More of a Desktop Publishing Question - What to use?

[topr8]

for a printed newsletter - i've done the background/layout in photoshop which is great.

but the text is a problem, it is too difficult to write the text in photoshop.

i want to be able to create text boxes and write in them with the text automatically wrapping and even stretching properly to match in width.

is there a photoshop plugin i can buy that does this or a 'cheap' software i can buy that i can import my 'template' from photoshop into and then write the text.

any suggestions?

[limbo]

DTP and WebDesign can seem like worlds apart. Design for print is a very different skill set, but in theory is very much like webdesign. You employ templates on a printed document like you would for website, you add text + images within layers and boxes and define your layout with drawing tools and style sheets.

What you want to do should defintely NOT be done just using photoshop. It is an image (note: singular) manipulation tool and should be used as that IMO.

You need a page layout program like Quark or Indesign (or dare I say MS publisher). They allow you to create the page layout, insert and edit text and import images to use as part of the layout. You can twin any these with photoshop/illustrator and output to PDF for your printer.

How often do you percive using this? I can't think of an open source Layout tool - but Indesign is not too expensive if you can justify the cost.

If you decide it is an option you will be able to save your psd (mimus text) into a transferable format (EPS or high res TIFF) and import into the document.

[katana_one]

Limbo is correct. You need a proper page layout tool. I will second the recommendations for Quark XPress or Adobe InDesign (I don't like MS Publisher).

[topr8]

this is for a low print run newsletter really only around 50 copies a week, indesign and quark are just too expensive for this.

i take your point about photoshop ... but it does work for laying out an A4 document well enough.

i did find something called pageplus that seems to work quite well and it was free, i can import the background i've designed from photoshop - except if the file size is too large it crashes.

[jessejump]

Don't you have Word?

[monkeythumpa]

Illustrator or Freehand would work for a newsletter if you need a cheaper solution. Word can work but you need to know all the hacks.

But if you already have Photoshop and don't mind huge files you can make it work as long as you set the dpi in the "image size" to at least 300 dpi. Then the text should look fine.

[topr8]

thanks, yes i'm working with a dpi of 300 already and it prints just fine!

i guess i was hoping there was a way of wrapping text automatically in photoshop but seemingly not.

anyway issue one is now printed up! so hopefully all will be well.

i was kinda hoping someone could recommend one of those home use type printing/design softwares the like of which you can buy in the likes of pc world at around $50/uk30

[bunltd]

What about MS Publisher? It comes with some versions of Office and will let you set up your layout, place pics, and edit text. We've used it for similar things, even though we have Adobe InDesign.

LisaB

[EMarschall]

While I generally use QuarkXPress, I have heard some good things about RagTime Solo, a free, "personal use" DTP package. While it's not as diverse as some of the professional (i.e., costly) packages out there, it's great for smaller projects and those getting a feel for those "professional" DTP layout programs.

Just click on Download.
[ragtime-online.com...]

[jbinbpt]

Seems nobody used Adobe Pagemaker anymore. I've used both and don't see all that much difference between them. If you are buying Pagemaker is $200 less that Quark.

[PatrickKerby]

To answer the initial question: Yes, Photoshop will automatically wrap your text. By using the text tool, you can click and drag to create a text box. What version of Photoshop are you using?

That said; I so highly recommend NOT creating your layout in Photoshop, mainly because like you have found, it is simply not designed for this type of work. You will find yourself wishing for the most basic of layout functionality, that would most definitely be included in any of the other software previously mentioned. Even using Illustrator would be one step closer. Not too mention easier on your machine and file sizes (you mentioned crashes?).

With the time saved, and increased functionality of a proper program for this type of work, I don't see how the costs can't be justified. And if you're really strapped for cash, look up older versions of indesign or quark on ebay. You will be glad you did.

[Beagle]

Oh, yes. After my first experience of trying to make a simple layout on an image-editing program (crash, crash, crash), I got totally frustrated and went back to Publisher, which I hadn't used for a couple of years. Did the layout in seconds, no memory problems. I'm definitely not saying Publisher is the best DTP program out there, but I had it available and knew how to use it, and it works just fine for what I need.

BTW, Word was mentioned in a previous post. I've used that for very simple layouts when using a computer that didn't have any other programs available for the job. Placing elements in relation to each other is more difficult than with a DTP program, but it can work.

[monkeythumpa]

I think by "wrap" they mean it will not wrap around an object in the document flow. Photoshop does word wrap.