Need to typeset a dissertation, novel or CV but don’t know where to start? Looking for a free and simple desktop publishing program to create posters, brochures or images and advertisements for Facebook or other social networks? Then read our guide to five fantastic pieces of DTP software, which are easy to use and only cost a few pounds (indeed, some are completely free!), providing an alternative to better-known programs such as InDesign or QuarkXpress.
Desktop publishing, once the sole domain of professionals, is now within everyone’s reach thanks to some extremely intuitive open source programs and pieces of online software that help you create your product in just a few clicks. If you want to produce books, flyers, invitation cards, menus or greeting cards, not to mention digital products like newsletters and online magazines, there are templates available with pre-set guides; all you have to do is add the various things you need to complete your page: photos, text, icons and illustrations.
What are the best free Mac alternatives to Publisher? Some of the best Mac alternatives to Publisher that are made available for free on MacUpdate are: Scribus; Pages; Lucidpress; LibreOffice Draw; Scribus. Released in 2003, Scribus is a long-standing publishing software relied upon by millions of professionals across the globe. IStudio Publisher 1.5.2 - Desktop publishing app with dynamic text wrapping. Download the latest versions of the best Mac apps at safe and trusted MacUpdate.
Independent publishing has never been so accessible. What used to require months of training and an expensive suite of software can now be accomplished with a single free app. And its free Mac. The Best Novel Writing Software. Here’s our list of the best software for writing a novel. Microsoft Word is one of the oldest word processors out there, and it is still widely used for writing books. Word has a lot of features to offer, and with a new suite of productivity features added regularly, this software makes.
In recent years, the range of alternative DTP programs competing with big names like InDesign has grown rapidly. Ever more frequently, people need to produce materials quickly: images and adverts for Facebook or Instagram, for example, banners for websites or brochures. So why not do it using a program which, despite being free, can nevertheless give your text a decidedly professional touch?
To help you, here’s our guide to help you navigate the best free (or very cheap) DTP programs of 2017.
1. Microsoft Word
Sometimes you don’t need to look far to find the program you need. We have a desktop publishing program right under our noses every day: Microsoft Word! It has templates for all of the most common publications, such as calendars, brochures, posters, bookmarks, CVs and so on… all of which can be customised as you see fit. You can, of course, choose from hundreds of different fonts (incidentally, we recommend taking a look at dafont.com), alter the colours, import and modify images, number the pages, justify the text and make it wrap around photos, use columns and insert graphics and tables. Basically it has everything, including a powerful spell checker and the option to save in PDF format at a high enough quality for printing at home or in the office.2. Scribus
The interface may seem dated, but your initial doubts will fade rapidly when you discover this powerful, free and multiplatform open source desktop publishing program, suitable for producing commercial-level publications. This is Scribus, a program whose stated aim is to make DTP accessible to beginners without limiting the more professional functions that are essential if you want to have your product printed professionally. These tools include, for example, print colour management (including Pantone colours), which helps to minimise the difference between the colours you see on the screen and those that are printed, and the classic typographic grid. The software allows you to use templates or create documents from scratch, and supports layers, vector images and intelligent guidelines and grids to help you put together the artwork and align the various elements easily. You can also use master pages for recurring headings, borders and page numbers. An extremely useful wiki guide gives you the lowdown on the infinite possibilities this DTP software offers.
3. Lucidpress
Lucidpress is a simple-to-use online DTP program which allows you to create advertising and publishing content without the need to install anything. On registering you will have access to well over 250 publication templates to get you started and a wealth of functions that are every bit as good as the better-known Indesign. A fully functional and intuitive interface means you can get going immediately, and the drag & drop mechanism makes managing formats, text styles, image positioning, layers and transparency a doddle, helping you to create professional-quality graphic effects. You can save your print file as a PDF or in other digital formats. And all this for just under £6 a month! Lucidpress also lets you insert audio and video files and hyperlinks into your documents, so you can create multimedia files, useful in business and educational environments. Finally, you can import images directly from Flickr, Facebook and Dropbox, without any additional upload time.
4. Canva
If you’re not looking to produce books or magazines, but instead want to quickly put together brochures, images and adverts for Facebook and other social media, your CV or a letter, Canva is the program for you. This easy-to-use online DTP and graphic design software made a name for itself immediately thanks to its extremely intuitive layout and the fact you can use it without having to install anything on your PC. Once you have registered for free, you have access to ready-made templates in the sizes needed to create every type of graphic design product, such as Facebook images, posters, leaflets, blog layouts, business cards, advertising banners, CVs and certificates. You can choose from hundreds of layouts, graphics, fonts and backgrounds, many of which are free, while others only cost a few pounds. Each element can be moved around easily using drag & drop. The software allows you to create combinations of fonts, colours and logos to use with all the products under your brand’s umbrella, and has a teamwork function (for up to 10 people with the free version of the software) to speed up sharing your artwork.5. Joomag
Joomag is an online publishing program designed specifically for people who want to produce, typeset and publish online magazines, photo books, corporate magazines or product catalogues. Again, there are over 100 graphic design templates to base your work on, or you can start from a PDF and turn it into a digital product. Typographic grids and layers help you manage your artwork. The free version allows you to create and publish your catalogue or company magazine online (easily accessed by customers through a link). The more advanced paid versions, starting from $9 a month, allow you to download PDFs, sell your magazine through the website’s platform, and design a specific graphic layout for your brand.
These five programs are simple to use and suitable for a range of different needs. All that’s left now is for you to let your creativity run wild and, click by click, create your first publication!
Are you in the process of finalizing that book of yours? Or maybe you’d just like to pass a document that reeks of professionalism? Then boy are you in the right place. Today, we’ll be talking about Desktop Publishing Software or DTP.
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You can think of them as some kind of e Magazine Software of sorts, and we’ll be discussing more about them below. We’re here to highlight some features that makes a software from this field the best. We’ll also be giving some sample programs below, which you could use for reference and to do some test runs on.
Spring Publisher
PagePlus Free Desktop Publishing
IHDP Software- In House Digital Publishing Software
Microsoft Office Publisher
Swift Publisher 4
Desktop Publishing Software are used to organize graphics and texts into ready-to-be-printed professional-looking publications. DTP can make layouts and create quality typographic images and text, equal to that of the traditional printing and typography.
It is commonly used as a Book Writing Softwaredue to its features. Speaking of which, if you’re looking to get some of the best DTP out there, then don’t forget to check for these characteristics in them:
- Fully Customizable
Transforming your publication should be a hands-on activity. You should be able to turn it into something unique and something that resonates with you. The way you customize it, from from the logo to the background, would serve as your trademark as well. - Use the Power of SEO
Your publication needs to have a significant place in search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc., for it to be known. You need a software that utilizes SEO techniques and incorporates them in your work. The higher your ranking, the better. - Security
Now, you wouldn’t want anyone to just go ahead and grab what you made, right? Because what if they have plan to steal it or plagiarize it? You need to protect your work, and a software that lets you protect the digital edition of your publication is pretty handy. - Multiple Languages
It’s time to think big and aim for audiences from around the world. That’s why you should have a software capable of translating your manuscript into multiple languages. The more languages it is able to translate to, the better for you and for your book. - Audience Customization
Your customers might have the urge to make custom bookmarks and notes that are unique to them. Aside from that, these notes and bookmarks would only be available to them as well, making the experience more interactive and enriching. The software should let them do that as that feature would pull in a lot of readers.
Desktop Publisher Pro
Calligra Words
Libre Office Writer
Best Free Publishing Software For Mac Windows 10
Scribus for Windows
iStudio Publisher for Mac
Adobe InDesign CC – Most Popular Software
Your publication should be well taken care of. If the software you use would meet, or exceed, expectations, then that is a software for life. That is what an ideal, or best, DTP Software should be.
Best Free Publishing Software For Mac Os X
To save you some time, don’t forget to try out some of the software here. We’re confident that they’ll meet, if not exceed, your expectations. Keep the highlighted features in mind and we’ll see your publication some time soon.