Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Best Graphic Design Software???

M

Mac2004

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 17, 2004
295
43
I want to start a graphic design (desktop publishing) business out of my home designing flyers, stationary, business cards, promotional cards, business ads, newsletters, etc. I use a 27 inch iMac. Which graphic design software program is the best one to buy for this? I want a program that has been thoroughly tested and is highly rated among graphic designers and software reviewers. What do print places use? :confused:
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,478
43,405
Check out the offerings from Adobe and I suppose, you can use staples, or officemax for most of your printing needs.
 
R

RedOrchestra

Suspended
Aug 13, 2012
2,623
3,237
Adobe Creative Suite is the industry standard - unfortunately NOW it's only available through the cloud at $50/month.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,478
43,405
Mac2004 said:
Screw the "Cloud"..... I want a disc that I can buy. :)
Click to expand...

Look for the older versions on ebay then.

Also check out idraw, and sketch for illustrator competitors.

For a photoshop replacement, pixelmator.

for indesign replacement QuarkXPress
 
R

RedOrchestra

Suspended
Aug 13, 2012
2,623
3,237
I'm not sure how much luck you'll have finding a disk - ebay?

Even before Adobe went the cloud route, I think the only place to buy CS6 "resident software" was online (that's how I had to buy mine) - but look around.

In fact, they are no longer numbering their releases - it's now only known as Adobe CC (Creative Cloud.)

Just saw a Legacy Edition for Mac on Amazon for $2,300!
 
Last edited:
R

rei101

macrumors 6502a
Dec 24, 2011
976
1
Mac2004 said:
I want to start a graphic design (desktop publishing) business out of my home designing flyers, stationary, business cards, promotional cards, business ads, newsletters, etc. I use a 27 inch iMac. Which graphic design software program is the best one to buy for this? I want a program that has been thoroughly tested and is highly rated among graphic designers and software reviewers. What do print places use? :confused:
Click to expand...

Illustrator and Photoshop CS6

But, are you a graphic designer? It does not looks like. How come are you going to start a business if you do not know the difference between CMYK and RGB? Or resolutions?

I am saying because if you were a graphic designer you already knew those softwares.
 
Artofilm

Artofilm

macrumors 6502a
Oct 12, 2005
579
41
Ya I'd have to agree with rei101 here. If you plan to be a graphic designer, you'll need to get some education on the software(s) before you start selling your abilities as a service.

There are usually after-work classes at your local college you can take to study on a topic like graphic design.
 
B

bakechad

macrumors member
Jan 4, 2008
38
1
Since you are just starting out and not tied to any particular piece of software, you might want to take a look at Inkscape. While it is not in the same league as some of the other software mentioned here, it is open source and does an excellent job at the tasks you have listed. This way you can get your feet wet without putting out a bunch of money in software and training.

http://inkscape.org/
 
A

AppleCore77

macrumors member
Oct 10, 2012
51
0
Check Best Buy for CS6 disks. They possibly still have them. You can also still buy them straight from Adobe website.



But Adobe is the go to software!
 
B

brown1

macrumors newbie
Nov 5, 2015
1
0
Mac2004 said:
I want to start a graphic design (desktop publishing) business out of my home designing flyers, stationary, business cards, promotional cards, business ads, newsletters, etc. I use a 27 inch iMac. Which graphic design software program is the best one to buy for this? I want a program that has been thoroughly tested and is highly rated among graphic designers and software reviewers. What do print places use? :confused:
Click to expand...

hoping you can help? I'm starting up my own printing business - what software did you find the most useful on initial setup? and did you change?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom