[ranger1]

i usually design our publications using publisher and then convert them to pdf using pdf factory. we then make a thousand copies of these to distrbute. when i convert to pdf there is a loss of qality and the final output is a bit dull.

i've been advised to use adobe products to design .
what do the following do and when do i use them:

adobe photoshop - for what?
adobe pagemaker - for what?
adobe illustrator = for what?

my full colour publication consists of pictures, drawings and text.

it also has colour backgrounds.
i have to take digital pictures, and place them onto a coloueful background. them copy text from ms word and paste them in the publication.

when i convert to pdf i ensure that it is in CMYK form so that it can be printed by our printers cos they use only apple stuff.

please i need a lot of suggestion quickly because i need to get started in two days time.

[Duckman69]

titling a topic urgent isnt really necessary...

also google is your friend... the description of each product is right on each page below...

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/index.html

http://www.adobe.com/products/pagemaker/

http://www.adobe.com/products/illust..._overview.html


Also, i dont know why you would need all three just try the trial downloads for each program see what 1 suits your needs and stick with it, you probably only need photoshop or illustrator but i may be wrong... it really all depends on how indepth you are going to go with the imaging, are they all computer edited ? will they be made in that interface ? will they be scanned and uploaded ?

good luck

[slipe]

Photoshop is a general purpose program for editing and making raster images. Photos are raster images made of pixels. If you really blow them up you can see the individual pixels.

Illustrator is a program for making and editing vector images. Logos, drawings and such are usually vector. A vector image is just a series of mathematical instructions for making the image, so you can take a tiny vector image and blow it up to the size of a billboard and it is still sharp.

Pagemeker is Adobe’s low end version of Publisher. Their high end program is InDesign, and is usually what is used for magazines. People were surprised when Adobe continued to update Pagemaker as they thought InDesign would replace it. I’ve designed publications with InDesign and the PDF files are excellent.

You can’t manipulate vector images other than text in Photoshop, and the text has to be rasterized for many functions. Illustrator won’t let you work with regular photos. Neither program is very good for layout. Since you are getting your publication done with the tools you have plus Publisher I wouldn’t think you need either Photoshop or Illustrator. If you are willing to spend the bucks both Pagemaker and InDesign are good programs with InDesign probably being the one you want.

I’m not sure where I got Adobe Distiller, but I’ve extracted a few things in PDF from Publisher using Distiller and they were good quality. It might have come with InDesign. I’m pretty sure it comes with Acrobat, but I don’t have that on my computer. If Publisher is meeting your needs other than being able to extract a good PDF I would think Adobe Acrobat would be your best bet. I haven’t used Pagemaker, but there is a steep learning curve with InDesign.