Graphic design: 8 DTP programs to turn your documents into elegant graphic creations
If your core business is graphic and/or editorial design, it's essential that you have DTP software. Desktop publishing software helps you with all your graphic and editorial creations by simplifying your creative processes.
As you will have realised, DTP software is essential if you want to create communication elements. Whether within your organisation or outside it, good DTP software helps you to create impactful communication that resonates with both your employees and your prospects.
Criteria to consider when looking for the perfect DTP software
The ideal DTP software must have certain essential features to make it usable and your experience with it as complete, simple and intuitive as possible. That's why we've selected DTP software that shares the following features:
- a simple drag-and-drop function
- a wide range of templates,
- creation of vector shapes
- easy layout of text, images and graphics,
- help for managing the design of your documents,
- a wide selection of typefaces.
DTP software comparison table
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 Adobe Illustrator |  Affinity Publisher |  DesignCap |  LibreOffice Draw |  Microsoft Publisher |  Pagination.com |  QuarkXpress |  Scribus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies |
| See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software |
| Learn more about Adobe Illustrator | Learn more about Affinity Publisher | Learn more about DesignCap | Learn more about LibreOffice Draw | Learn more about Microsoft Publisher | Learn more about Pagination.com | Learn more about QuarkXpress | Learn more about Scribus |
Adobe Illustrator
Introducing Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is undoubtedly one of the best-known and most widely used DTP programs. Part of the Adobe suite, Illustrator is widely used by graphic designers and creative professionals.
Although the software is comprehensive, it takes a little getting used to in order to master it perfectly.
Advantages and strengths
- the ability to produce 3D creations
- draw vector shapes without any loss of quality or pixelation;
- very complete and widely used for creating illustrations, logos and typography.
What we like about Adobe Illustrator
If you're a tablet aficionado, Adobe Illustrator can be used on both tablet and computer. For Apple owners, Adobe has optimised Illustrator, in particular with the Open Pencil, which lets you create 100% editable Bézier curves and change tools at the touch of a pen.
Adobe Illustrator
Affinity Publisher
Introducing Affinity Publisher
Affinity Publisher is graphic design software developed by Serif. The DTP solution helps you create all types of marketing support, from e-books to publications for social networks.
All with an intuitive layout and dynamic mock-ups. Affinity Publisher DTP software is the perfect tool for combining images, graphics and text into effective communication media.
Advantages and strengths
- wide range of tools for creating typography;
- merges your documents to create media without missing any elements (typography, table of contents, index, etc.)
- offers page layouts to make visuals more attractive each time an element is added.
What we like about Affinity Publisher
The Package function is one of Affinity Publisher's strong points. This function brings together all the elements, images and fonts used in your design. This "package" is then easily transferable to any collaborator, who, in addition to having access to your creation, will have access to the elements independently of it. In addition to graphic creation, Affinity Publisher improves teamwork.
Affinity Publisher
DesignCap
Introducing DesignCap
DesignCap is a solution that makes it easy to create your own graphic elements. The software provides you with a wide range of reusable and modifiable templates so that you can create a communication element that matches your desires.
As well as offering millions of visual elements for your creations, Design Cap helps you to create visual elements for any channel that revolves around your business:
- computer graphics ;
- flyer ;
- invitation ;
- Youtube channel banner
- Facebook or Instagram publication, etc.
Advantages and strengths
- A wide range of templates for your presentations and infographics;
- designs that can be adapted to suit the communication channel you use, whether a social network or email;
- customisable design using creative tools and a full photo editor.
What we like about DesignCap
Thanks to a wide selection of customisable templates, DesignCap is one of the quickest graphic design programs to get to grips with in our selection. There are thousands of templates to choose from, and any changes you want to make to them can be done in just a few minutes, watch in hand.
DesignCap
LibreOffice Draw
Introducing LibreOffice Draw
LibreOffice Draw is free software that makes it very easy to create graphics for commercial use or for communication within your company.
The solution has been designed to be simple to use. The process of learning how to use the software is simple and straightforward, even if it does take a little time to get the hang of it.
Benefits and strengths
- Features created by users for users,
- text zone correction system,
- easy to decompress files, which can then be read by a wide selection of text editors.
What we like about LibreOffice Draw
LibreOffice Draw has the advantage of being free software. Once you get the software, you have all the features provided by free updates at your disposal.
LibreOffice Draw
Microsoft Publisher
Introducing Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Publisher is software that lets you create professional-quality presentations. With this solution, you can design anything from simple business cards to professional catalogues and newsletters.
The DTP software published by Microsoft helps you with the page layout by giving style to your texts, images, borders, etc.
Advantages and strengths
- easy to use, so you can get to grips with it quickly and intuitively ;
- provides advice on the publication aspects to take into account (customisation for your market, which images to use, etc.);
- the Design Checker tool reviews all your work, highlighting areas for optimisation and improvement.
What we like about Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Publisher helps you to see the performance of your e-mailing campaigns by integrating the Outlook application. You can then optimise the management of these campaigns in Publisher and the changes you make are automatically taken into account by Outlook.
Microsoft Publisher
Pagination.com
Introducing Pagination.com
Pagination.com is a DTP solution that lets you use data from any source (Excel, Prestashop, SQL, etc.) to convert it into original visual creations.
Advantages and strengths
- updates your documents via a cloud-based system ;
- creations ready to be used and published via any communication channel once completed;
- quick and easy integration of data into your creations.
What we like about Pagination
Pagination integrates data directly from your workflows, fully automated from your personal data. Once your data is ready to be laid out, you can access design proposals directly using predefined, editable templates.
Layout and presentation of your data is then quick and easy.
Pagination.com
QuarkXpress
Introducing QuarkXpress
QuarkXpress is a DTP software package widely used by layout artists, in the press, advertising and publishing industries. The software is mainly used to design graphic creations for printing.
More than just DTP, the solution offers PDF management by customising them and making them more intuitive. In particular, you can make it easier to navigate oversized PDFs by adding bookmarks to pages, sections or specific texts, all accessible at the click of a button.
Advantages and strengths
- 1-time payment without subscription;
- streamlines collaboration between designers and editors;
- helps monetise content by adapting your creation to the channel you want to distribute it on.
What we like about QuarkXpress
QuarkXpress's interface includes access to the Unsplash and Pexel image banks. This gives you access to thousands of photos that you can use directly in the software to illustrate your creations.
QuarkXpress
Scribus
Introducing Scribus
Scribus is an open-source DTP solution available as a free download. The software enables you to produce all kinds of visual creations and is mainly used for both simple designs (brochures, flyers, business cards, etc.) and more complex designs (catalogues, newspapers, books, e-books, etc.).
Advantages and strengths
- supports four-colour printing for files to be printed;
- provides a range of options to make PDF creation more intuitive (interactive form fields, annotations, bookmarks, etc);
- imports files in other DTP formats (RTF, XTG, IDLM, IDXML, PUB, etc.).
What we like about Scribus
Because Scribus is free software, it is regularly updated by an active community of volunteer users. This community has enabled Scribus to integrate different alphabets so that you can design for the international market.
Scribus
Using DTP software in your business: saving time designing your creations
Using DTP software to design visuals for use in your communications is above all a time-saving way of achieving a satisfactory result without any prior graphic design skills.
The 8 software packages listed in the selection above will enable you to create your own media. This way, you can avoid using freelance platforms, which not only become very expensive, but also force you to hire a service provider, often for just one job.
By using DTP software, you can be sure of getting a satisfactory result at a lower cost.
Article translated from French