|
|
| GeoCommunity Mailing List |
| |
| Mailing List Archives |
| Subject: | [gislist] SUM: DTP Software suggestions |
| Date: |
01/07/2005 10:25:01 AM |
| From: |
RICK GRAY |
|
|
Thanks to all who offered suggestions and advice. As usual, there isn't a
simple, unanimous solution.
*****************************
The original questions (abbreviated):
...the design of flyers and brochures, PowerPoint and Word just won't cut it
anymore. I was able to make do with them when I produced one or two flyers a
year. Now we want to create monthly newsletters and generate custom brochures
for the various events we attend. Maps, photos and drawings will be regular
inclusions.
Can someone recommend a software package that doesn't have too steep of a
learning curve? I've had a small amount of experience with Corel Draw (a few
years ago) but have probably forgotten most of what I knew. Reasonable price
would be nice, too
****************************
Here is a synopsis of the responses. The greatest number recommended MS
Publisher, but the Adobe products came in a close second. All the others in the
list had one or 2 votes.
MS Publisher
- simple, straight forward
- not as good as PageMaker or PrintArtist
- limited capabilities
- $100 - $150 (CDN?)
MS Word
- will meet 95% of needs
- Do not use Word for desktop publishing - it is not reliable in keeping
the formatting and is quite limited in its design capabilities, and many print
shops hate receiving those files because of the problems that often ensue.
Adobe Illustrator
- works with AutoCAD (with extension)
- works with shapefiles (with extension)
- not easy to learn
Adobe PageMaker
- lots of control
- excellent tool to create publications such as brochures, flyers, menus,
books, etc
- bit more touchy than Illustrator/Corel Draw/FreeHand, so it is fair to
say that there will be a steeper learning curve
- pricey
- excellent desktop publishing management features (flow of text, kerning,
leading, insertion of images with offset distances at your discretion, just to
name a few).
- it is my understanding that there will not be future upgrades of
PageMaker, and Adobe has moved to new software for their desktop publishing
applications.
Adobe PhotoShop
- good for large (>36") posters
Adobe InDesign
- fairly easy to learn
- flexible
- better than a graphics program for flyers and brochures
PrintArtist by Sierra
- inexpensive ($30 - $40 US)
MAP2PDF (Layton Graphics)
- georeferenced PDFs
Visio
- quite powerful
- not everyone can view it (requires reader)
- good library of shapes to insert
- can't draw to scale
PaintShop Pro
- not expensive
- looks and feels like PhotoShop
- 60 day trial available
Ulead Photoimpact
Galileo and Georama (Geodyssey Ltd) (http://www.geodyssey.com/)
- free
Corel Draw
- it rocks
- is easy to use
Dia (http://www.gnome.org/projects/dia/)
- free
- open source
The GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/)
- like Adobe PhotoShop
- free, open source
Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/)
- an open source SVG editor with capabilities similar to Illustrator,
CorelDraw, Visio, etc
This message has been scanned by Mcafee Anti-virus Software and is certified virus free.
_______________________________________________
gislist mailing list
gislist@lists.geocomm.com
http://lists.geocomm.com/mailman/listinfo/gislist
_________________________________
This list is brought to you by
The GeoCommunity
http://www.geocomm.com/
Get Access to the latest GIS & Geospatial Industry RFPs and bids
http://www.geobids.com
|
|
Sponsored by:
For information
regarding
advertising rates
Click Here!
|
