In the days before computerized page layouts, paste-ups were done with careful measurements and work to put everything in place. Nowadays, publications are designed with specialized software. Whether print or digital, this includes everything: magazines, brochures, newspapers, books and posters. Desktop-publishing software has long been dominated by Adobe’s InDesign program. Unfortunately, regardless of whether you’re a professional graphic designer or a PTA member making fliers for a bake sale, InDesign costs a pretty penny. Currently a subscription to Adobe InDesign will run you $19.99 a month.
Fortunately, there are other programs you can use to get the job done. There aren’t many viable alternatives out there, but we’ve sought out the few that exist just for you. Scribus One of the more well-known InDesign alternatives out there is. Scribus is a fully-featured desktop-publishing application capable of rendering professional-quality publications. It supports most major bitmap formats, including those composed in Adobe Photoshop.
It does have a fairly steep learning curve, although an official manual is provided. Scribus is completely open source and distributed under the GNU General Public License as free software. It is available for Windows, Mac and most Linux distributions. In addition, Scribus is actively maintained, meaning new features, tweaks and fixes are being implemented to improve user experience and functionality. Lucidpress While Adobe InDesign is really only limited to the user’s imagination, it requires an awful lot of know-how to make your projects reality.
Seeks to eliminate the learning curve associated with desktop-publishing apps. While its “drag-and-drop” layouts are intuitive, professional users will find it lacking. Some of these features can be unlocked if you’re willing to pay, however. That being said, the free version of Lucidpress can still get the job done. Just be aware that the free version limits publications to three pages. One thing Lucidpress has going for it is that it doesn’t require a download.
The entire tool runs in the browser of your choice, meaning it’s compatible with any OS. Essentially, Lucidpress is to InDesign as is to Photoshop. Vivadesigner is another capable desktop-publishing app that comes in both free and premium varieties. As is the case with most free software, some functionality is limited to the premium version. Like Lucidpress, Vivadesigner positions itself as an easy-to-use solution. Its interface is clear and structured intuitively, allowing users to jump right in.
Vivadesigner comes in two flavors: in-browser or desktop download. Some users might be working with sensitive information and/or copyrighted material; having the option is beneficial for those concerned about privacy associated with Web-based applications. Canva isn’t a traditional desktop-publishing app. Instead, it positions itself as more of a graphic design tool.
Users will find that Canva excels at creating things heavy on graphics, like posters and flyers. Canva is easy to learn and offers a large selection of free fonts, colors and stock photos.
The premium version of Canva gives users access to an even broader range; however, casual users will find the free version is more than sufficient. Canva can’t really compete with InDesign, but not everyone needs InDesign. Canva’s target audience is those who want to produce attractive graphics quickly and easily. Therefore, Canva is a cost-effective, easy-to-use alternative to more full-fledged desktop-publishing apps.
SpringPublisher It speaks to the competitiveness of this area (or the ruthless dominance of InDesign) that SpringPublisher is no longer being developed, but you can still grab the. (Don’t worry, we’ve checked it for crapware.) It’s not as deep or complex as InDesign, but it still lets you do many fundamental things like working with layers, lining up layouts, and using a number of templates to get you started. Clicking any element on the screen immediately displays precise options for it – alignment, opacity, shadows, angles and so on. You’re locked off from some options in the free version, like saving in 350dpi quality, which is a little frustrating because you can’t even get the Pro version anymore – you’d have hoped the developers would’ve just unlocked everything. Still, it’s a good entry-level design tool. Do you use a desktop-publishing program? Have you tried any of the programs mentioned above?
If so, which one do you think is the best? Are there any that we forgot? Let us know in the comments! I just wanted to say thanks for making this information available. I started in the publications design and production business in the late 60s, and have seen.lots.
of changes, and the gradual democratization of the process, in the intervening 50 years (remember Aldus Pagemaker, one of the precursors of InDesign?). But having retired a while ago, and limiting myself to one or two times a year when I need something more robust than Microsoft Word, it doesn’t make sense to shell out $20 a month for InDesign. I’m glad for the opportunity to explore alternatives. I truly empathized with your comment.
I’m in the same boat. I worked as a graphic artist since the paste-up days starting in 1980 and have been using a Mac since 1988. I certainly remember Aldus PageMaker and had quite a bit of experience with different versions of Quark starting with 3.0 then used InDesign for many years. Like you I’m also retired and use DTP software on a very infrequent basis. Given that, I’d like to see Adobe offer a daily or weekly subscription — I don’t think that will happen.
Like another responder, I was shocked when my CS package no longer worked when I upgraded to OS 10.13. So now, I’m exploring programs like GIMP, InkScape, Fluke, Scribus, et. Unfortunately — and I may just have a mental block — the Adobe products are so much more robust. I guess I’ll just continue to learn some of the alternative software. Nonetheless, it seems that I now mostly need a bitmap and vector programs since I’m primarily doing web work and have a subscription to Elegant Themes. I also have a couple of clients who like to use WIX because they can more easily edit text.
Good luck in your retirement. Cris, if not for reading your post, I would not have “discovered” alternatives to my work with Adobe. What brought me to this page was the fact that I was looking for an alternative to Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.
(Since Adobe just announced EOL for Muse, I am curious what else I can use without paying $75 a month.) I am going to attack this one program after another until the madness stops. I have CS5.5 and just learned it will not work on OS 10.13 (so guess who will not be updating one of my machines). Anyway, this has been eye-opening to say the least–THANKS! Well, for a replacement for Illustrator/Photoshop I can’t recommend Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer enough But Affinity Publisher well, it’s still in development. Some of this company’s big fans, recommend PagePlus as an intermediate measure – though I’ve not used that.
And, it’s not actively supported but I think it’s $29 (one time). And if it works even half as well as the Affinity line, I’d be a happy camper – because I like those two better than Photoshop and Illustrator. No, they don’t have a full-fledged suite of somewhat compatible software.
But I didn’t have enough time to branch out into anything more than Lightroom & Bridge anyway. I am another retire that started with paste-ups Quark & Freehand InDesign & Illustrator. When CS6 stopped working with the latest Mac OS, I switched to the new Xpress and the Affinity photo & vector applications, which are not free, but very inexpensive and capable— and fast. Of course Adobe, since it acquired Macromedia, has had a hammerlock on graphic software innovation.
Competitors have to find a different way of doing the same procedures. Adobe probably had to open up access to Post Script to avoid anti trust consequences. I don’t think software should be free, though I do agree with low introductory prices while features are added and bugs removed. I don’t mind being the beta-tester.
The test of a good print application is the ability to generate a good PDF. I suspect that’s where the free applications may bog down. I am looking forward to Affinity’s page layout app. By going to the subscription model, Adobe has unleashed a lot of creative energy.
Would benefit from more detailed information explaining all options for new users. Honorable Mentions.
is a good companion to CCleaner. It's not as complete a product as CCleaner and it's been a while since it was last updated, but I find that it always manages to clean more temporary files than CCleaner.
That's why I suggest you use both. is another cleaner with a solid following. It's compact, well designed and very well maintained and is a real alternative to CCleaner. In use I've had a couple instances which caused problems on my test PC, but this may have been specific to my setup. Certainly the feedback I get from users has been uniformly excellent. is in a related category.
Its job is to remove unwanted trial versions of programs and services that come preinstalled on new PCs. You can remove all this stuff manually, but PC Decrapifier does this automatically. It can't remove every bit of junk from every computer, but the list of is quite impressive. Related Products and Links You might want to check out these articles too:. Editor This software category is maintained by volunteer editor jason. Registered members can contact the editor with any comments or questions they might have by. Please rate this article.
Obviously this review of PC Cleaners needs updating (Empty Temp Folders and PC Decrapifier are not comprehensive cleaners and CleanUP! Hasn't been updated since 2006) however I have used Privazer since it was released several years ago on all my home computers. The comment by some experts that it is too dangerous for other than an expert user is nonsense.
I am a very average user and have never experienced any issues with it whatsoever and have cleaned hundreds of gigs of junk from my computers. Obviously the whole question of whether or not to use PC Cleaners at all is a controversial subject which I do not wish to debate here but to those of us who believe they are a valuable tool I can recommend Privazer. I previously used CCleaner but have found Privazer is a far more comprehensive and thorough program and it is also freeware with no bundled crapware. or to post comments. Having used CCleaner since 2001 I found it to be very safe, however after installing and then uninstalling Autodesk AutoCAD I decided to do a manual search of the registry and found several mentions of AutoDesk. I found a free program that i have been using for a few years called Auslogics Registry Cleaner and noted a feature that i had never used before where i could enter the program name (or publisher name) and it shows all the keys that contain the search criteria.
Autodesk left 13,965 traces, and, by using this function was able to remove the lot very quickly with a couple of clicks CCleaner is good but it still leaves tons of crap and trash in the registry that you do not need or require especially when I had over 1.6m registry keys that get read before the machine is ready for use. or to post comments. The reason why CCleaner is so highly rated is because it provides so many useful cleaning options without taking risks with registry cleaning, as you alluded. Auslogics Registry Cleaner (I'll call it ARC from here on), by comparison, was the most aggressive registry cleaner I tested for the last update of the Best Free Registry Cleaner article (2014,Windows 7). I went back to my test data for Windows XP (2010 and 2012) and found a very similar result.
It also provides some of the least descriptive information on the registry entries being deleted. It should provide more information. In its favor, it didn't pad out the number of issues reported by including higher keys when it deleted a whole registry branch. The same applied to MRU (most recently used) and history items but that was because that useful option was only available in the paid version. ARC usually removes a much higher number of entries that relate to the operation of Windows rather than the operation of specific user applications. While the removal of some of those keys may be relatively trivial (e.g. The application path for CMMGR32.EXE which doesn't appear to have been used since Windows 2000) it is difficult for the average user to determine what is safe.
I wouldn't recommend it because of the need to be relatively expert and its less trustworthy business model (bundling, paid features, etc), which others have mentioned here. or to post comments. The only ads that I have got from Auslogics is the Get it Free on Start up. I run a PC as a home server as well as my own PC, two laptops and several android devices and there has been no crapware, malware or such garbage reported by Avira Pro or Malwarebytes (also checked the installation file with Virus Total) which has not identified any such things as being malicious' It has never attempted to change my system settings.over the years so i don't know where you got that from. Please list the 'Garbage' that users do not require or need. If you are one of those people who just want to click through the installation without reading the installation at each step then you deserve all you get I certainlydo not want a registry of some 2m plus entries. or to post comments.
Over time, Auslogics Registry Cleaner has been bundled with Conduit, Ask Toolbar, OpenCandy, BoostSpeed and others. This is why reputable download sites such as Softpedia and MajorGeeks list it as 'Ad supported'. The nature of bundled components is changed regularly and recycled along with 'clean' periods to further confuse users researching product details online.
I have never used a so called registry cleaner in my life nor have I ever seen one make anything faster. What I have seen though is countless Windows machines rendered unbootable by the use of such software and I'm not alone. You can have tens of thousands of redundant registry entries and their presence will not slow down your computer, neither will removing them make it any faster.
If your system has become corrupted to the point that it slows down then professional help is the only way to fix it (possibly). MC - Site Manager. or to post comments.
I applaud the efforts of those critics to prevent users from falling for the blandishments of those over-promoting the benefits and understating the risks of registry cleaners. Newer versions of Windows have dramatically improved registry performance and removed critical bottlenecks.
Unless I had a problem, I wouldn't use them, just as the critics recommend. But in their eagerness to save us from gullible ourselves, those critics make obvious errors. First, there are published tests results that do show performance improvements and these are easily verified if they bothered to test registry cleaners themselves. Second, they make generalizations which they universalize. These rules become untrue under specific exceptions.
For example, increases in registry size can increase startup times. It makes sense that doubling the registry file sizes will increase the time to read the registry data into memory. And while a larger registry may work just as fast as a smaller registry, it is using memory that could force more memory contents to be swapped out to disk thereby slowing the entire system. or to post comments. Am with Remah here too. I have seen performance improvements on computer's, even mine that have run Registry Cleaners and File Cleaners mind you the true ones. I could really see the difference in start-up times, file seek times, reducing errors while re-installing softwares especially games and For those who say that Registry Cleaners are the one's that messed up the system, it's mainly because 1.
Their computer was already messed up from downloading unwanted material keygens, cracks, patches, visiting unsafe websites to start with 2. Downloading fake software's click-baits, performing unnecessary survey's etc 3. Their system is affected by malware from any of the above or other means. There are a few good file cleaners, and very few good registry cleaners that you can trust, and does their job as intended. Even BSOD's are resulted from software's that have bugs I have experienced the same in download managers, pdf-viewers etc, and this is not limited to registry cleaners only.
or to post comments. Could not agree more. In my early days i would have been doing all three until i realised the cost in both money and lss of time on pc.
Since then i have only downloaded from sites such as source forge and always run a scan on the download and have always used a top professional Security suite (currently Avira) I use Auslogics for the simple reason of finding the crap which trial programs leave (eg the 13k plus ofAutodesk) and cleaning with a couple of clicks As for the people that say you should not use a Registry cleaner I have two theories. They are terrified of messing up, which I completely understand 2.
They are scared f finding all the crap they have downloaded Me, I will stick with what I have. or to post comments.