a lot of long or complex documents,
like manuals with a lot of graphics or color photographs, you're better
off making the investment in one of the high-end programs like
PageMaker™ or QuarkXPress™.
Commonly Used Desktop Publishing Packages Comparison Table
In a recent survey of Senior Corp projects, we asked what software
packages were being used to create newsletters, flyers, and related
desktop publishing materials. The survey indicates that many people use
templates built into word-processing programs like Microsoft Word and
Corel's Word Perfect. The following is a list of the software packages
most commonly used by those who responded to the survey.
Note: This information does not represent
endorsement of any of the products listed. It is provided to illustrate
the range of products that are commercially available to do desktop
publishing. To determine which desktop publishing product might work
best for your program, we suggest you read product reviews contained in
the resources listed at the end of this handout.
|
Software |
Description | |
Microsoft Publisher
Cost: $85 - $99 |
Microsoft Publisher is an inexpensive, easy-to-use software package
that lets you design impressive documents with minimum effort. An asset
of the program is the "wizards," which walk you through the design and
lay-out processes step-by-step. When Publisher is opened, a wizard menu
gives you a choice of 20 different document types, ranging from
newslet-ters to banners. You respond to a set of simple questions to
designate your preferences. Using Publisher, you can create flyers,
brochures, postcards, labels, business forms, letterhead, signs,
business cards, calendars, envelopes, banners and newsletters. | |
Print Shop Pro Publisher
Cost: $50 - $70 |
Print Shop Pro Publisher is another inexpensive and easy-to-use
software program which supplies simple design tools to create
professional results. Print Shop has more than 10,000 professionally
designed quick-start templates and thousands of graphic and art images
to make it easy to customize every project. Print Shop has the ability
to create greeting cards, ban-ners, calendars, signs, labels,
newsletters, web pages, photo projects, business cards, and letterhead. | |
PageMaker
Cost: $450 - $550
or Adobe InDesign
(newer)
Cost: $699 |
For those with more DTP needs, PageMaker (or now, Indesign) lets you
create professional-looking publications at an affordable price.
Although the learning curve for these products are higher than that for
Publisher or Print Shop Pro Publisher, it is not a program just for
experts or graphic designers. It is packed full of features, including
300 corporate-oriented templates and thousands of high-resolution
photos and illustrations. | |
QuarkXPress
Cost: $750 - $900 |
The industry standard for high-end desktop publishing, Quark-XPress
is probably the most difficult of the software packages on this list to
master. Like other desktop publishing applications, QuarkXPress
provides templates, but novices may need to invest a significant amount
of time to learn this software. Some help is provided through
well-written user documentation that comes with the software, for
example, a booklet that explains color management in layman's terms and
shows you how to prepare your document for commercial printing. |
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