Opinions Needed: Lightweight Page Layout Program?

Alrighty then.    How about a more specific question instead...

Anyone have good/bad experiences with PagePlus from Serif?

Bob, I don't have a suggestion for a different program.

I use Word for my job aids.

If I need a standard layout, I use tables in Word.

Works well for me.

Hi Bob, I'm not much of a Publisher fan myself but it's an application most co-workers have. Have you tried downloading the free PagePlus starter edition to see if it works for you?

Have you considered using PowerPoint?  You can adjust the slide size and orientation to fit your needs.

Here are some PPT templates that I use.  The "guides" are on the master slide.  When you are done with the design and layout, just change the master template to a blank one and then the guides are gone.

Hope it helps.

Here is the Portrait version.

Thanks all for the suggestions and templates!

Look and feel are a big deal here and most things we produce have to done with full-bleed printing vs laser copies for example. However, the content itself is not overly complex in most cases. Hence the need for page layout / DTP solution but light duty.

We wil revisit some of the suggestions here and see if we can't find a way to make them work.

Thanks again,

Bob

Hi, Bob -

I like Adobe inDesign but you're looking at another learning curve and relatively steep pricing. Have you looked at the open source Scribus? 

http://www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus

Corel also has a DTP program called Ventura but it's spendy. 

http://www.corel.com/corel/product/index.jsp?pid=prod3430342&storeKey=us#tabview=tab0?AID=10485467&PID=3480832&trkid=CJ

Hi Steve,

Let's just say that if given the choice between learning another Adobe tool and having a root canal, we would choose... never mind.

However, Scribus sounds REALLY interesting. We will check it out, thanks!!!

Bob