The Print Shop Deluxe 23 and PrintMaster Platinum 18

Broderbund produces two different popular desktop publishing titles: The Print Shop and PrintMaster. There is a dizzying array of The Print Shop and PrintMaster titles. For simplicity, here's a quicky comparison of two comparable titles: The Print Shop 23 Deluxe and PrintMaster Platinum 18. They are both easy to learn and use, come with helpful wizards and templates to jumpstart the design process, and include photo editing, drawing, and text tools that make them good all-in-one packages for simple desktop publishing and print creativity.

In terms of amount of templates, images, and fonts that come bundled with the programs -- they run about even. The Print Shop has about 150 more fonts and 60,000 or so more images. Each includes a subscription to Million Image Club but it's only 6 months for The Print Shop Deluxe and a full year for PrintMaster Deluxe. You will need Internet access.

The Print Shop Deluxe offers an edge over PrintMaster in its Layout and Text Flow tools -- a plus if you do a lot of text-intensive or multipage documents like brochures and newsletters. Some of its pro-like features include Master Pages, Text-Wrapping, Widow & Orphan Control, Kerning & Leading, PDF and TIFF export options.

PrintMaster does offer alignment tools and mail merge and does PDF export but its overall features seem geared a bit more toward crafty creative projects with the inclusion of the PrintMaster Scrapbook Creator, Arcsoft Photo FunHouse, and a Party Set Creator Wizard.

So, what do reviewers have to say about each one? Here's a sampling:

• The Print Shop Deluxe 23. TopTenReviews ranked The Print Shop Deluxe #1 in the Print Creativity category. "The sheer number of templates, images and tools bundled in Print Shop Deluxe sets it apart from the other print software products... ." Read Their Review. Amazon.com customer reviews for The Print Shop Deluxe 23 are mixed. Many complaints center around technical and support issues. The graphics selection and need for Internet access also gets a thumbs down from several purchasers. Read Customer Reviews.

• PrintMaster Platinum 18. At TopTenReviews PrintMaster came in at #2 among print creativity titles, giving it only a slightly lower rating than The Print Shop for its Text Tools. Read Their Review. The average rating for PrintMaster Platinum 18 was higher among Amazon.com customers than for The Print Shop with far more favorable ratings. However, as with The Print Shop, one of the big complaints is the need for Internet access to obtain many of the images. Read Customer Reviews.

If you've used either or both of these Broderbund software titles, share your opinion, write a review. Please note that all submissions go through a review process and won't appear immediately. Please be specific about what you do or don't like about The Print Shop or PrintMaster titles from Broderbund.

• The Print Shop Deluxe 23 (Buy Direct)

• PrintMaster Platinum 18 (Buy Direct)

Between these two Broderbund products, if your interests lean more toward fun photo projects, scrapbooks, cards, and such then PrintMaster Platinum 18 may be more to your liking (and it costs a little bit less). If, in addition to greeting cards and other fun photo projects, you envision yourself doing newsletters and possibly more small business type documents then The Print Shop Deluxe 23 with its better text and layout tools may be a better all-around choice.