AMATEUR PUBLISHING SOFTWARE

Is amateur publishing software worth considering? Yes and no. Proper dtp programs cost money, and take time and effort to master. If you're short of all three, you may want to look at the alternatives, especially for:

simple layouts

inhouse work

trial publications

A brief comparison of the best amateur publishing software:

 
Publisher Pro
Page Plus
Print Shop Pro
MS Publisher
Print Shop
Print Shop Essentials
general templates
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
catalogue templates
yes
no
no
yes
no
no
cover templates
no
no
yes
yes
yes
yes
colour correction
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
frames
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
cmyk editing
yes
yes
no
yes
no
no
pantone matching
yes
yes
no
yes
no
no
fonts supplied
500
400
300
100
300
300
picture insertion in text
yes
yes
no
yes
no
no
text to curve fitting
yes
yes
no
no
no
no
text wrap
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
transparency/gradient
yes
yes
no
yes
no
no
spell check
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
colour separation
yes
yes
no
yes
no
no
print alignment
yes
yes
yes
no
yes
yes
PDF/Postscript output
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
overall grading*
8
7
6
6
6
6
ease of use*
8
8
6
8
6
6
project organization*
8
7
7
8
6
6
graphics tools*
8
8
7
6
7
7
text tools*
8
7
6
6
6
6
printing*
8
7
6
6
6
6
support*
8
7
7
6
6
6
retail price (US$)
90
90
80
169
40
20

 

Sites for more information on amateur publishing software:

DTP Software Review: More detailed comparison of top ten programs: source of * grading in table above, but check Amazon reviews.

About: Top seven myths and misconceptions about desktop publishing.

DesktopPublishing.Com: Good range of articles and resources.

Desktop Publishing Forum: Advice from working publishers.

Aaron Shepard: Perfect Pages: using MS Word to lay out your pages.

Yahoo: Reasonably select: place to find specialist programs or services.

Check with the publisher if you're taking the POD route, as many will not allow layout with amateur publishing software, insisting on text or MS Word submissions.