Desktop Publishing Software Review - Downloads - Reviews

Welcome to Desktop Publishing Software Review where only the best proven Open Source and Freeware software is reviewed.
The Open Source Software Desktop Publishing Software Programs available today are so good that and entire Professional Graphics Suite is available for Free Download. I believe that these programs not only achieve great results but in many cases are as good or better than the commercially available software that costs an arm and a leg. ALL THE PROGRAMS REVIEWED HERE CAN BE DOWNLOADED FREE. If you are involved in desktop Publishing, Graphic Design, Web Design or Digital Photo Editing then these programs will literally change your life. There is also free Computer Graphic Design Training links to these programs making learning Graphic Design online a reality for everyone and for free.

The Essential Desktop Publishing Pack:
The software below offers a viable free alternative to the entire Adobe suite of products.Try and download and install the programs in the order that they are listed.

PDFCreator: From pdf forge: A 'must have' program.
You can read a review at my Hub Pages.
This Program installs a print engine on your computer. If you look at Start > Setting > Printers and Faxes you will see the PDFCreator. It also installs a program called PDFCreator which allows you to add and combine documents. PDFCreator enables you to create PDF,EPS and PS files from Any application installed on your computer. It also allows you to open, convert and save in the following file formats as well. PDF/A-1b, PDF/X, PS,EPS, png, jpeg,bmp,pcx,tif, txt, psd, pcl, raw and SVG. Programs which don't have PDF, EPS, and PS functionality such as The GIMP have a whole new range of functionality. There is a Tutorial on how to use PDFCreator with The GIMP at my Gimp Tutorials Web Site

You can download PDFCreator from the authors web site.

The GIMP open source Photo editing program:
I have personally been using The GIMP almost from when it was first released. I have written books on it and Trained people how to use it for years. Today The GIMP is better than ever, with a huge range of free Plug ins and Scripts that make this one of the most powerful Image manipulation programs available today. You can visit my Web site The Gimp Tutorials for free Tutorials on The GIMP.

You can add CMYK functionality to The GIMP by installing these three Plug ins. ICC-ColorSpace.exe Separate.exe Separate_Import.exe It is also a good idea to install the free Adobe ICC profiles: There is a Tutorial on how to install these Plug ins at my site The GIMP Tutorials - Tutorial 1 There is also a Tutorial on how to use the CMYK plug ins at The GIMP Tutorials - Tutorial 5

Download a copy of Inkscape from their homesite

Inkscape is a Vector Drawing program developed under the Open Software licence. It is a truly serious Illustration program capable of producing accurate and complex artworks. Its interface is both intuitive and well laid out. As a serious Illustration program it is arguably the easiest to use of any professional Vector program available on the market at any price.......and Inkscape is free. Inkscape can be used to create Logo's, Illustrations and finished artwork. It is a great tool for creating artwork for the Web and can output work in the SVG file format or the latest version now allows to to export your artwork in PDF . I have found that Inkscape files integrate well with other graphics programs. You can create Vector artworks in Inkscape and include them in multi page documents created in Scribus. Desktop publishing has never been more accessible to the general public and for free!what more can I say..... I love the program You can learn the Inkscape basics with an excellent online manual. Then explore the Tutorials on my Web Site called Inkscape Tutorials..

There is also a great article at my Hub pages showing how to download Beta releases of Inkscape a the latest versions ability to open Corel Draw files.

Scribus Desktop Publishing:
Scribus is similar to In Design, it allows you to combine Vector Graphics, Photo Images and Text into documents ready for publication. You have a wide choice of layout options and the program is capable of producing anything from a Brochure to a Book.The development of Open Source Software has now reached a point where truly Professional standards can be achieved, meeting all of the requirements needed by commercial printers. Scribus will export finished files in the PDF X3 format converting images and content to CMYK and embedding Fonts and Line work to exacting industry standards.
You can learn how to use Scribus by visiting My Web Site Scribus Tutorials.

There is a tremendous amount of online documentation available on how to use the Scribus.
Scribus Basics. Free on line basic Tutorials
Getting Started with Scribus Free on line beginners Tutorial.

Open Office can be downloaded from their Web Site.

Open Office is a suite of Applications released under the Open Source licence. The suite includes a Writing program, Spread Sheet, Data Base, Presentation and Vector Drawing program. It also enables you to create HTML web pages and sites in a variety of different ways. There is considerable help and tutorials built into the program. Open Office is cross compatible with the Microsoft Office products and can also create PDF files from any application in the suite.

You can download Foxit Reader from their web site.

The Foxit reader is free and is a great companion to PDFCreator. The reader is small, fast to load and very easy to use. It also has much of the functionality of Adobe Acrobat, but for free. You can add text, notes, annotation, bookmarks and much more. And for most people that's all you will need. For a little extra you can purchase the full blown Foxit editor for the fraction of the price of Acrobat.

You can download Joomla from their site or talk to your web site host, he will set it up for free on your site.

Joomala Powerful Web Authoring Program: Joomla is changing the way web sites ar created. This Open Source program is a revolution in itself . Joomla once installed on your Web Site allows you to log in and change the content of your site yourself using simple editing consoles. You don't need to know anything about programming it is all done for you. The Site they provide is very powerful with features that would cost a fortune or take days to do if you did it yourself in a program like Dreamweaver. There is considerable documentation and help on their web site.

Able PostScript Converter:
This little program is quite amazing. It will convert any PDF, EPS or PS file to a tiff file (including 32bit CMYK !). You can choose resolution output up to 300dpi and choose the Color type. It's super fast to load and does the job before programs like Photoshop have even started up.

You can download the program from the developers site.
You can read a review of this product at my hub pages.

Jarte Powerful, fast, fully featured Text Editor:
It allows you to open and save documents in DOC, RTF and TXT and absolutely brilliant for writing text used in Web pages. I have found its spell checker accurate and the Screen capture feature fast and simple. It also allows Hyperlinks and much more.

You can download the program from their web site.
You can read a review at my Hub Pages.

CR8tracer very fast bitmap to Vector conversion tool:
This little gem converts .bmp files to Vector files and allows you to save them as EPS,PS files.
You can download it from the developers Site.
You can read a review at my Hub site.

Fotosizer super fast Image file conversion utility:
This is an extremely fast program that changes a files size, resolution or file type. You can drag and drop files into its work area. You can convert multiple files at once, even entire folders.
You can download the program from the developers Web Site.
You can read a review at my Hub Pages.

The programs below are the best time saving little utility programs that I have found. They are very small, fast and I don't know how I would deal without having them on my computer. Best of all they are all FREE !

Gifted Motion:
Very small compact Animated Gif Tool. Open multiple image files and turn them into animated Gifs.
You can download this program from the developers Web Site.

Inkscape Tutorials is a site dedicated to one of the most exciting Vector Drawing programs to be released in a long time. Inkscape is Open Source and entirely free. That doesn't mean that it is in any way inferior to the commercial Vector Drawing programs...In fact ALL of the Graphics on this site were created using Inkscape.

The GIMP Tutorials is a site dedicated to the popular Open Source Photo Editing program. The GIMP is a truly professional program packed with filters and plug-ins that make it a serious tool for Graphic Artists.

Open Graphic Design offers a complete Desktop Publishing Course using Open Source Software. All of the Lectures are free and cover all that you need to seriously learn Graphic Design including Vector Illustration, Photo Editing and Desktop Publishing

Scribus Tutorials provides essential training on this excellent Desktop Publishing Package with CMYK PDF-X3 export, this is a top program for preparing brochures, books or any kind of Publication for the Offset or Digital Printer .

Desktop Tips is a Huge Site that covers all the major Graphic Design Packages. A Huge amount of Tutorials and Information on all kinds of Printing- Sublimation, Offset, Digital and Screen Printing

This Prictical Guide is a Must Have companion for anyone who wants to learn more about Graphic Design. The Book is in E-Book format with Bookmarks enabling easy access to Graphic Design Terms. Click Here for more information.

AVAILABLE NOW FOR ONLY $5.00

OpenSoftware Web Design :
Free O pen Software Web Design Templates. Huge free collection of High Quality templates you can edit with Komposer. Web Design was never easier. You can download these Templates from the developers Web Site.

Komposer using one of the free Templates from OSWD.

There is an article on how to create a Web Site using both Open Software templates and Komposer at my Hub Pages..

Download a Free Template For a Feed back Form that will work on any web site without using CGI script.
Download HERE.
There is and Article on how to use this code and modify it to suit your needs Here.