Jacci's Desktop Publishing Blog

For those who may be on the fence about whether or not to take the plunge with QuarkXPress 8, you can evaluate it for 60 days for free. Quark says this is a fully-functional time-limited version of the software. Download QuarkXPress 8. When you do, also get some tips on downloading and evaluating demo and trial versions of any desktop publishing software.

Has anyone downloaded this yet and taken it for a spin? Tell us what you think.

OpenOffice.org, although technically not desktop publishing software, makes my list of free options for Windows users. Now Mac-native versions of OpenOffice.org and the very similar StarOffice are on the way giving Mac users a couple of free options for basic desktop publishing and heavy-duty word processing, presentation creation, and other tasks. Then there's also Scribus, another freebie for multiple platforms. Mac has some low-cost options too such as The Print Shop for Mac.

Mac users, what other free and low-cost desktop publishing software do you use?

OK, I can agree with some of these 7 Fonts that should die (Brush Script, yuck-o) but Papyrus?

Gee, I've always liked Papyrus.

And Comic Sans didn't make the list. Which fonts would you put on the done to death list?

Kids with siblings, in daycare, or at school are often admonished to be nice and share their toys, playground equipment, or school supplies. But when it comes to sharing that great piece of software you just bought or asking a friend to send you copies of some of the fonts that he got from a friend of a friend... that's not necessarily the nicest thing to do.

Read more...

At The Forrester Blog Sheri McLeish talks about Quark's past woes and future plans in a post titled Quark Making A Dynamic Comeback? where she concludes with:

"...given its recent measures to reinvent itself, Quark's pulse is quickening, and there is more than a glimmer of hope for a dynamic comeback."

Those following our earlier QuarkXPress discussion who might still be on the fence about sticking with or returning to QuarkXPress might want to give it a read.

In an earlier discussion of free desktop publishing software, Jim writes:

"The free PagePlus is incredible. I use the pro version but have all my customers download the free version. (I own a printing and graphic design company) The free version is all many people need for a pro looking brochure, newsletter etc… Why anyone would pay for Publisher when there is a richer and much easy program available…"

Jim's not alone in his praise of the free PagePlus. Bill Mullins says he's been using free Serif software for over a decade and he highly recommends it for those new to desktop publishing:

"PagePlus SE from Serif comes complete with Automated Templates for just about any Desktop Publishing project, making it easy to get professional quality results. If you’re comfortable using a word processor, then you’ll be comfortable with this application."

It's my top pick too for free desktop publishing software. When friends, clients, or co-workers ask you about free desktop publishing software, do you recommend PagePlus SE, Scribus, OpenOffice or something else entirely?

I have plenty of material on this site about designing your own greeting cards. But occasionally I get inquiries from people wanting to create their own line of greeting cards to sell -- including the writing. Through a pointer from our Web Logs Guide Susan Gunelius I found a course on Writing Greeting Cards. The course is taught by Sandra Miller-Louden who is a long-time greeting card writer. And if you don't want to take her class, it seems she's also written some books on that and related topics, including a booklet titled 7 Steps To Take BEFORE Starting A Greeting Card Company. If anyone is familiar with the class or Sandra's books, let us know what you think of them.

While I don't feel that just these few Desktop Publishing Tips for the Little Guy are quite enough to help non-designers turn out good polished publications, they are a good start. Never use clip art is a little harsh, although I see his point. People do tend to go overboard and don't know when to stop. What tips would you add or change?

Here's a fun blog read for those who remember DOS and WordPerfect 4.2. Where there's an old technology, there's a way. Yep, "There’s always more than one way to skin a computerized cat … "

This Acrobat does things like embed Flash videos and PowerPoint presentations as well as include more documents in a portfolio -- for file sharing. About.com Word Processing Guide James Marshall details the new features and improvements in Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended. He writes, "If you rely on PDF files to get work done, Acrobat 9 will greatly improve your workflow. You’ll also appreciate that it makes your PDF documents more interactive and organized." Check out his review then tell us, do you think it's worth the price? Will you be upgrading?