I am hoping to get into designing some posters/cards etc and am looking for recommendations on what you think is the best desktop publishing software. How does these programs compare in your experience?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
InDesign, Illustrator or QuarkXPress
- Thread starter SubaruNation555
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
QuarkXpress is quite an expensive piece of software and is insufficient on its own for most design projects. On its own, Illustrator might be best for you, but the answer to your question depends on a number of factors, including budget, quantity of work, familiarity with working with files to go to press etc.
Saying that, with the skills, you can do everything with the Adobe Creative Suite which contains Photoshop as well.
Saying that, with the skills, you can do everything with the Adobe Creative Suite which contains Photoshop as well.
It seems I am able to get any of the three for around $200 with my student discount so price isn't a factor.
I am proficient at Photoshop but have no experience with InDesign, Illustrator or QuarkXPress (although I am trying to learn on a demo-it seems no trials of InDesign of Illustrator are available yet). I'll be doing several projects a month (not necessarily for print) but I am also trying to gain these skills to increase my opportunities for jobs out of college.
I am proficient at Photoshop but have no experience with InDesign, Illustrator or QuarkXPress (although I am trying to learn on a demo-it seems no trials of InDesign of Illustrator are available yet). I'll be doing several projects a month (not necessarily for print) but I am also trying to gain these skills to increase my opportunities for jobs out of college.
I agree with the above post. Go with creative suite, even if you don't think you will need all the programs you may in the future and buying them on their own break the bank (for most people).
I have been using InDesign for all of my layouts recently, I am currently creating large scale posters and banners and have had no problems even working on a large piece. Illustrator is great for creating vector art but I have found it to be a burden as far as setting up and changing document properties.
I have been using InDesign for all of my layouts recently, I am currently creating large scale posters and banners and have had no problems even working on a large piece. Illustrator is great for creating vector art but I have found it to be a burden as far as setting up and changing document properties.
Thanks for the replies. Is Illustrator more of a complement to InDesign or can one be used in place of another?
In times past, differences between each app were more distinct.
- Illustrator = Vector illustration
- Photoshop = Rasterized image editing
- InDesign = Page layout
Illustrator is not a page layout program, it is more suited to single page designs or illustrations.
InDesign or QuarkXpress 8 would be better choices for multi-page layout. Both programs can import Photoshop or Illustrator files and save as PDF.
InDesign or QuarkXpress 8 would be better choices for multi-page layout. Both programs can import Photoshop or Illustrator files and save as PDF.
i use indesign, and i love it. if i had to pick between indesign and illustrator, i'd be hard pressed and probably pick indesign, but that's only because i do so much more in InDesign than i do in AI. if you can get the suite, you'll find the triple threat to be very useful!