The Print Shop Design Suite Professional Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been purchasing The Print Shop for about 5 years now, and this latest edition is the best one yet. I'm having so much fun exploring and tinkering with some of the new features! My creative projects are really going to pop after I start using this bad boy with a vengeance. :-)
At the beginning, I was puzzled as to why the installer did not launch when I put in the Install DVD-ROM. But, fortunately for me, I'm a bookworm and I actually took the time to read page 13 in the user's manual. It told you what to do if the program did not launch. For Windows XP, simply click the Start button, click Run, and type D:\Setup.exe. Make sure you substitute the letter for the actual drive you're using in place of the letter "D." Mine just happened to be "E." The Install Wizard popped right up and ran smoothly with no problems. I had it installed in less than five minutes.
Installing the Design Suite software was little tricky, but I soon figured it out. It didn't launch right away, either. For Windows XP, simply click the Start button, click Run, and type D:\launcher.exe. Make sure you substitute the letter for the actual drive you're using in place of the letter "D." Again, mine was "E." It will open up another window with about 4 files listed. Double-click the blue icon at the bottom and the blue and white Design Suite window pops up. On the right side of the screen near the bottom, you'll see 4 blue tabs. Each one is a different component of the Design Suite. One thing to remember: Leave the original blue and white Design Suite window running in the background. The reason for this is because every time you click on one of the blue tabs, you're going to open up a new window. Once you're finished with one of the programs, just close the newest window and go back to first one and click each successive blue tab. Continue to do that until all of the components are installed. Then you can close everything out.
All in all, it took me about 15 minutes total to install all of the components, including the time it took me to register them. The programs are easy to use and easy to navigate. I couldn't be more pleased with my purchase.
In the end, I'd recommend this software to all and give them this bit of sound advice: If you have problems installing ANY type of software, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! A little reading at the beginning will save you a lot of time in the end. It's a shame the previous reviewer had such a hard time and couldn't complete in the span of a day what took me approximately 15 minutes to complete. Hope this review helps someone!

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The Print Shop Design Suite Professional Edition provides powerful tools for photo editing, drawing, illustration, web design, publishing, file management and creating PDFs. Includes: Professional tools for Photo Editing such as color correction, image manipulation, mapping functions and Web optimization. Get Tools for Drawing & Illustration that allow you to draw using pastel, charcoal and watercolor effects, create and edit vector art!Build and Design sophisticated Web pages without HTML coding. Includes dynamic web templates and tools to easily embed video and animation.The Print Shop Pro Publisher Deluxe Features comprehensive art gallery, page layout and professionally designed project templates to create brochures, stationery and more.Also includes file organizer and a PDF creator.

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Broderbund Print Shop 21 Deluxe Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been using Print Shop for many, many years, primarily to make greeting cards and note cards. I've upgraded as upgrades became available and today upgraded from version 20 to version 21 deluxe. I also use Norton A/V which has been around for many years and is in very widespread use.
It seems that the two are almost terminally incompatible. PS v. 21 has many projects that are only available online and must be downloaded. There are many of these in the Printed Greeting cards and constitute all of the projects in the Photo Picture Cards and the Creative Touch cards.
Although, at the price charged for this software, EVERYTHING SHOULD BE ON THE CD"S AND SHOULD NOT REQUIRE ADDITIONAL DOWNLOADING, when downloading is tried, you will get the message "The online server can not deliver the file".
When you search their nearly non-existent technical support section, for a solution, you are told "It has been found that certain software security systems do not allow communication between your computer and Broderbund's file servers. You will need to contact your security software's company for information on how to allow this communication or SIMPLY DISABLE THE SOFTWARE TO ALLOW IT." (Emphasis mine)
It thus seems that the makers of PS 21 (Broderbund? Encore? RiverDeep?) could not be bothered to work out these incompatibilities with one of the most popular and widely installed anti-virus software programs on the market and put their program on the market anyway. Their solution to the inevitable incompatibility which they knew full well existed: Simply disable your anti virus protection......and risk having your system destroyed.
Is this worth paying them another $42 for a questionable upgrade?
I plan to uninstall v.21 and return it tomorrow; stay with v. 20 and cross Broderbund off my list for all future purchases of this type of software.


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If you're ready to add a creative touch to your photos and other digital images, then Print Shop 21 Deluxe is for you. With over 320,000 images and graphics, plus another 17,500 project templates, Print Shop 21 Deluxe gives you everything you need to get started. An advanced photo editor offers expert editing results to make your photos perfect every time. You can easily incorporate them into any project, create slide shows, burn them to a CD, or even resize for your mobile phone. An enhanced photo-quality printing and new borderless print features mean your projects will have the refined look you want! Photo Shop 21 Deluxe even helps you manage your time with Calender Creator Express, and its new address book and mail merge feature give you effortless mailings every time.

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Serif PagePlus Essentials Review

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(More customer reviews)Serif PagePlus Essentials
This program has oodles of possibilities.
With the templates provided you can create greeting cards, invitations, resumes, banners, flyers, calendars, homework projects, signs, notices, thank you cards, postcards and more.
On the website there are additional downloads for more templates of the various content above.
In terms of interface, the program reminds me of MS Word, so I found it easy to maneuver. I am using Windows Vista and installation was a snap and just took a few minutes.
As far as completing a project, it's as simple as dragging and dropping graphics and photos and typing in your titles and any wording.
My 12 year old daughter and I have completed a calendar, birthday card, flyer, door hanger and newsletter. I think this software is great for beginners as it is simple to navigate and complete projects quickly.
If this turns out to be too basic but you like the format then you can upgrade for a fee on Serif's website.
I have included a quick video so you can see how this works.
It's a simple program for beginning designers. I highly recommend it.

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The easy way to create sophisticated, unique designs--fast. PagePlus Essentials has all the templates, word processing, graphic design and layout tools you need for stunning calendars, invites, cards, newsletters, signs, flyers and more; all wrapped up in an easy to use, affordable package.
Attractive templates and instant graphics mean you can design fantastic documents in no time. View larger.

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The Print Shop 2.0 Professional Review

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(More customer reviews)I was using The Print Shop 22 De Luxe on a Vista computer. I installed Windows 7 and found 22 would not work. Broderbund said they were working on a totally new version (oddly called 2.0). When it became available, I purchased 2.0 DeLuxe through Amazon, and was very disappointed. It worked with Windows 7, but lacked many of the features that 22 DeLuxe had (eg headlines,fixing flaws in photos,and cropping photos in shapes other than rectangles). I returned it to Amazon and bought (at extra cost) Version 2.0 Professional, hoping it would have the missing features. If they are there, I can't find them. The menus appear to be the same as the DeLuxe version. The Help manual is very superficial and appears to be the same whatever version you buy. In desperation I emailed Broderbund for help but they didn't bother replying. To add to my woes the program frquently crashes and needs restarting. I returned this one to Amazon too.
Then I saw a small note on Broderbund's website, saying that Print Shop 23 (the last of the versions of the old program before they totally redid it) would work on Windows 7. I bought it (from Amazon) and it works, and is just marvellous!
Summary. Avoid all versions of The Print Shop 2.0. Buy The Print Shop 23 instead. This is still available from Broderbund or Amazon.

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It's easier than ever before to create impressive print projects with the ultimate design solution for all your home & business needs. Start with the brand new Wizard Design tool or choose from a vast gallery of ready-made templates and contemporary images to design, print and share a wide variety of projects, including greeting cards, invitations, labels, signs and more. The Print Shop Professional has been redesigned from the ground up, making it quicker and easier to use by combining intuitive design tools with contemporary content to give you the ultimate in creative freedom. Design impressive projects in minutes that are perfect for your home, school, organization or business.

The All New Way to Create Sophisticated Design
New Easy to Use Software Drag-and-drop photos, text and design elements with incredible ease and quickness.
Windows 7 & Windows Vista Compatible The Print Shop was designed to work on the latest PC operating systems.
Wizard Design Tools Create and print over 150 custom projects, each in under 5 minutes.
Streamlined Workspace With a sleek new workspace, it's easy to find and switch between the various tools quickly.
Advanced Photo Editing Slider tools allow you to select the exact degree of effect, including red-eye, brightness and contrast.
New Templates & Clip Art Choose from an enormous gallery of contemporary ready-made templates and clip art images that are sure to complement any project.
Advanced Design Tools Slider tools allow you to create custom gradients, transparency and drop shadows for a professional effect
Advanced Page Layout Tools Flow text around objects and across columns, use mail merge to personalize and select custom paper stocks.
Easy to Share Print at home, email or publish your latest creation on the web to share with friends and family.
Advanced Page and Layout Tools
Layer Management Easily move art, text and objects between foreground and background. Show and hide layers for the ultimate in precision.
Columns & Text Wrap Flow text across columns to improve readability. Plus, you can easily flow text around graphic and other objects to create a professional finish.
Advanced Color Tools You now have three ways to pick the right color: the eye-dropper tool for precision color matching, professionally-designed color palettes and a color selector.
Drop Shadows & Dynamic Gradients Add a professional touch to any design with easy drop shadow tools. Dynamic gradients allow you to specify multiple gradient stops.
Image Management Edit photo tags and mark your favorites so that you can easily find the right photo for any project. Add your image to the Image Tray for easy drag and drop.
Impressive Headlines The Print Shop now offers the easiest solution for creating headlines with impact. Simply choose from an array of impressive options and customize to make it perfect.

Choose Your Version Find the right Print Shop version for you using the chart below.

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MY SOFTWARE - LABELS Review

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(More customer reviews)I really love this software. It is very user friendly. I purchased it for at home and then now again for work.

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Print Shop Photo Pro 2.0 Review

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(More customer reviews)I too thought this would be good software, having the printshop name. The software does an ok job, and has a good user interface. The place where it falls down flat on its face is performance and file saving.
1. If you scan 5 pictures at 600 dpi, then go from the get photo to the print tab, it takes 30 minutes!! and the computer is locked up for that entire time. I have a PIII 800 Mhz with 256M of memory and lots of free disk space. There is NO WAY it should take this long.
2. When your scanned image is brought into the program, it immediatly saves it to the C drive WITHOUT asking for your permission, it also gives it a generated file name. You have no choice in this matter, and there is no 'option' to turn this off. Oh, it saves it as a BMP file, so any file that is saved is huge. Hope you have Giga bytes of free disc space. You can do a Save As later, but you still have to go in and delete the origional file saved by the software.
Adobe has a FREE product called ActiveShare that does almost the same thing, and seems to have better performance. I'm trying that software out next.

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Mark milestones and preserve memories with fabulous photos enhanced by state-of-the-art editing tools. Modify a simple snapshot or create an elaborate photo collage--The Print Shop Photo Pro 2 is a complete photo workshop solution. Everything needed to crop, rotate, enhance, or correct photos is in a simple-to-use format that lets beginners design like pros.
Image manipulation is just the beginning of the creative possibilities: Use Photo Pro 2's more than 800 professionally designed project templates to create cards, calendars, and hundreds of other photo masterpieces. Display photos in exciting multimedia presentations and whimsical animated greetings. Enhance photos with more than 600 props or experiment with more than 100 exciting one-click special effects. Increase skills and enjoyment with handy multimedia tutorials and printable hints and tips.

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Art Explosion Publisher Pro 2.0 Review

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(More customer reviews)Publisher Pro 2.0 is a great product and a good follow-on to the first version. Not only can you easily produce small publications (I create 16 page "tabloid sized" newsletters, with tons of photos) and export them as pdf files, but you can now open and edit pdf files, a feature I haven't seen in any affordable publisher. Its interpretation is precise, though when it meets a change in formatting (such as a single word in bold type within a paragraph), it interprets that as the end of a text block and starts a new section. I only use that feature when I want to fill out forms I've received from others or add a little text or images to them. I wouldn't try to heavily edit a large file. Pdf creation now includes form fields, which allows for more interactive features such as radial and other buttons and fill-out-able forms in addition to the standard pdf bookmarks, index and table of content which link to content within the pdf, hyperlinks to external sites, and more.
As in the previous version, it still has lots of pre-made templates, but the blank templates are still the best. I love being able to make a tri-fold brochure and actually selecting each page I want to work on separately: the right panel, left panel back panel and interior spread. The program then prints it in the correct sequence on the page. And in each of the 24 categories (including Banners, business forms, greeting cards, webpages...) there are many blank styles from which to chose.
As a volunteer newsletter editor (with no formal training in design and only some spare time), I find myself in the position of producing newsletters, flyers, tri-fold brochures and ad books not only for the large regional and local group of one organization, but also for my friends' school groups and churches and the local library. I often have to send the files to professional printers who require high-quality pdf files. It's a little more complex than either it's predecessor (Pub. pro version 1) or the older version of MS Publisher I had used before (a program I was happy with, but it had no pdf support), but most questions are easily resolved by refering to the in-program help files. On the other hand, it's a more powerful program with color separation, palette (incliding Pantone) support, transparencies and effects - features you'd expect in higher end programs. It also has a more flexible studio bar with tear off tabs for line style, formatting, colors, object styles, etc.., that you can view, hide or drag to arrange.
Included with the program is the free Publisher Pro Photo Editor, which allows you to draw and paint using layers and transparencies, and then export your pictures in a variety of formats (including some transparent versions), such as jpg, png, gif, etc. It doesn't have a lot of filters and fancy stuff, but it's a good little program for simple photo editing or creating a small graphic.
But most important, the telephone customer support was good. When I first got the program, I had difficulty opening some, but not all, of my older Publisher Pro files - the program crashed! I called customer support after a few days trying to figure out myself what the difference in the files was. I was told it had to do with the Nova clip art in the files and to remove the images and the file would work. Luckily, I had the previous version installed on another machine. I noticed in the Tools: Resource Manager that those clipart files were "linked," so selected "unlink" (which embeds the image) and then the files opened fine. (The Resource Manager is a nice feature that shows you what images and fonts are in your document, what their size and status are, and allows you to jump right to them). Nova Developement is currently working on a fix for the problem.
Pros: great price (especially if you have a rebate), good customer support, some high-end features, free photo editor and the ability to export to pdf.
Cons: a little harder to learn (reading the tutorials helps!), legacy files crash unless the clipart is embedded.
Overall: If you want a more powerful publishing program that produces quality pdf files, but is still within your budget, this is the one!
p.s. If you do get this program, you should check out the entertaining place-holder text, with it's odd pop-culture references that form random stories. More interesting than Lorem ipsum.

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The Print Shop v.23 (JC) Review

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(More customer reviews)Print Shop 23.1 does what Print Shop 2.0 cannot do and that is - to open the many projects created in recent, earlier versions of Print Shop. Both Print Shop 23.1 and 2.0 are compatible with Windows 7 but vers. 23.1 allows access to other, earlier, projects as vers. 2.0 does not. Without vers. 23.1 these projects would have been lost to me and all the effort they represent.

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The Print Shop 2.0 Deluxe Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this to replace version 23 thinking that it would be an improvement on some of the problem areas (such as the database function). Boy, was I mistaken. When I received the disk, it had scratches and could not be read in any of my computers. After polishing the disk I finally got it to read. After installing it I realized that none of the old projects will work with the new version. That was a bummer, just by itself, but the real problem with this new version is that it doesn't do half the things the older one did.
The first project I needed to use it for became a real challenge. I wanted to make address labels for set of cards I was sending out family about my parents move. First, there is no internal database feature at all in the new version. It used extracts from your email program in a format that my email doesn't support. After doing a lot of research, I was finally able to get around that problem and then found that the only way it will print labels is to print a full page of them. I thought I must be doing something wrong so I went to the help which is almost useless. Then I tried the Broderbund website support section which was no help because there are no tips generated for this product yet. I finally put in trouble request. This was something I was familiar with because I had already put in a trouble request concerning my unreadable disk. The email reply that comes as a result of this, tells you that you will receive a reply within 48 hours, but that if your question has already been asked and there is a tip on it they will not reply at all.
As I am writing this, about 2 weeks have passed since I submitted these trouble tickets. I have not received a reply to either one and there are no FAQs that answer them. My guess is that they are so inundated by trouble tickets on this product that they have decided to just ignore them all. Shame on you Broderbund. After being a loyal customer for years, I will not be purchasing any more Broderbund products until they decide to actually start providing support.
Some may ask why I just used email to contact them. The answer is simple, the only telephone number they offer for support is long distance (no toll free) and it is listed with a warning to expect hold times averaging 30 minutes or more. I really couldn't see dumping more money into the hole called The Print Shop 2.0 Deluxe.


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It's easier than ever before to create sophisticated print projects in minutes. Start with the brand new Wizard Design tool or choose from an enormous gallery of ready-made templates and contemporary images to design, print and share a wide variety of projects, including greeting cards, invitations, labels, signs and more. The Print Shop has been redesigned from the ground up, making it quicker and easier to use by combining intuitive design tools with contemporary content to give you the ultimate in creative freedom. Design personalized projects in minutes that are perfect for home, work and school.

The All New Way to Create Sophisticated Design
New Easy to Use Software Drag-and-drop photos, text and design elements with incredible ease and quickness.
Windows 7 & Windows Vista Compatible The Print Shop was designed to work on the latest PC operating systems
Wizard Design Tools Create and print over 100 custom projects, each in under 5 minutes.
Streamlined Workspace With a sleek new workspace, it's easy to find and switch between the various tools quickly.
Integrated Photo Editing One-click photo tools allow for common photo editing like cropping, red-eye removal and color correction.
New Templates & Clip Art Choose from an enormous gallery of contemporary ready-made templates and clip art images that are sure to complement any project
Color Match Find the right color for any project using the eye-dropper tool, or select from ten designer color palettes that are sure complement your work.
Advanced Design Tools Slider tools allow you to create custom gradients, transparency and drop shadows for a professional effect.
Easy to Share Print at home, email or publish your latest creation on the web to share with friends and family.
Advanced Page and Layout Tools
Layer Management Easily move art, text and objects between foreground and background. Show and hide layers for the ultimate in precision.
Columns & Text Wrap Flow text across columns to improve readability. Plus, you can easily flow text around graphic and other objects to create a professional finish.
Advanced Color Tools You now have three ways to pick the right color: the eye-dropper tool for precision color matching, professionally-designed color palettes and a color selector.
Drop Shadows & Dynamic Gradients Add a professional touch to any design with easy drop shadow tools. Dynamic gradients allow you to specify multiple gradient stops.
Image Management Edit photo tags and mark your favorites so that you can easily find the right photo for any project. Add your image to the Image Tray for easy drag and drop.
Impressive Headlines The Print Shop now offers the easiest solution for creating headlines with impact. Simply choose from an array of impressive options and customize to make it perfect.

Choose Your Version Find the right Print Shop version for you using the chart below.

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The Print Shop Pro Publisher 22 Deluxe Review

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(More customer reviews)Don't be fooled by the box saying how many they've sold anyone who knows anything about software knows you cannot return an opened software box so sold means nothing.
This software in unimpressive, I bought it because I needed to do my wedding invitation and I liked the description thinking I could use it for may other things as well.
Well I ended up using WORD for my invitations, yes WORD, why because word actually did everything I wanted that this program said it would do but didn't! I spent HOURS trying to use it's "simple" templates to no avail they would not print correctly or in the size they claimed to be. In the end I am out the money I spent and pretty mad about it.

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The Print Shop 22 Pro Publisher Deluxe delivers more creative tools than any other Print Shop product, along with the professional features you need to take control of your business communications.400,000+ premium images & graphics PLUS, 22,000 professionally designed project templates!Packed with the text and layout tools you need, you'll easily create high quality projects including multi-page brochures, stationery, CD/DVD labels, newsletters and more.Enhanced photo editing tools provide the professional touch you need to make your photos look your best.Whether you create slideshows, burn to CD, resize for a mobile phone or design and publish your own web pages, showcasing your photos is easier than ever.

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The Print Shop 23 Pro Publisher Deluxe Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had an old Print Shop that created low resolution PDF's. Bit the bullet and bought this one because customer support said the PDF's created would be high resolution and yes, that is true. However, PDF creator did not work properly and everytime I tried to create a PDF- the program froze and then the computer froze. Tried customer service, still waiting for a response- [...]. even though the fix is for a "printmaster pdf problem" I figured how much more broken could my PDF creator be- so I took a chance- followed the instructions and VICTORY! I can now use this pricy program for the only reason I bought it- to create high resolution PDF's from Printshop files. So if you are having problems (I am using Windows Vista 64 bit) getting the PDF feature to work- dixiegirl_10 and her fixya solution may be your answer. So for ratings- 0 stars (to Broderbund)for not providing an online solution for a known issue- but 5 stars to dixiegirl_10.

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Design like a professional with the easiest solution for high quality print projects. Design from scratch or choose from 23,000+ professionally-designed templates for a wide variety of projects, including newsletters, flyers, stationery sets, marketing materials, shipping labels, business forms, calendars and more. Customize your design with the easiest design tools around. You can add your own logo, text, photos, graphics and word art. Comes with 420,000+ high quality clip art images, photos, borders, frames and embellishments. Plus, powerful photo editing tools like red-eye removal, crop and flip to make your photos perfect. Its so easy to create and print impressive projects, clients and co-workers will think you hired a professional.

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