Programs for SOHO desktop publishing are in two groups - those primarily designed for desktop printing and simple Web publishing and those with more advanced features. Usually desktop publishing software marketed to the SOHO or small business users has features and a price tag aimed at the non-designer with little or no desktop publishing skills.
Used for: Often small business owners want to produce their own marketing and collateral materials such as brochures, business cards, ads, fliers, and marketing newsletters.
Used by: Programs in this category are generally tailored to non-designer small business owners.
Features: Ease of use, templates or design wizards, and sometimes large font and clip art collections are characteristic of this class of program. The template collection is often geared toward common business documents including Web site templates for business use. The better programs for SOHO use provide PostScript or other export capabilities that make commercial printing of digital files possible as well as desktop printing.
Primary Software in this Category: Although these programs may also have features that make them suitable to other sub-categories of desktop publishing, they are generally the best choices for the projects and users described in this profile.
- Microsoft Publisher / Microsoft Office Publisher
- Adobe PageMaker
- Serif PagePlus
- Ready, Set, Go!
- greenstreet Publisher
Secondary Software in this Category: Home Publishing software such as The Print Shop and Sierra Print Artist share several characteristics with this category of software such as ease of use, templates, clip art, and a lower price than professional-level desktop publishing software. Some of these families of products also produce a business edition with more business-oriented templates.
Alternative Software: There are numerous specialty purpose programs that focus on just one or two types of projects typical of this class of software including Business Card Design, Label Design, and Brochure Design software programs. Additionally, any software in the page layout category is capable of producing the documents required by small businesses, although the price and learning curve are greater.
Disclaimer: The specific software programs described in this profile are not the only software suitable for these tasks. They are, however, some of the most widely used desktop publishing programs that fit this category.
