Kitchen Table Publisher

What's available in today's Desktop Publishing Software?

Kitchen Table Publisher Written by Julie A. Zagorski

Do you feel that you need to invest in stock of Hallmark sometimes? With the community that I send cards, letters, invitations and other fun things to, I was starting to wonder. The computer system is used everyday for business. Why not use it to personalize a message or flyer for a special occasion? Therefore, off into the never-ending field of desktop publishing programs designed to "say it all". While starting the investigation of the options in cyberspace, the following companies all seemed capable of the challenges.

The first thing to consider is the budget. Realizing that not everyone is independently wealthy, the products described in this review are in the $40.00 - $100.00 price ranges. The following are some questions to determine while reviewing these products.

What is the product needed?
Are there design wizards?
Is the security of the design wizard necessary?
Is on-line help available and intuitive?
How many different backgrounds and clipart images are included?
Is it easy to format text and add graphics?
Are there web sites for additional software, technical support or clipart?

While out in cyberspace, a query to several search engines produced information about the following software packages.

i-publishÔ by Design Intelligence IncÔ .; Http://www.design-intelligence.com/

The site was intriguing because it offered a free on-line demo of the package and a downloadable preview copy. It presented itself well with layout wizards providing newsletters, reports, catalogs and brochures and capabilities of web and on-line presentation. After previewing the demo, it's apparent that the package is intuitive and well constructed with drag and drop features of photos and graphics. Available also, downloadable graphics from the web site. Reservations for the next release of version 1.0 are accessible.

Corel Printhouse Deluxeâ ; http://www.corel.com/products/graphicsandpublishing/printhouse/index.htm

For the novice person who wants to design customized cards, banners, flyers and posters, this package is highly adaptable. It applies simple navigation to the project you want, then practically fills in the blank with the information you provide. The design tools are flexible and customizable with color. The graphics are easy to manipulate and creating a mailing list for your cards is a snap. The company provides 1000+ color graphics and 100+ fonts for creativity. This product is a definite recommendation to discover.

http://www.pcmag.com/issues/1504/pcm00035.htm: for rave reviews from PC Magazine Online.

Publisher 97â by Microsoftâ ; http://www.microsoft.com/publisher/

The Windows95â package contains many features. It has scanning capabilities and import features to bring in graphics in almost any format. The design wizards are very easy to manipulate. It queries your information and then designs a publication that you can customize. It has specific tools to allow for changing graphic colors and adding special effects to the text. Changing graphics and downloading 1,000 additional files from the website is capable with a few clicks of the mouse. Interoperability with other Microsoftâ products is intuitive and functional.

Visit Microsoft's Publisher web site for a free trial copy and see the reviews.

http://www.microsoft.com/publisher/trialreg.htm

The PrintShopâ by Broderbundâ

http://www.broder.com/PrintShop/productinfo.html

For designing those last minute flyers, labels and special occasion banners, this is the product. Their clear inviting graphical preface to the project allows for smooth initiation to publishing. This featured product allows for mailing lists and incorporates that information for productivity. The capabilities of this product have few limits. When the imagination gets limited, their numerous clipart libraries will assist in sending just the right message. Visit this site to see the comparison of the PrintShop products for Windowsâ.

All of the products I've described in this feature are very similar in their designs, and all are valuable assets. The ultimate choice is the user. Experiment, change your designs and play with the layout. An artistic creation is soon in the making. When ready to purchase the product, read the system recommendations. The products in review will run on different computer operating systems and may require CD-ROM and a minimum amount of system RAM The objective is to have fun designing for that special occasion.

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