Publishing Program to use ???

[Lord Iron Wolf]

A question to the group. I am currently writing a RPG and using MS Word for my text editing functions. However, I do find the program limiting for the way I wish to make the final pages look. Plus I want to do a print run eventually.

I am working in a Windows environment and will not be able to switch to a Mac due to cost and my limited budget.

What publishing programs do you use/recommend for getting raw text ready for printing? I'll also be putting in some pen & ink illustrations and some graphics to flow chart play and use of skills. As an outside possiblility I may include some pencil work but no color as a cost saving measure. (save it for the cover)

Thanks in Advance

[Misguided]

I'm no expert, but here is what I can tell you. Larger printers can probably handle most anything, but smaller ones may very well have something they prefer. Choices include Pagemaker, Quark, and Indesign. There is no best one from what I can gather. Different people swear by different programs. note that they are expensive, and you might do well to pick up an older version on the cheap.

[Judas]

QuarkXPress. Big money, but well worth it. If saving time and frustration matter, its the way to go.

If you are on a shoestring budget, it is possible to use Microsoft Publisher. Yucky compared to Quark, but if you have Office I think you can get a relatively cheap upgrade. But if possible pick up an older copy of Quark if you want to save money.

I haven't used InDesign, so I have no opinion.

I am sometimes forced to use Pagemaker when supplied work, but don't like it nearly as much as Quark. Others seem to like it though, and I startd on it many years ago. It is relatively expensive as well, so you might as well get Quark XPress if you're going to spend the loot.

Good luck.

[Egil]

I'd say Quark on a Mac. Then again, do you have 4,000 $ ready? No? Then get Adobe Distiller. If you save your work as a PDF file, the printer will print it the way it looks on your computer. If you can get satisfied with the way it looks on Word, no need to buy a 2KU$ application. If you have a quick internet connection, there is a trial version of Quark (good for 30 days) available.
InDesign is quite similar to Pagemaker, with other stuff (photoshopping, line editing) thrown in.

And, for Bruce's sake, go buy an issue of Publish before you buy anything.

[Patrick Chipman]

Thanks to the complete and utter dominance of Windows over every single other operating system, there are no appreciable differences between the Windows and Mac versions of the page design programs. Go with whatever OS you're most comfortable with and whose hardware you can afford.

That having been said, I think QuarkXPress is the best of the big three, but it is also excruciatingly expensive. PageMaker is a good second choice that's cheaper ($290 versus $900). I haven't played with InDesign, but I understand it's a good alternative to Quark if you're familiar with PageMaker.

Do NOT attempt to use Publisher for serious production work, unless you have Acrobat Distiller. Even then, it's woefully underpowered and not worth the trouble. Spring for PageMaker 5.5 on eBay if you're really hurting for money.

[S. John Ross]

If you're scratching the cash together for the latest version, forget PageMaker entirely. PageMaker is a fine program, but Adobe has all but abandoned it, relegating it to their "business-application" slot with no real future improvements planned for those doing creative work. For those doing creative work, they advanced PageMaker into InDesign, and Adobe plan to support that, and only that, as their competition to Quark.

InDesign is essentially PageMaker with enough features added to attract a Quark fan :) And it has vastly superior PDF support (not surprising, considering it's an Adobe title), which is why, as a longtime Quark fan, I am considering making the jump at some point ... We'll see how well Quark5 stacks up; I've tried the beta and it was too buggy to even start most of my high-end tests, much less pass them.

All of the above said: Quark still gets my vote. Another thing to consider is that Quark has a noticable if not complete dominance in the gaming biz, which means you'll be able to pester more people for help with Quark.

Keep in mind, though, that they all do the same things, in terms of what gets on the final page. There is no page designed with one program that can't be designed with another.

[Misguided]

InDesign has a new version out, btw..2.0
You might be able to pick up a cheap copy of 1.5 and then pay the 99 dollar upgrade to 2.0 That offer ends in March, though, after which time the price will be 149 instead.