Basic Publishing

Ratings and Reviews of Basic Desktop Publishing Software

Basic Desktop Publishing Software

If you don't want to spend a lot of time learning to use a more powerful publication tool (Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect,

Adobe PageMaker, etc.) and your needs are basic (business cards, brochures, and newsletters, stationary sets), then there's a good chance that all you'll need to get your business in gear, is one of the simple, inexpensive basic business publishing software packages listed below. Before you invest in one of these packages (even if they are comparatively "cheap") you should take some of the following factors into your purchase decision:

Your "look and Feel": Does your business or market segment require an "ultra professional", "bleeding edge" or highly artistic "look and feel"? If it does, the software outlined on this page is NOT for you. Basic Business Publishing software is for home based business owners requiring good, solid, standard, conservative, graphics and formats for their business stationary, cards and customer communications.
You: If you are unwilling to put the time into a more complex package, the "basic" software outlined below is for you. It's simple. Period. However, as you do become more adept at manipulating the software, you may become discontented with its limited capabilities so, make sure you are the "contented" type before you invest in one of these packages.
Compatibility: Many of these packages output the documents in proprietary formats. Make sure that the package you choose can also export documents to standard formats for other, more complex packages (like .doc for Microsoft Word). You may need to "upgrade" at some point to more powerful software!
Support: You shouldn't expect much in the way of support from software that is very inexpensive. If you run into trouble, you'll probably "be on your own".

Web Home Office Reports
Longevity and Upgrade Ability: Many of these packages will never be upgraded or developed to operate on new operating systems. So, if you purchase a new PC with a new operating system in the future, you'll most likely end up buying new business publication software as well.

Do you believe that one of these basic packages is for you? O.K. - we're off!

Some vendors offer more than one package in this category. We'll review them in table format within that vendor's detailed review.

Basic Desktop Publishing Software Review

Basic Publishing Software*

(Rankings - best, 5 symbols, worst, 1 symbol)

Company	Best For*	Simple Start-Up	Cost	Time Savings	Ease of Use	Works With	Support	Features	Overall Rating
Avanquest	AR	¹¹¹¹	$$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY1/2+	pp	iii1/2	%%%1/2
Broderbund	AR	¹¹¹¹	$$$$1/2	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY+	pp1/2	iii1/2	%%%+
Cosmi	AR	¹¹¹¹	$$$$1/2	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY	ppp	iii	%%%+
G7 Productivity Systems	AR	¹¹¹¹	$$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY	ppp	iiii	%%%1/2
Greenstreet Software	AR	¹¹¹¹	$$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY	ppp	iii1/2	%%%+
IMSI	AR	¹¹¹¹	$$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY	pppp	iii1/2	%%%1/2
Laughingbird Software	AR	¹¹¹¹	$$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYYY	ppp1/2	iii1/2+	%%%%
Multimedia 2000	AR	¹¹¹¹	$$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY	ppp	iii+	%%%+
Nova Development	AR	¹¹¹¹	$$$$	¹¹¹¹	@@@@	YYY	ppp	iii1/2	%%%1/2+

* A = Amateur, R = Rookie, P = Pro

Avanquest

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹¹

The "My" software line from Avanquest is designed to offer an easy way for home based and small business owners to produce business basics - newsletters, letterhead, brochures, envelopes, post cards, business cards, etc. The "My" line is successful in that endeavor - their software is easy-to-use and doesn't take a lot of time or effort to become acquainted with.

Cost - $$$$

Avanquest product pricing is detailed in the table below.

Software	Price	O/S Supported	Overview	Features	Compatibility
Design and Print - Business Edition	$39.95	Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP	Basic Publishing Software	Create brochures, newsletters, flyers, letterhead, envelopes, post cards, business cards, labels 1,800 designs Coordinated stationery sets Text-art feature Easy to use design tools Built-in address book Works with Avery, Paper Direct Free paper included 2.6 million images and photos 1,000 fonts
My Professional Business Cards	$29.95	Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP	Create and Print Business Cards	Over 2,500 background designs 50,000 combinations 10,000 clip art images Works with card stock from Avery and PaperDirect Includes 70 business cards Design tools	Accepts scanned or imported images
Smart Business Pack	$29.95	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	15 Software Applications	Organize information and sales leads Generate invoices, estimates, checks and legal forms Create marketing material
Smart Office Pack	$49.95	Macintosh OS 9.0, OS X	4 Software Applications	Business cards -includes background designs and text styles, add text and company logo, 2.6 million images, design tools Contact management - formatted address templates, add or edit field names, enter data directly or import, search, output information to address labels, envelopes, postcards, rolodex cards, address books, reports Label designer - select by size or part number, add addresses, text and graphics, align and rotate text Manage billing and cash collection - invoice templates, enter company information, sales tax rate and products and services, customer details, add personalized customer memo
Business Cards MAC	$29.95	Macintosh OS9.0, OS X	Business Card Software	Includes background designs Import logo and graphics 2.5 million included images Vertical and horizontal designs 1,000 fonts Design tools Adjust-to-fit background feature Text rotation Adjustable character spacing	Avery, pict, jpg, tif, bmp, png, tga
MyLogoMaker	$29.95	Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista	Logo Making Software	200 design templates 1,800 shapes and objects 10,000 fonts 6 million photos and images Edit objects and text Object and text scaling, rotation and aligning Regular, polygonal, concave, wavy, regular, outline and projective text Alignment tools Image adjustment tools - emboss, invert, grayscale Layer control Solid color, transparent, and shaped backgrounds Professional color palette - 70CMYK palettes, 70RGB palettes, custom color and gradients Business card software included

Time Savings - ¹¹¹¹

Need a fast set of stationary or business cards for that big meeting with your first customer? Have you had to change your email address, telephone or fax number or your physical address and don't want to scratch out bad information on your current business card? The Avanquest solutions will get you through these and other "business publishing" emergencies. Talk about productivity? It's better than paying for the "rush" job at Kinkos!

Ease of Use - @@@@

The Avanquest software is made to be two things - cheap and usable!

Works With - YYY1/2+

Avanquest offers both Windows and Macintosh versions of most software.

Support - pp

You get what you pay for. Cheap software - expensive technical support. In fact, technical support, if you need to speak to a "live" body, will cost more than the software itself! $24.95 for the first 10 minutes (and how many tech support calls have you had resolve in 10 minutes or less?) and $2.95 per minute after that. And by the way, this is not an "800" number, you'll be paying long distance charges as well (unless you have one of those new "bundled" local and long distance packages from MCI, SBC or Verizon!). Finally, tech support is only available 7 AM to 4 PM Pacific Monday through Friday (with the exception of Wednesday when they close at 2 PM!). Basically, if you need help - throw out the software and kiss your $40 or $30 good-bye!

Features - iii1/2

Just the basics. The good news is that this software will serve well in an emergency for the more "experienced" user and as nice, simple tools for those of you who don't WANT more than just the minimum to print basic business publications.

Overall Rating - %%%1/2

In an emergency, we would use this software. However, if you are a sophisticated user, you probably will purchase something a bit more powerful (like Microsoft Publisher) anyway so.... You get what you pay for - basic functionality with a dearth of technical support.

Broderbund

$15 OFF Purchase of $49 or more! Save on all items at Broderbund.com, plus FREE shipping!

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹¹

Quick! You need to create cards, labels, stationary, business cards, banners for a meeting - these software packages will allow you to create any or all of them quickly and easily.

Cost - $$$$1/2

Broderbund offers a wide and diverse set of publishing software. Pricing and features/functions are outlined in the table below. As with all Broderbund software collections - make sure you understand how many images come on the CD and how many are available online only. Broderbund also warns that online services may be changed or discontinued at any time for any reason!

Software	Price	O/S Supported	Overview	Features	Compatibility
*The Print Shop Pro Photo*	$49.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	Import photos from cameras, scanners, mobile phone folders, screen captures View and organize photos, side-by-side viewing for comparison Search options - keyword, data, caption, rating Fix and improve photos, enhance photos with red eye removal, flip, clone, dodge/burn, special effects include ripple, scattered tiles, oil painting, swirl, panoramic stitching tool Project templates for greeting cards, calendars, CDs, DVDs, T-shirt transfers Add audio and video Create slideshows including transition effects, text and audio captions, macromedia Flash Upload photos to online albums, website, email message, save to CD or DVD, as PDF, publish to TiVo or mobile phone
*PrintMaster Platinum 17*	$39.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	20,000 pre-designed project templates 295,000 images and graphics 600 fonts 4,500 sentiments Borderless printing CD burning 100 animated greeting designs for birthdays, holidays, invitations Photo editing Hot Shots Viewer Million Image Club Access for one year Create skis for iPod players Publish to web Save as PDF ArcSoft FunHouse ArcSoft PhotoBase - organize and archive photos and video ArcSoft Collage Creator
*PrintMaster Gold 17*	$19.99	Windows 98, 2000, ME or XP	Publishing Software	17,500 pre-designed project templates 225,000 images and graphics 550 fonts 3,500 sentiments Borderless printing CD burning 75 animated greeting designs for birthdays, holidays, invitations Photo editing Hot Shots Viewer 6 months access to Million Image Club Create skis for iPod Players Publish to web Save as PDF ArcSoft FunHouse ArcSoft Collage Creator
*PrintMaster* Silver CD or DVD	$9.99	Windows 98, 2000, ME or XP	Publishing Software	10,000 pre-designed project templates 115,000 images and graphics 300 fonts Avery templates 3,000 sentiments CD burning Borderless printing 25 animated greeting designs for birthdays ,holidays, invitations Photo editing 3 month access to Million Image Club Publish to web Save as PDF
*The Print Shop for Macintosh*	$49.99	Macintosh OS 8.1 to 9.2.2, OS X	Publishing Software	Import iTunes playlists for creating CD labels, covers and spines with complete artist, title, track sequence, duration information Create custom calendars by importing iCal schedules Incorporate iPhoto pictures into greeting cards, banners, calendars Integrated with OS X Address Book Save files as PDFs
The Print Shop Elements Label Creator and Business Cards on DVD	$9.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Label and Business Card Software	1,450 professionally designed templates 64,000 images Photo editing tools Ultimate Mail Manager for bulk mailings Create letterhead, forms, fax sheets, envelopes, memos, invoices Design labels for mailing and shipping, CD and media storage, filing systems, name badges
Broderbund Premier Project Collection I	$39.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	700 professionally designed projects Collection includes: Premium Holiday Collection, Birthday Project Collection, Bridal Project Collection, Mother's Day Project Collection, Graduation Project Collection, Hop Into Spring Collection, American Pride Project Collection Projects include: greeting cards, invitations, banners, stickers, posters, photo albums, newsletters, gift bags, t-shirts, book reports, homework helpers, CD labels, photo frames
Broderbund Premier Project Collection II	$39.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	700 professionally designed projects Collection includes: Anniversary Project Collection, Patriotic Project Collection, Father's Day Project Collection, Holiday Project Collection II, Special Moments Project Collection, Spooky Greetings & Crafts Collection Projects include: Greeting cards, invitations, banners, stickers, posters, photo albums, newsletters, gift bags, recipe cards, masks, centerpieces, CD labels, photo frames
The Print Shop Design Suite Professional Edition DVD	$199.99	Windows 2000, XP	Publishing Software	Desktop Publishing and Art Gallery - 400,000 images and graphics, 22,000 templates, 850 fonts, oversize pages, address and mail merge functions, form creator Design and Publish Web Pages - create mouse-over effects, add shapes, backgrounds, shading and transparency, spell check, publish to FTP Graphic Tools - brush effects - vector and bitmap, 3D shape creation, ANSI/ISO standard technical drawing templates, texture effects, pressure sensitive brush support Image Editing - web optimization, auto fix, red-eye removal, history toolbox Workflow - image browsing, file compression, group batching, file tagging, timeline toolbar PDF and Print Tools - create PDF files, borderless printing, prints directly on inkjet printable CDs/DVDs, photo quality printing
*The Print Shop Brochures, Newsletters and More!*	$19.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	1,000 projects 280 fonts Import photos and logos 1,500 images 280 fonts
*The Print Shop Business Card Creator*	$9.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Business Card Software	500 projects 1,000 images 280 fonts Import photos and logos Upload to online printing house for professional printing
The Print Shop Pro Publisher Deluxe 22 DVD Software	$99.99	Windows 2000, XP	Business Publication Suite	Create: banners, booklets, brochures, business forms, business cards, calendars, CD and media labels, certificates, greeting cards, flyers, invitations, letterhead, mailing labels, newsletters, photo greeting cards, postcards, signs 400,000 images - Getty Images, Christie's, Dave Eliasberg, Clint Graves, Photos and Illustrations, web art, backgrounds and textures, seasonal images Text and Layout Options - 850 fonts, text effects, text-stretching, master pages, window and orphan controls, watermarks, text and paragraph alignment, text in columns, drawing tools, rulers and guides, text wrapping, spell check, kerning and spacing Photo Editor - retouch or correct photo flawing including red-eye removal, object flip sharpen focus, improve contrast, color correction, web optimization, drawing tools add text to images, selection tools Artistic Effects - bulge, colorize, furry edges, negative feathering, sepia, solarize, ripple, antique, opacity, swirl, mirror Drawing and Selection Tools - lasso, freehand, rectangular, airbrush, elliptical, magic wand, burn, pencil, dodge, flood fill, line, polygon Instant message sharing Burn to CD or DVD Click-N-View sharing Multimedia presentations Print directly on inkjet printable CDs/DVDs Print standard or custom size photos Logo Creator Small Business Center - starting your business, writing a business plan, raising money, assessing your business and the market place	Export: PDF, JPEG, TIFF, GIF 200 Avery Templates
The Print Shop 22 Deluxe	$49.99	Windows 2000, XP	Publishing Software	Create: booklets, business cards, calendars, CD/DVD labels, certificates, family trees, greeting cards, hand-crafted cards, invitations, letter head, mailing labels, newsletters, photo greeting cards, photo book pages, postcards, signs, skins for iPod players Templates include 4x6 notecard, postcard, 11x17 pages, legal pages, square pages - 6x6, 8x8 and 12x12 350,000 images - Getty Images, photos and illustrations, web art, backgrounds and textures, seasonal images Text and Layout Options - 700 fonts, text effects, text-stretching, master pages, window and orphan controls, watermarks, text and paragraph alignment, text in columns, drawing tools, rulers & guides, text wrapping spell check, kerning and spacing Photo Editor - red-eye removal, object flip, sharpen focus, improve contrast, color correction, painting tools, web optimization, add text to images, selection tools Artistic Effects - bulge, colorize, furry edges, negative, sepia, solarize, ripple, antique, swirl, mirror Printing and Sharing - burn projects to CD or VCD, borderless printing, print directly on inkjet printable CDs/DVDs, oversize printing and custom paper wizard, print standard or custom size photos	Export: PDF, JPEG, TIFF, GIF 200 Avery Templates
The Print Shop 22	$29.99	Windows 2000, XP	Publishing Software	18,000 templates to create: banners, business cards, calendars, CD/DVD labels, certificates, greeting cards, hand-crafted cards, invitations, letterhead, newsletters, photo greeting cards, postcards, signs 250,000 images and graphics - 1,000 Getty Images, photos and illustrations, import your own photos Photo Editing - apply special effects and filters, resize images, crop, correct red-eye, adjust color, brightness or contrast Fonts and Text Effects - 500 fonts, variety of effects Printing and Sharing - Instant Messaging, Click-N-View, Ultimate Mail Manager and Address Book, borderless printing, print directly on inkjet printable CDs/DVDs, print standard or custom size photos	Export: PDF, JPEG, TIFF, GIF 200 Avery Templates
*The Print Shop Letterhead, Envelopes & More!*	$19.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	1,000 professionally designed layouts 280 fonts, 1,500 images Photo editing Upload project to Broderbund.com for printing (additional fee applies) Create letterheads, envelopes, forms, invoices, faxes, memos
Calendar Creator Platinum	$29.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	Calendar Wizard 500 customizable templates in seven layouts including daily, weekly, monthly and yearly FranklinCovey designs 200,000 images, borders, colors Photo Editing - rotate, tint, flip, crop To-do list Audio alarms using MP3 files Import appointments from Microsoft Outlook Synchronize data to Palm Includes PrintMaster Greeting Cards - 3,000 templates, 12,500 graphics, 100 fonts, read-made design elements including backgrounds and decorative letters and numbers
The Print Shop Labels and Logos DVD	$19.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	115,000 images 8,000 templates - 650 label projects Logo Creator Borderless printing Photo editing
The Print Shop 21 & ClickArt 750,000 CD Bundle	$39.00	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	The Print Shop 21: 200,000 images, 15,000 project templates, 2,600 sentiments, photo-editing tools ClickArt 750,000: 560,000 images, 100,000 web images, 90,000 photos and fine art images, 1,000 TrueType fonts, keyword search
PrintMaster Customizable Skins for iPod Player	$5.00	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Skin Creation Software	1 skin for iPod nano 1 skin for iPod mini 1 skin for iPod 4th generation
ArcSoft Greeting Card Creator	$39.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Greeting Card Software	Templates - holidays, birthdays, sports, romance Import photos Photo cropping and correcting tools Include clip art images from included library Add text message - choose style, color, size Print card sin portrait or landscape, variety of paper sizes, single fold and bi-fold designs
PrintMaster Greeting Cards Deluxe	$19.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Greeting Card Software	13,250 cards and projects 75,000 images Image gallery iwth search Photo editing tools Color Set Creator, Finish Project Wizard, Card Converter
PrintMaster Greeting Cards	$9.99	Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP	Greeting Card Software	3,000 pre-designed projects 12,500 graphics 100 fonts Import photos Repair photos or add distortion and artistic effects

Time Savings - ¹¹¹¹

If you don't have time to go to Kinkos (or want to spend the money!), the Broderbund software is an alternative that will save you a trip and some money.

Ease of Use - @@@@

It won't take you long to produce letterhead, envelopes or other publications using this software.

Works With - YYY+

The Broderbund packages are designed for the Windows environment only with the exception of one Print Shop package for Macintosh.

Support - pp1/2

When you purchase inexpensive software you shouldn't expect much in the way of technical support. Broderbund's implementation is a great example of this methodology. If you need help - the web is your only option. And, when we went there and attempted to find help for a couple of the software packages, one of them wasn't even listed! You'd better hope that the software works on your system, or you've just thrown your money away.

Features - iii1/2

Lots of projects (family oriented as well), templates, clip art - simple built-in contact manager. Best feature is the PDF export capability. You can post a project on the web in PDF format (in Print Master Platinum and Pro Publisher packages) or send a document to a printer (or even Broderbund.com) for printing large quantities of your letterhead, invoices, or a flyer.

Overall Rating - %%%+

If you need to get some letterhead, envelopes or other business forms "out the door" quickly - Broderbund's software is an inexpensive and effective solution. However, when you need "more", you'll have to invest in more comprehensive and powerful software.

Cosmi

Simple Start-Up - ¹¹¹¹

Quick! You need to create cards, labels, stationary, business cards, banners for a meeting - these software packages will allow you to create any or all of them quickly and easily.

Cost - $$$$1/2

Cosmi offers a number of publishing solutions. Pricing and features/functions are outlined in the table below.

Software	Price	O/S Supported	Overview	Features	Compatibility
Power Resumes	$19.99	Windows 2000 or XP	Resume Software	Use templates or your own format to build resume Save resume as PDF and email it Burn resume to CD-R or CD-RW, include label Includes Avery and NCR-compatible label types Templates for cover letters Publish to web, add photo, video or sound clip Contact manager Photo editing tools - color correction, crop, fun effects Video editing - add transitions, audio, special effects, titles, credits Categories - chronological, functional, accomplishment, academic Sample resumes for: sales representative, web developer, bank teller, executive assistant, creative director, restaurant manager, school bus driver, elementary teacher, city manager, carpenter, dental hygienist, superintendent, copy editor/writer, paralegal, CPA, network engineer, lineman, federal court clerk, hotel maid, hospital administrator, cashier, registered nurse, camera operator, PR specialist, maintenance worker, hotel desk clerk, assembly technician
mySkins iPod Video	$9.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	iPod Skins Creator	Pre-designed templates 15,000 graphics and backgrounds 200 fonts Protects iPod surfaces Easy to remove 7 blank mySkins labels
Print Perfect Platinum or Print Perfect Platinum on DVD	$29.99	Windows 98 or higher	Publishing Software	189,000 clip art images 15,000 Kodak photos 5,000 professionally written phrases 4,000 customizable templates 4,000 borders 1,500 textures 1,000 fun and fancy fonts Text manager Photo editor - crop/resize, auto contrast, auto gray scale, color adjust, lighting effects, thumbnail previews, fun effects InstaNet web publishing Voice recognition
Print Perfect Deluxe	$19.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	210,000 images 3,000 projects 750 artistic accents 500 fonts Photo editing Font browser iPod skin templates
Home Office Publisher	$19.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	20,000 clip art images and photos 1,000 customizable templates 750 artistic accents, backgrounds and borders 250 fonts Font browser Photo editing tools
Print Perfect DVD	$9.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	60,000 clip art images 50,000 web graphics 7,500 photos 6,000 phrases 4,000 borders and backgrounds 2,500 photo objects 3,000 templates 500 fonts Photo editor
Print Perfect Business Publisher or Print Perfect Business Publisher on DVD	$39.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	350,000 clip art images and photos 20,000 customizable templates and designs 1,675 artistic accents 1,200 fonts 22 project types Web publishing and chart making software Save as PDF Event planner and reminder Photo and vector art editing tools Photo and font browsers
Print Perfect Greeting Cards Deluxe	$19.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	Greeting Card Software	50,000 clip art images and photos on CD 2,500 projects 1,500 artistic accents 350 premium fonts, font browser 11 project types Save as PDF Photo editing and photo enhancement tools - correct red eye, add effects
mySkins iPod Nano	$9.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	iPod Skins Creator	Pre-designed templates 15,000 graphics and backgrounds 200 fonts Protects iPod surfaces Easy to remove 7 blank mySkins labels
Print Perfect Greeting Cards	$9.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	Greeting Card Software	10,000 clip art images and photos 1,500 projects 750 accents 230 fonts 17 project types Photo enhancements including red-eye correction Effects Event reminder
Stationery, Brochures and More	$19.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	Publishing Software	50,000 images 9,500 customizable templates 600 fonts Banners, menus, labels, envelopes, letterhead, newsletters, flyers, business cards Event planner and address book Photo editor Font and photo browsers
Print Perfect Business Cards on DVD	$19.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	Business Card Software	50,000 images 9,000 customizable templates 600 fonts Create business cards, letterhead, envelopes and flyers Design tools Photo editor Font and photo browsers
mySkins iPod Mini	$9.99	Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP	iPod Skins Creator	Pre-designed templates 15,000 graphics and backgrounds 200 fonts Protects iPod surfaces Easy to remove 7 blank mySkins labels

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