subject: A Quick Review Of Some Design Applications And How To Acquire A Printplace Coupons [print this page] Every graphic designer knows just how critical the software program they use can be. Considering that you'll be spending many hours using the software, it is vital that you make your choice mindfully. This article will review some software available to designers, and also provide you with a Printplace coupon to be used for your printing requirements.
Adobe is definitely considered the leader in providing the highest quality design programs. Among the most well known programs by Adobe are Photoshop, which has become quite mainstream. Photoshop is most appropriate for photo editing, although you can do other types of design on it as well. People who design for the Web also find Photoshop to be quite useful, and many web designers use Photoshop almost exclusively. In fact, Photoshop has many features that are meant for web designers, such as the ability to export images in web-ready format. People who can't afford Photoshop may consider GIMP, an open source alternative that is quite robust and touts similar features.
Another kind of application developers frequently use is a vector graphics program. I like to use Illustrator myself and highly recommend it. If you don't have a design background, you may find Illustrator a bit difficult to learn. This Adobe product is also expensive, like Photoshop. But fortunately, there are free software that performs similarly to Illustrator. One such software you might consider is Inkscape.
A layout program is the last software program that designers require. For print layouts, there is InDesign, and for the Internet, there is Dreamweaver. Perhaps because I have a web background, I find print layout software to be quite difficult to learn, so expect to spend a lot of time learning how to work with them. If money is tight, an alternative to InDesign worth taking a look at is the free program, Scribus.
It would definitely be unfortunate if you created something that is well-designed, only to get it printed by a mediocre printing company. Use online resources to learn about a company before deciding to hire them. If a printer offers samples, make sure you check them out. Also, go to sites that review printers to learn more about printing companies.
