Greeting Cards

This is a hugely popular category. The titles of most software in this category mention greeting cards--Hallmark Card Studio Deluxe (also available in a comedy version) and Microsoft's Greetings 2002 are both familiar titles. But these card-making packages often do much more. They may include software to make personalised stationery, posters, certificates, calendars, invitations or business cards. Some packages include extras such as address books, anniversary reminders and e-card making software. PrintMaster 11 is a multifunctional package, with calendars, photo frames and a Party Creator wizard, though the emphasis is on greeting cards. It comes in standard, premier and deluxe versions.

Look for software with lots of templates that you can modify to meet your own needs and a user interface that's easy to grasp. Families with younger children using the software may want a pakage with a child-lock. Carlton CreataCard 5 and Carlton Crafts 2 both have an interface that makes it easy to select projects by type and then browse through templates making further selections by subject category and general tone (such as humorous, sentimental or cute). Both titles also have a child lock allowing you to block access at the installation stage for those aged below 13, or to set up a passwording system if the software is to be shared by several family members.

Home Print Projects

Titles to consider are Print Artist 8, which focuses on creating full-colour personalised stationery, as well as crafts, cards, posters, newsletters, banners and e-cards and Microsoft's Picture It! Photo and Print Studio 2002 has all the functionality of Greetings 2002, and can be used to create newsletters, greetings cards, calendars, invitations, animated e-mails and Web page designs.

As well as generalist software which includes a range of projects, there are also some more specialist titles. For example, Nova T-Shirt Factory Deluxe allows you to draw up t-shirt designs and print them onto an iron-on transfer. If you burn CDs frequently, you may find CD Labeler handy. This software helps you design and print your own CD-R/DVD, jewel case and other media labels.

Clip Art

No print application restricts you to using just the images or fonts it provides. You can import your own pictures--anything from drawings made with the Paint application that comes with Windows to photographs downloaded from a digital camera--and use fonts from outside sources. It's worth checking what image formats the software you want to buy supports in case there are some you particularly want to use for images you generate yourself.

It's also possible to buy collections of clip art. These range in price from budget collections of a few tens of thousands of images to DVD-based collections housing several hundred thousand. Do check if the software you buy comes with an image-viewing application capable of making thumbnail images, so that it's easy to leaf through the images on screen, or a book that reproduces and references all the images. Without one of these it can be tedious work finding the images you need. In the budget category GSP, Focus and Cosmi all produce good clip art collections. At the top end of the market, the Learning Company's ClickArt is a good buy.

Browse Images & Clip Art.

For Children

For kids, there are a number of simple, easy to use packages that children can use to make cards, banners, stationary and more. These include Thomas & The Magic Railroad Print Studio, Toy Story 2 Print Studio and Winnie the Pooh Print Studio.

Business Desktop Publishing Tools

If you work from a home office or need to create professional-looking documents for a club or society, you may need a more sophisticated software package. Depending on how complex your project is, you may be able to just use Microsoft Word. Its ability to handle columns, feed text around graphics--including imported photos--and its WordArt feature for manipulating text all make it well suited to smaller projects such as newsletter production.

For complex projects, specialised software may prove a better investment. Microsoft Publisher comes with a range of templates to help produce professional-looking materials. Both are good choices for more demanding print projects.

At the high end of the market are fully featured professional desktop publishing tools. These aren't inexpensive, but they're more powerful, flexible and full-featured than cheaper packages. The leaders of the pack are Adobe PageMaker and QuarkXpress. Ideal for non-designers creating professional-level business documents, PageMaker 6.5 Plus includes more than 300 editable templates specifically designed for business-related tasks, including certificates, brochures, mailing pieces, advertisements and coordinated sets of business documents and stationery. QuarkXpress offers the fullest range of features and options (such as infinite fractions of text point sizes or complex combinations of text flows, bleeds and overlays). It's a top-notch integrated layout and design program that's accessible to beginners as well as professionals.

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