QuarkXPress

QuarkXPress, developed by Quark, Inc., is one of the most popular software programs for desktop publishing. You can create almost any type of document for print publishing such as business cards, brochures, newspapers, internal company forms, and many others. Create a simple black and white document or full color pages with multiple graphics and stylized text. You can output your document directly to a digital printing device or it can be converted to a format which will enable your document to be output through offset printing. Regardless of the method of output, QuarkXPress will give you control over your design and speed up the process of producing your printed materials.

Adobe InDesign

When Adobe's InDesign was released, it was one of the most anticipated desktop publishing tools, mainly because of the reputation of Adobe's other popular and user friendly software programs. InDesign incorporates an easy to use format and many tools, filters, and settings contained in movable palettes, much like Adobe's Photoshop and Illustrator. When you have an application that requires additional design features, you can customize any part of InDesign using Adobe plug-in software. InDesign works easily with other Adobe software programs and there are versions for both Macintosh and Windows operating systems.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is a graphics program that allows you to create new images for the Web or for print publishing. Unlike Photoshop, which is a program for the modification of photographs and other bitmapped images, Illustrator is a drawing program where illustrations, objects, line art, and graphics can be created and modified. Illustrator offers compatibility with other Adobe applications such as Photoshop and InDesign and it is available for both Macintosh and Windows platforms.

Macromedia FreeHand

Macromedia Freehand is an object oriented drawing program (like Adobe Illustrator) used for creating illustrations and graphics for print publishing and the Web. A project in Freehand is made up of strokes and fills rather than bitmap images in which pixels are edited. The resolution of a printed Freehand document is device dependent, meaning that the resolution is determined by the device on which the document is output. Freehand is available for both Macintosh and Windows operating systems.

Photoshop

Photoshop allows you to scan and edit continuous tone images to achieve any desired effect or you can create new bitmap images. Photoshop integrates the Photoshop software with that of ImageReady which is no longer sold as a separate software package. The integration of ImageReady with Photoshop makes it possible to produce images for the Web as well as for printed media. You can go back and forth between traditional Photoshop features and ImageReady features without losing any settings or properties you have established in either one. Photoshop works easily with other Adobe programs such as Illustrator or InDesign and there are packages available for Macintosh or Windows platforms.