Serif Print & Publish with Page Plus 7

Desktop publishing (DTP) has revolutionised home computing. Not to the same degree as the internet, certainly, but these days anybody equipped with a decent printer and the right software can turn out reasonable quality print publications. Serif is a long-term player in this field and its pedigree is evident from the outset here.

First, a quick word about this product's title. Although formally called Print & Publish Desktop with PagePlus 7, you can safely ignore all but the last bit. PagePlus 7, a dedicated DTP program, is what you'll need; you get a few integrated text and image utilities tacked on for good measure.

Another quick word about the program's packaging. There are two versions around, one of which includes a free mouse and the other a mammoth collection of clipart. Take it from us that the mouse is horribly naff and seek out the graphics package. We rather wish that Serif had forgone both 'gifts' and knocked a tenner off the price instead.

At the heart of PagePlus 7 is the Page Wizard. Here, you initiate a design project by picking a ready-made template and then personalising it by typing in your name, address and other details in response to a series of prompts. It's all very satisfying and within moments you can create unique greetings cards, flyers, letterheads and brochures.

There are lots and lots of templates on offer - some 1,500 all told but don't be over impressed by numbers. Who really needs 35 different business cards? How many menus are you likely to cook up in a year? Quality matters more than quantity and, unfortunately, many of the templates here are horrifically garish.

Thankfully, PagePlus makes customising the templates a simple and intuitive affair. The entire colour scheme can be changed at a stroke and individual elements of the design removed, replaced, revamped, revolved and otherwise modified to suit.

The upshot is that a template should be regarded more as a rough starting point than the finished article, whereupon it's possible to produce original work to an impressively high standard. If you have to print large numbers of your creation, PostScript files - as used by High Street printers - are supported as well.

Aside from such wizardry, PagePlus 7 encourages freehand design. Starting with a blank page, you can drag and drop objects anywhere and position them with near-pinpoint accuracy. A wide range of effects can be applied to images - the transparency and fade tools are particularly impressive - and there are plenty of decent drawing and shape-making tools on hand.

However, the most noticeable and welcome improvement over earlier versions of PagePlus is that text can now be entered, edited and formatted directly 'on the page'. Just draw a frame and type away.

On the web front, there are again plenty of templates on offer, sub-divided into business and personal sites. The approach throughout is steadfastly what-you-see-is-what-you-get. It's also possible to turn any print project into a web page but results after doing this are invariably mixed. This program is intended predominantly for paper documents and it shows.

Previewing web work in a browser is a fiddly business and you won't find any of the higher functions, such as verification of any web addresses you put in. There are plenty of better web design applications available but few DTP programs can compete at this price.

Contact: Serif 0800 376 7070 www.serif.co.uk

Also consider: Greenstreet Publisher 4
Easy to use and feature-packed. £50. Worth it.
Computeractive issue 78.