Readers Respond: What Graphics Software Do You Use for Design and Publishing

Responses: 23

By Jacci Howard Bear, About.com Guide

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My school used Adobe Creative Suite almost exclusively … and since the student version for the Master Collection was less than $400 through our bookstore, who could refuse that deal?
—chasemann

Publisher and paint Shop Pro X2 does everything I need. Photoshop has a steep learning curve.
—Guest jamasalama

I have used The Gimp two years for design. It does just about everything. The newer version 2.6 is what I am using now. It is intuitive and versitile. One can adjust resolution easily, scale selections, and much more; it is fantastic software. I don't use any of my other programs anymore.
—RudyORiley

I use the Adobe Design Premium Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver) for most needs. I still occasionally use QuarkXPress for older jobs that still use that program, but the Adobe Suite is the way to go for me.
—Guest emont

CorelDraw currently provides version X4 (14). I began using CorelDraw version 2.0 which was bundled with something called "Windows Runtime"... It has served me very well for many years. With its subset, "Photo Paint" I can do just about everything offered by Photoshop.
—Guest rhjordan

We use several graphics programs:For initial paste-up Faststone Image viewer, download and scan are fast, with a good variety/combination of editing/graphics tools. Serif was my particular software of choice but since we changed to Vista and Serif to their 'X' range had a lot of problems, cannot however blame Serif entirely as I dislike Vista so am not encouraged to try too hard working with the programs. Serif pageplus 11 for combining photo/art text. Other programes are Ashampoo & Photo Explosion Delux with a sprinkling of freebees and home produced masks & borders.
—Guest LINDISFERN

My entry into print art was cheap software and my own employees could not get it to work. They advised Quark Express. The learning curve was longer but the product more satisfying. Most artists used some form prior to trying other software. The ability to add graphics was easier and controllable rather than guessing. Photoshop was the answer, but not for type positioning. The combination was a winner and still is. I am retired now after 40 years in the business and still using Quark and Photoshop. There are other combinations but why learn old tricks on newcomers. Of course the biggest error was made by Adobe when they stopped their type manager because Microsoft was handling it. When using supplied art if you dont use the supplied type your layout and kerning will change. Unfortunately PDF files that are supposed to be the answer do not hold position 100%. Imagine outputting plates for press to find out your graphics have shifted. The industry has changed. Lots of luck!
—Guest shellyalten@comcast.net