spmug 585 Desktop Publishing on the Mac

Q. I am a former PC user who has converted (happily) to the Mac. I'm
looking for a Mac program that is comparable to Microsoft Publisher.
What are the choices? A. There are plenty of Macintosh
desktop-publishing programs that let you freely arrange text and
pictures for newsletters, brochures and postcards as you can with
Microsoft Publisher. Apple's own Pages 2 program ($80 at www.apple.com)
has plenty of templates for creating a variety of projects. If you find
Pages too limited for the types of designs you want to create, a
full-featured desktop-publishing program can give you plenty of power to
create. Professional-level programs like Adobe InDesign (www.adobe.com)
or QuarkXPress (www.quark.com) have tools to make your own print and Web
designs, but they come with a professional price tag of $600 or more.
You don't have to fork over the big bucks just to get desktop-publishing
software for simple projects, though. Several Mac programs for home
users are available, including the Print Shop for Mac ($60 at
www.mackiev.com) and Swift Publisher ($40 for a CD or $35 to download at
www.belightsoft.com). If you're feeling technically adventurous, there's
also the open-source software Scribus, a free desktop-publishing program
for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux systems at www.scribus.net. Although the
program does not include any personal tech support and is a work in
progress, some may find the price is just right.