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Mike Antoniak is a freelance journalist, who writes frequently on technology.
Mike's Next Column: October 7, 2002
For More Info: For more on evaluating technology purchases, visit the Hardware and the Wireless Technology Advisors.
Previously by Antoniak:
Look Before You Tech
Mega Storage in a Small Space
It's a Phone; No, It's a Camera
Tablet PC Finally Set For Release
| | Publishing tools
Painless Print Production
Publisher 2002 an option for those who still want the full power of desktop publishing.
REPORTED BY MICHAEL ANTONIAK
It’s easy to forget what a great leap forward desktop publishing software once represented for the production of flyers, brochures, mailers and other promotional materials so important to marketing homes and property.
In fact, desktop publishing (DTP) has proven such an effective tool that it’s a safe assumption there isn't a real estate professional out there who hasn’t tapped its advantages to promote the latest listing or convince prospective buyers or sellers of their professionalism and quality of service.
Today, there are fewer choices in dedicated DTP applications than there once were, and some features have been built into other applications. If you’re a user of Word" /> , or any other full-powered word processor, it’s likely you can now combine images and text without leaving the program to create a basic flyer or brochure.
DTP functions can also be found in the latest version of specialty software like Top Producer. Included with its many features are a library of templates—pre-formatted documents, designed by professionals—for some of the most popular real estate print promotions, such as post cards or flyers.
Last year, Hewlett Packard offered a solution of its own in the Real Estate Document Assistant, a series of software tools for building some of the most commonly used marketing materials. And, if you’re a buyer of the real estate edition of certain printers from Okidata, you also get Flyerware design software for quick creation your marketing materials.
The nicest thing about all of these DTP solutions is how easy they make it to create standard print documents. Type in your text, add a picture, hit print and off you go with a professional looking document. You’ve got the option of playing with your design, fonts or placement of pictures for a more distinctive look. For many real estate practitioners, that’s all you need from a DTP solution, and all you want.
If you’re a little more ambitious, either in the type of documents you want to create, or creative options you want available to you, you’ll likely have to step up to a dedicated DTP application. These make more sense when you want to put together a newsletter or magazine about your services and company; if you really want to build a multifaceted promotional campaign from the ground up; or you want to make multiple uses of the same content.
There aren’t nearly as many options in dedicated DTP solutions as there once were. The high-end programs like Quark Xpress and Adobe PageMaker cost hundreds of dollars and give you much more power than you’ll ever need... unless you’re considering a venture into the publishing business.
For most, a more modest, and affordable option, such as Microsoft Publisher should deliver both the tools and creative options you need. Now in its seventh version, Microsoft Publisher 2002 boasts the combination of ease of use and sophisticated features which make it a ready solution for the range of documents you’ll use to promote your listings, yourself, and your company.
“Once you’ve done a layout in Publisher it’s easy to modify, or experiment with it to try out different looks,” says Jim Olney, residential specialist with Skyline Properties, Seattle. He’s been a Publisher user for the last five years and recently stepped up to this latest version. Publisher 2002 is available for $129.95 to new users, and as a $99 upgrade to registered owners of previous versions of Publisher.
The revamped program offers a robust solution for creating sales and marketing materials, without the investment of time often required to master more sophisticated DTP applications. Olney’s primary use of the applications are for creating flyers with images captured with his Sony Mavica digital camera, and to produce the calendars he uses to plan and track activity. The software includes a series of 35 design set themes with a variety of templates users can adopt or customize to create their own marketing materials.
In keeping with the current trend to make multiple uses of the same documents online and in print, Publisher supports the re-formatting of print documents for use on a Web page, and can convert newsletters and brochures into a Web page layout. The program also gives users a choice of 35 Web site designs for displaying documents online.
“I’m not what you would call a power user of desktop publishing, by any means,” admits Olney. “It’s got more than I need in many aspects, but when I want to do more or have a problem it’s pretty easy to find what I need or figure out how to do more.”
All of today’s DTP solutions take the guesswork out of looking your best in print. Deciding on the right solution is just a matter of determining what you want in your print promotions, how involved you want to be in the process, and whether you want multiple uses for the same content. | |
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