When it comes to desktop publishing, there have been plenty of well-known software options: Microsoft Publisher, Nova Publisher, and Broderbund Pro Publisher, just to name a few. Yet Serif’s new PagePlus X3 Publisher Professional has become the most eye-catching solution, by combining attractive templates and innovative tools with a remarkable ease of use.

Make it Look Professional

PagePlus X3 Publisher Professional allows you to create multiple items for your small business, event, school project, or hobby. They include:

  • Business cards
  • Flyers
  • Stationary
  • Newsletters
  • Brochures
  • Newsletters
  • Posters
  • Magazines
  • Online forms
  • Websites

I, like most people, don’t consider myself to be too artistic or creative. If I wanted to make a professional looking brochure, I would have no idea where to start. PagePlus X3 Publisher flies in like a superhero, lending a helping hand with 2,500 templates. I was very impressed by the fact that the templates are adaptable with different color schemes and palettes. This flexibility allows a “non-designer” to make the template look they way he or she wants with a simple click, instead of having to recreate a template manually to match a color preference.

A “One-Stop Shop”

Everything you need to create your product is in PagePlus X3. With its built-in word processor, you don’t have to call on Microsoft Office and deal with copying and pasting. The word processor comes with a thesaurus, proof-reader, and live spell checking. You can type in customizable text frames, and text-wrapping is fully editable. This flexibility allows you to have your text look the way you want it to, without any restrictions.

On top of word processing, PagePlus X3 comes with editable spreadsheets, which are very useful for making tables and calendars. You can import your Excel data, and sort the information in a very similar fashion to the Microsoft product.

Graphic Design

There are enough special effects in this program to make you dizzy, and each effect is simple to apply and easy to modify. You can add shadows, bevels, reflections, warps, blurs, textures, and 3D features. The toolbar is laid out very well, and you can see what each effect does before you apply it to your graphic.

Galleries of clip art and images provided with the software can easily compliment the images and graphics you may already have. Photos can be edited with red-eye removal and dust and scratch removal features.

Small business users will get a kick out of Logo Studio, which is new to PagePlus. A program within the program, Logo Studio allows you to create your own company logo with a tremendous variety of customizable features and effects. The real-time lighting on the 3D effect is very impressive, as you can twist, rotate and reposition an object to get the shadows and reflections you desire. PagePlus provides 400 templates, but I recommend you use the templates only as a starting ground. The versatility of this program allows you to have fun while making the logo look the way you want it to.

Image Cutout Studio

One of the most impressive tools is the Image Cutout Studio, which was unavailable in the previous PagePlus X2. Image Cutout Studio allows you to cut the background out of a picture of a certain subject. Normally, this would be a process best suited for the tools in Photoshop; however the Image Cutout Studio has a very intuitive interface and is very capable in separating subjects from the busiest of backgrounds. The Cutout Studio is easy to use, with just two tools: a “remove” brush, and a “keep” brush. Multiple view settings allow you to make sure that your targeted image has been removed precisely and without any flaws.

Conclusion

With a retail cost of $99, Serif’s PagePlus X3 Publisher Professional is a great value. Making logos, editing pictures, and giving a professional look to your business stationary and marketing materials can be done easily and with little-to-no frustrations. And once you are done, you can do much more than just hit the “Print” button. PagePlus X3 allows you to create PDFs, send instant emails (including HTML formatted emails), and make slideshows. There are plenty of reasons why this award-winning software rises to the peak of the consumer desktop publishing world.

Street Price: Approx. $99.00

Manufacturer: Serif

System Requirements for Serif PagePlus X3 Publisher Professional*

  • Pentium PC with DVD/CD drive and mouse
  • Microsoft Windows® 2000, XP or Vista operating system
  • 256MB RAM (Vista requires 512MB or 1GB)
  • 408MB free hard disk space (1.22GB with Resource DVD installed)
  • SVGA display (800×600 resolution, 16-bit colour) display or higher
  • Additional disk resources and memory are required when editing large or complex documents.

Optional

  • Windows-compatible printer
  • TWAIN-compatible scanner and/or digital camera
  • Stylus or other input device
  • 3D Accelerated graphics card with DirectX 9 (or above) or OpenGL support
  • Internet account and connection required for Web Publishing features and accessing online resources