Scribus logoA desktop publishing (DTP) software is mainly used to produce documents such as brochures, newsletters, newspapers, and even books. If you’ve heard or worked with Adobe’s PageMaker you’ll probably be happy to know there is an open source “alternative” project called Scribus.

Scribus Mac

Although Scribus doesn’t work with the file formats created by the other proprietary programs (ie. Adobe’s InDesign), it can work between these softwares through svg, eps, or pdf file formats.

To be quite honest, I haven’t had the need to use a DTP software for a long long time so I haven’t tested this software to give tips for it. However, the project seems mature enough to deserve a nice amount of attention if the need ever arises. Scribus seems pretty easy to use and effective for the job.

Another great advantage of Scribus is that it works on Linux, MacOS X, and Windows. I’ve also found out that there is a portable version of Scribus you can run from your pen drive.