Design/Publication Software

cindyhove

Can anyone recommend a good (and obviously as cheap as possible!) software package for designing brochures, invitations, flyers etc?
At the moment I am just using the windows office stuff but there must be something much better out there.
Any ideas please?

santer_2

Two here, though use an e-mail address which isn't your main one if possible, as freebies may be followed up with spam offering the latest versions etc.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-desktop-publishing-program.htm

paddyrg

I just needed to do some design a bit more complicated than Word would stand, so tried Scribus (which is free). It is fairly decent and may do you.

However I just ended up buying MS Publisher from PCWorld (if you buy it online you can pick up in store the same day if they have stock, and it is cheaper that way). It has a very similar interface to all the other Office products which is handy, but having been using it for a couple of days, I am most taken by the mail merge feature. I need to create 200 ID badges in 2 languages with photos etc - I can just create all the details and mail merge them in automatically - that will save me hours! Then beyond that I need copies of passport photos ready to cut out - I can set it up so they all work automatically on a single sheet. Most impressed. Worth the money.

But try Scribus first, it may do all you need :-)

Zola.

Adobe InDesign is great software for this.

Obviously not cheap... but you can easily 'acquire' it online... for free

cindyhove

Zola. wrote: »

Adobe InDesign is great software for this.

Obviously not cheap... but you can easily 'acquire' it online... for free

any clues where from?

macman

Zola. wrote: »

Adobe InDesign is great software for this.

Obviously not cheap... but you can easily 'acquire' it online... for free

So you are suggesting acquiring pirated software? Not allowed on ths forum.

spud17

http://www.serif.com/desktop-publishing-software/?MC=FSSPAGEPLUS

BigRonW

spud17 wrote: »

http://www.serif.com/desktop-publishing-software/?MC=FSSPAGEPLUS

I started using Page Plus with version 1.6 (which was a hell of a long time ago - it ran on Windows v3.0, and Windows v3.1 hadn't yet been launched) Back then there were just three budget DTP packages available - I'd been using GST's "Timeworks" for a while (and liked it) but found Page Plus the best package for Windows. (The third rival was Microsoft Publisher) PagePlus clawed its way to the front of the queue by having the previous year's version regularly given away on magazine "cover disks" as a freebie. There are few better ways to gain market share than simply giving your product away! Serif made money from requiring users to register, and then offering the latest version at a heavy discount (direct sale, no middle man... you can afford to give a discount!) I used Page Plus as a wordprocessor for years. I Heartily recommend it, and "upgrade" to a newer version every few years.