# What's a good, CHEAP Mac DTP program?



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

My wife needs a good desktop publisher. All the other "office" apps can be taken care of nicely with OpenOffice. What's one that's good as well as either cheap or free?


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## macsackbut (Dec 15, 2004)

Haven't tried this myself yet, but you might want to take a look at <a href="http://www.wordtech-software.com/aquascribus.html" target="_blank"> AquaScribus</a>

Edit: I just saw that there's a native Aqua verision in development, still in the alpha stage: http://aqua.scribus.net/


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## nxnw (Dec 22, 2002)

Ragtime Solo is free for non-commercial use.


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## guytoronto (Jun 25, 2005)

In the short-term, you can use Adobe InDesign 30-Day Trial. It's fully functional. It just refuses to launch after 30 days.


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## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

nxnw said:


> Ragtime Solo is free for non-commercial use.


Now we're talking!  Is it any good? It doesn't have to be fantastic, but solid, reliable and some good features - like Openoffice.


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## saxamaphone (May 18, 2004)

BlueMax said:


> My wife needs a good desktop publisher. All the other "office" apps can be taken care of nicely with OpenOffice. What's one that's good as well as either cheap or free?


 Im not a dtp guy at all (code-monkey) but for my basic dtp needs I do use apple pages of the iwork fame. superb integration with ilife is the key for me as iphoto is the source for most of my document media. Yeah, its a limited, but it works and its cheap... my 2cents


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

I vote for Apple's Pages program from iWork. Not professional but makes you look good very easily.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

There's always AppleWorks, if it's already installed. People tend to forget (or never learn) that AppleWorks has a text-box feature that permits frame linking (i.e., you can start a text frame on Page 1, and have it continue on page 7 or whatever, and automatically adjusts content with editing).

There's also nifty graphic wrapping and all that stuff - it's more than you think! And output can be PDF under OSX, so no problem with others reading / printing the file.

Tips and Tricks at AppleWorks Users Group (AWUG)


M


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## GWR (Jan 2, 2003)

I have used both "Scribus" (that works in Apple's X11) and Aquascribus. Aquascribus is still in Alpha developement mode and has a few bugs. It's still quite useable but if you need a solid DTP, stick with "Scribus" and Apple's X11. That being said, I really like Aquascribus and use it alongside "Scribus" for publishing an internal newsletter for the company I work for. It has more features (being based on a newer release of Scribus) and it works directly in OSX! 
Scribus can be compared to the industry standard "QuarkXpress" wich is saying alot! I highly recommend getting both applications. Use Aquascribus most of the time, and use "Scribus" with Apple's X11 as a back-up. 
It works great for me  .


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

Find an old copy of Adobe PageMaker for sale somewhere - version 6 or 6.5 should work fine in Classic. This is a REAL DTP program, not some feeble freeware concoction.


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## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

Gerbill said:


> Find an old copy of Adobe PageMaker for sale somewhere - version 6 or 6.5 should work fine in Classic. This is a REAL DTP program, not some feeble freeware concoction.


Newbie alert.... works fine in "Classic"? As in OS9 vs. OSX?


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

BlueMax said:


> Newbie alert.... works fine in "Classic"? As in OS9 vs. OSX?


"Classic" or "the Classic Environment" is OS 9 running as a process within OS X. It allows you to run most OS 9 programs without any particular problems. Since newer Macs won't boot in OS 9, this is the only way to run OS 9 programs on them.

Of course, it's preferable to run only OS X native programs, but when it comes to DTP there are only two of them that a professional wouldn't sneer at - later model incarnations of _Adobe InDesign_ and _QuarkXPress_. Both of these are mighty expensive. Unfortunately a reasonably full-featured "low-end" DTP program for the Mac (à la _Microsoft Publisher_ on the PC) does not really exist, although Apple's _Pages_ shows some promise.


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## nxnw (Dec 22, 2002)

Repeat: Ragtime Solo. OS X native. "Real" DTP. Commercial. Free for non-commercial use.


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## GWR (Jan 2, 2003)

Has anyone else used "Scribus" on the Mac? What are your impressions? I find it much better than "Ragtime Solo" and I even find that it approaches "QuarkXpress". (Plus it's free, for commercial or non-commercial use!)


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## modsuperstar (Nov 23, 2004)

Gerbill said:


> Of course, it's preferable to run only OS X native programs, but when it comes to DTP there are only two of them that a professional wouldn't sneer at - later model incarnations of _Adobe InDesign_ and _QuarkXPress_.


Make that 1. I sneer at Quark all the time.


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

modsuperstar said:


> Make that 1. I sneer at Quark all the time.


I agree - Quark sucks, but it has a big install base. I prefer InDesign myself.


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## DEWLine (Sep 24, 2005)

Considering how pricey either of those two is, I have to admit to being more than a little concerned about whether or not I really _need_ either one. Therefore, I watch out for alternatives.


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

DEWLine said:


> Considering how pricey either of those two is, I have to admit to being more than a little concerned about whether or not I really _need_ either one. Therefore, I watch out for alternatives.


As I said above, an old copy of PageMaker will run fine in Classic, and it's a real, honest-to-goodness heavy-duty DTP program for a reasonable price, if you shop around a bit.


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## DEWLine (Sep 24, 2005)

One problem with that: I've got that software, and I can't get it to talk to my printer.


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## bryanc (Jan 16, 2004)

What sort of DTP requirements do you have? For newsletters, brochures, menus, etc. Pages works nicely, has almost no learning curve, is fairly compatible with Word, and is dirt cheap (plus you get Keynote, which is truly brilliant).

Cheers


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## da_jonesy (Jun 26, 2003)

DEWLine said:


> One problem with that: I've got that software, and I can't get it to talk to my printer.


Save your file as a PDF in classic... then open it in preview in OSX and print from there.


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## Gerbill (Jul 1, 2003)

Update: Re: my advice about DTP software: I found an old copy of PageMaker 6.5 in my storage locker. Just for fun, I installed it on my eMac 1 GHz (OS X Tiger with all updates, _not_ OS 9 bootable). It works flawlessly in Classic, and it will print to my H-P LaserJet 1012 with no problem. 

I believe I paid about $100 for this at a garage sale a couple of years ago. Would probably be cheaper now.

Actually, the newest Mac I previously ran PageMaker on was a 533 MHz G4 running OS 9.1. It's a lot snappier running in Classic on my eMac.


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