The list of feature changes does not stop here though. The developers have added support for additional vector import filters (including Adobe Illustrator EPS and PDF, Macintosh Picture and Windows Metafile), PDF 1.5 export support, new vector object features like a line style editor, advanced text and typography options like character styles, or enhancements to Scribus’ pre-press features that include printing marks and ink coverage display.

A list of all major enhancements and improvements is available here at the Scribus Wiki.

The team is now concentrating on stabilizing the 1.5 version of the program, and promising that it will come with support for PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-4 and PDF/E, native PDF import and Mesh Gradients.

New Scribus users should take a look at the Quick Start Guide that walks them through setting up their first document and several core features of the desktop publishing software.

Additional information are available in the – extensive – documentation that offers information about the program’s core functionality and advanced concepts like color management, pre-press features or integration of additional fonts in the program. A How To section in the Wiki offers additional tutorials, with some being available for multiple languages.

Interested users can download the latest stable version of Scribus from the project page over at Sourceforge. The program is available for Windows, Mac and Nix based operating systems. (Thanks Paulus for the tip)

Although Linux already enjoys a few powerful DTP applications (Scribus for one), Mac enjoys Pagemaker and Quark Xpress, and Windows enjoys Publisher (and others),  there is always room for more. And Pagestream takes a sort of “GIMP-like” approach to the UI – so Linux users will be comfortable with working around the elements of the tool. In this article I will show you how to get working with Pagestream.

Download and “no install”

The first thing you need to do is download the correct version for your architecture. You will have to register on te site which will then send you a download link. This download will come in the form of a bz2 file. Before you do anything with this file, create a new directory where you will want to run the application from. Why? Because when you unpack the Pagestream file it will explode all of its constituent parts in whatever directory you unpack it. So first create a directory like ~/Page with the command mkdir ~/Page. Now move the newly downloaded .bz2 file into the ~/Page directory with the command mv PageStream5.XXX.tar.bz2 ~/Page (Where XXX is the release number).

Now change into that ~/Page directory with the command cd ~/Page and then issue the following commands:

• bunzip2 PageStream5.XXX.tar.bz2 (Where XXX is the release number).
• tar xvf PageStream5.XXX.tar

Now you should have a folder full of files and sub-folders. Let’s run this baby.

Running and using

Within you ~/Page directory you will see a few files with executable permissions. You will not find an install file, nor will you find install instructions. That is because you don’t install Pagestream – you just run it from within the directory. But which file to use to run Pagestream? If you issue the command (from within ~/Page) ./Run-PageStream5 you will be happy to know the Pagestream UI will launch and you are ready to use the tool.

Figure 1

The UI for Pagestream (see Figure 1) does remind me, somewhat, of The GIMP. There are three windows that open:

• Navigator: How you open files, set preferences, read tips, and quit the application.
• Toolbar: This is what you would normally see on attached to a window. It contains buttons for formatting, print, undo, and more.
• Toolbox: This window contains your tools.

Figure 2

When you click the New button a work window will open and the Navigator will close. This work window will look very much like a standard DTP window (see Figure 2). If you right-click this window a new menu will appear that allows you to take actions like:

• Insert graphic
• Export graphic
• Paste
• Text wrap
• Line and fill
• Transform
• Rotate
• Aline

and much more.

Final thoughts

Pagestream is a very powerful DTP tool. Although this was just a cursory glance, you should easily see how powerful this tool is. We will revisit this tool and dive deeper into how it is used and some cool tips and tricks with its usage on a later date. Until then, enjoy Pagestream!

The feature list for Scribus will impress you.

• Supports most image file formats
• CMYK and ICC color management support
• Printing via level 3 postscript
• Transparency support
• Layer support
• Encryption support
• Interactive PDF support
• And much more…

Getting and Installing Scribus is simple. Fire up your Add/Remove utility, do a search for “scribus”, select the results, and apply the changes. Once Scribus is installed you will find it in either your Office or your Graphics menu (depending upon which desktop you use).

When you first fire up Scribus you will be greeted by a simple New Document “wizard”. This wizard allows you to choose from various layouts, page sizes, margins, etc. It’s not until you are actually working in a document that you can see the power of Scribus.

Scribus Working With Template

As you can see (in the image to the left) Scribus can create complex documents. The document you see is actually a single- layered document. This particular document is a template that can be downloaded from the Scribus web site. Personally I would have done this with multiple layers in order to simplify the creation of the document. Creating such a complex single-layered document also makes it hard to select and manipulate individual elements.

Layering is probably one of the key features of Scribus, and one you should definitely grow accustomed to. You treat layers in Scribus as you would in The GIMP, QuarkXPress, Publisher, or any quality print-ready tool.

Once you start playing around with Scribus you will discover useful feature after useful feature. There are features that you will certainly use more than others. The text editor tool, for example, is where you create and edit the text you place in text frames.

Scribus also has some good support paths including:

Wiki

IRC

Mailing list

Bug tracker

There is also a documentation page on the Scribus site. This page has quite a bit of information on using Scribus.

The Downside

The only downside Scribus has is that it can not import other proprietary formats. This was a choice that the Scribus team made because they felt like importing other formats would comprimise the integrity of the original document. In reality this is a smart move, because it won’t make Scribus look like it can not handle Adobe Pagemaker, QuarkXPress, or Microsoft Publisher formats. You can, however, import SVG, EPS/PS documents into Scribus.

Final Thoughts

I have used Scribus from everything to simple fliers, to complex marketing brochures, to books.  I am always amazed at the power of this tool as well as the versatility. If you are looking for an application to create impressive PDF documents, and you want to do so either on all platforms or on a budget, Scribus is the perfect application for the job. Scribus is the perfect solution to your desktop publishing needs.

PagePlus is a ‘budget’ desktop publishing suite published by Serif. The latest version (PagePlus X3) costs £80 but an older version, PagePlus SE, is offered free-of-charge.

PagePlus SE contains many different paper sizes and when installing, it asks the user whether they are American or European (for paper sizes). PagePlus SE can be therefore be used to design everything from an envelope to a letter!

Most of PagePlus SE’s features are also in Publisher but I feel that PagePlus SE is easier to use when designing something more than a greeting card etc. For example, instead of having to go through all sort of context menus to be able to specify an object’s position, PagePlus SE bears a bar which allows the user to numerically enter information like the position, size and angle of objects. This is much easier than having to right click an item or guess-timate its position.

I also feel PagePlus SE is better with kerning, with this also being in the changebar as opposed to being hidden in a menu!

Some options in PagePlus SE are also more technical: it allows the user to state the rendering they want on screen and on print, for example. The user can also opt for grid lines. There’s also a resource and text manager, where all images and text used inside the publication are listed to allow a quick summary.

Unfortunately, PagePlus SE cannot export into industry-standard formats like PDF and EPS.

Serif host a number of designs on their website which people can import int PagePlus to use.

It may not be Quark, but it’s free and easily up to the same standard as its nearest competitor: Publisher. Unfortunately, like Publisher but unlike Quark, it is Windows-only.