Hello folks, I was wondering in all my ignorance, if there was another program available for mac that preformed a similar function to that of Adobe Indesign CS3? I have heard of a program called Swift Publisher, but that does not seem to suit my needs fully. Pages also seems to be a tad too simple for what I intend it to be. So, to restate, is there a program which performs a similar function to that of Adobe Indesign? THanks!
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Software alternative to Adobe Indesign?
- Thread starter Alorain
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To get that level of power, InDesign or Quark (ugh!) is the only real choice. However, if your needs aren't for the full-on pro dtp, but just something that does enough for simple newsletters and average small office/home use then there's a few alternatives - take a look at:
Multiad Creator Desktop - this is a cut-down version of a full-on pro application, and amazing value for money.
Stone Design Create - this is one of those apps that tries to do everything - vector illustration, dtp and web design. Some people swear by it.
iCalamus - descended from an early DTP app for the Amiga and Atari ST. I used it way back when on the Atari, but haven't tried it lately.
Scribus - Open source and therefore free. Powerful, but with some significant gotchas - it's dependent on XWindows and there's only PPC Mac binaries available at present. Worth a look if money is really tight, but otherwise I'd skip it.
There are a handful of others too - most notable of the rest is ReadySetGo, which is a real old-time Mac DTP, but it's starting to look a tad expensive. Personally (and as an Indesign CS3 user), if I was going to go for any of the above, it would be Multiad Creator Desktop - not least because there's an easy upgrade path to the full version (which is an excellent piece of software) should it be needed. A close second would be Stone's Create, which takes a bit of getting used to, but works well. If you're likely to need Illustrator-like functions as well, Create makes a lot of sense.
Hope this helps!
Multiad Creator Desktop - this is a cut-down version of a full-on pro application, and amazing value for money.
Stone Design Create - this is one of those apps that tries to do everything - vector illustration, dtp and web design. Some people swear by it.
iCalamus - descended from an early DTP app for the Amiga and Atari ST. I used it way back when on the Atari, but haven't tried it lately.
Scribus - Open source and therefore free. Powerful, but with some significant gotchas - it's dependent on XWindows and there's only PPC Mac binaries available at present. Worth a look if money is really tight, but otherwise I'd skip it.
There are a handful of others too - most notable of the rest is ReadySetGo, which is a real old-time Mac DTP, but it's starting to look a tad expensive. Personally (and as an Indesign CS3 user), if I was going to go for any of the above, it would be Multiad Creator Desktop - not least because there's an easy upgrade path to the full version (which is an excellent piece of software) should it be needed. A close second would be Stone's Create, which takes a bit of getting used to, but works well. If you're likely to need Illustrator-like functions as well, Create makes a lot of sense.
Hope this helps!
I am a fan of Pagestream, which I have used for years. Just this week I purchased and downloaded the version for OS X. Although this version is currently beta, my frustration in trying lesser substitutes drove me to taking a chance on it. So far, I am delighted with it.