Best Desktop Publishing Software
Desktop Publishing (DTP) Software helps create and publish page designs and printed materials. It combines text and images to produce aesthetically pleasing, professional work that can be deployed online, electronically distributed, or printed. For designers and knowledgeable users, its features support the creation of custom layouts. The software offers pre-built templates that promote productivity without the need for users to have design experience. DTP software provides multi-channel previews that depict how content will be seen...
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Adobe InDesign supports creating digital and print documents such as flyers, stationary, posters, and other types of media, with rich graphics, images, and more. Adobe InDesign is available standalone or as part of the Adobe Creative Suite collection of media management and creation…
Affinity Publisher replaces the former PagePlus desktop publishing application, from Serif Europe headquartered in Nottingham.
Canva is a popular, simple online graphic design tool. Users can import images, use templates to design banners and logos, or pay to use Canva's premium stock images/paid templates (elements starting at $1).
Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application available with an Office 365 subscription, or as a standalone download.
vjoon K4 is a crossmedia editorial system with an integrated workflow management system from the Ham…
Corel Corporation, headquartered in Ottawa, offers the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, a graphic design studio and library of tools.
Publitas helps users inspire shoppers by publishing catalogs online. Shoppers can browse catalogs from any device and purchase the products they like. Publitas boasts over 1500 retailers such as IKEA, Aldi, Carrefour and Staples as users, publishing their catalogs online with Publitas.…
Marq, formerly Lucidpress, is a design & brand templating platform that enables users to create & share branded collateral. Marq offers consistency so brands can deliver its message more effectively wherever it goes. The vendor states over 5 million people use Lucidpress to create,…
What is VistaCreate (ex-Crello)?
VistaCreate is an online visual editing tool for creating videos, animations, graphic designs…
QuarkXPress from Quark Software headquartered in Denver introduces modern responsive web design with Flex Layouts, reimagined Tables, and productivity-boosting design features.
MadCap Software, headquartered in La Jolla, offers MadCap Flare, a help authoring and technical writing tool featuring onboarding and support from MadCap, and a set of modules for designing advanced guides, aids, and web or application help aids.
For professional journalists, the Twipe news experience platform includes apps, editions, triggers, and analytics designed to maximize recurring engagement with news and related products.
Vellum is a publishing tool by 180g, that enables users to create ebooks for every platform: Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, etc. Each specialized file can guide readers to buy the writer's next book in their favorite store. Vellum is currently available for Mac.
The Magazine Manager is a magazine publishing software solution, serving over 21,000+ publications worldwide. It is a web-based CRM built for publishers, by publishers. In a unified platform, the Magazine Manager includes a sales CRM and opportunities pipeline, a centralized ad order…
Venngage is an infographics creation platform. Users can create inforgraphics for their marketing team from scratch or from a template.
FlippingBook is software and cloud service for creating professional di…
MagHub is a CRM/ERP and publishing workflow tool that aims to help users improve a media business whether print or digital. Based in the cloud, MagHub is described by the vendor as easy to deploy, use, and manage. MagHub is designed to be the only media publication CRM/ERP and publishing…
The Quark Publishing Platform from Quark Software headquartered in Denver is a publishing tool and document generation workflow featuring collaborative tools, quick content reuse tools, and structured authoring aids.
Infogram is an online tool for creating infographics, charts, dashboards, and interactive reports. Users can upload spreadsheets containing the data they want to visualize, or set up a live integration from another data source using the Infogram API. From a graphics and layout perspective,…
Xara, headquartered in Berlin, offers Designer Pro, a desktop publishing application.
XPP from RWS allows users to develop and publish acontent in digital, PDF, and print formats, with an XML Professional Publisher. Built for demanding publishing environments, users can produce newsletters, books, magazines, loose-leaf manuals, catalogs, and electronic documents in…
Learn More About Desktop Publishing Software
What is Desktop Publishing Software?
Desktop Publishing (DTP) Software helps create and publish page designs and printed materials. It combines text and images to produce aesthetically pleasing, professional work that can be deployed online, electronically distributed, or printed.
For designers and knowledgeable users, its features support the creation of custom layouts. The software offers pre-built templates that promote productivity without the need for users to have design experience.
DTP software provides multi-channel previews that depict how content will be seen in a variety of publishing endpoints such as print, PDF, HTML5, Web XML, tablets, and mobile apps. It supports the import and export of materials in a variety of formats such as raster images made of bitmap pixels and vector images produced by software. It allows switching between the RGB and CMYK color systems to support publishing on video displays vs. print. Stock libraries of fonts, images, and photos are included.
This software is used to create books and eBooks, magazines, newspapers, business cards, stationery, annual reports, greeting cards, envelopes, labels, articles, blogs, social media posts, newsletters, catalogs, brochures, pamphlets, posters, flyers, menus, interactive PDFs, and website designs. DTP is used by graphic designers, illustrators, writers, editors, and marketers.
Desktop Publishing Software overlaps with Digital Content Creation Platforms that are used for graphic design, video editing, web development, and photography and with Office Suites Software that provides and integrates word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and email functions.
Desktop Publishing Software Features
Desktop Publishing Software will have many of these features.
- Layout editor
- Authoring tools
- Text tools
- Basic correction and editing tools for graphics, photos, images, and videos
- Custom template design
- Pre-built template library for different materials
- Font library
- Pantone color library
- Support RGB and CMYK color formats
- Import, export, and publish a variety of formats including PDF, EPS, JPEG, SVG, PSD, PNG, TIFF, GIF, HTML5, and Web XML.
- Print optimization
- Stock photo and image library
- Integrate audio and video content
- Drag and drop editing
- Metadata content tagging
- Spell checker
- Multi-channel preview
- Version control
- Review and approval workflows
- Security
- Integrations with photo editing and graphics suites
- Web, iOS, Android
Desktop Publishing Software Comparison
Consider the following when purchasing Desktop Publishing Software.
Standalone vs Suite: Desktop publishing software is available as a standalone purchase; however, it is commonly bundled with office suites such as Microsoft 365, or creative suites like Adobe Creative Cloud.
Platforms: Some products can only be deployed on specific platforms; for example, Microsoft Publisher is only available for PC. If your creative ecosystem is Mac-based, it will eliminate this option.
Use Case: Professional designers and publishers will benefit from feature-rich DTP software such as Adobe InDesign. Limited and free versions are more suitable for small businesses and home use.
Pricing Information
Desktop Publishing Software uses two pricing models: a monthly subscription which can range from $7 to $36 a month per user or a one-time perpetual license which ranges from $140 to over $700. Free versions with limited features and storage are available as is free open-source DTP software. Free trials are available.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does desktop publishing software do?
What are the benefits of using desktop publishing software?
What are the best options for desktop publishing software?
These are some popular desktop publishing software tools.