In 1990, Page Plus became the first affordable desktop publisher for Windows. Fourteen years later, it may have fallen behind Microsoft Publisher but it's still a popular choice.

PagePlus offers a large selection of page wizards to assist in producing everything from business cards to T-shirt prints. However, the range and quality of the templates are still not up to Publisher's standards.

One of the main criticisms is the templates' liberal use of colour and graphics, which will be costly to print for most users. Customisation is also more limited, as there are no alternative font schemes available if those used do not appeal.

PagePlus is of more use when creating a publication from scratch. It provides the ability to draw a freehand line along which text can flow, instead of a text box.

BookPlus makes it possible to save multiple pages in one file. This means that styles can be simultaneously applied to multiple publications, although in use it could be more intuitive.

If basic desktop publishing is all you need, the low cost of PagePlus makes it a feasible alternative to Publisher.