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  1. #1
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    Default Free Publishing Software

    Can anyone recommend a free publishing package? I want to produce a quarterly newsletter for my local RSA and don't want to spend $100 plus if I can avoid it.
    Cheers,
    Pete

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  3. #2
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    Scribus:

    Scribus – Open Source Desktop Publishing

    Totally free & open source.


  4. #3
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    Affinity Publisher is a reasonable low cost choice ($AU80 or so) if you decide you have a small budget.

    This is a brief comparison between Scribus & other including Affinity, MS Word, InDesign - Scribus Free Desktop Publishing Review | Lulu Blog

    Do you really need publishing software for a simple newsletter??

    Most word processors are more than up to the task.

  5. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by woodhutt View Post
    Can anyone recommend a free publishing package? I want to produce a quarterly newsletter for my local RSA and don't want to spend $100 plus if I can avoid it.
    Hi Pete
    What word processing software do you already have? MS Word? MS Publisher? Google docs? -- I'm very sure there are more options.

    The more important questions are:
    how long -- in pages -- will this proposed quarterly news letter be?
    how graphically complex will the publication be?

    With a bit of practice, most word processors can be used as publishing packages.
    Many word processors can save files as PDFs, making electronic distribution easy.
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  6. #5
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    Ross/Ian, thanks for the input. I've looked carefully at what I can achieve with MS Word and I think you're right - I'm going overboard considering a Publishing package.
    I estimate the newsletter (a quarterly) will be between 6 - 10 pages (depending on time of year - Poppy Day, Armistice Day etc.). It will be set up in two columns per page. There might be occasion to insert an image within the text on a page but I think this is possible in Word (?).
    Pete

  7. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by woodhutt View Post
    Ross/Ian, thanks for the input. I've looked carefully at what I can achieve with MS Word and I think you're right - I'm going overboard considering a Publishing package.
    I estimate the newsletter (a quarterly) will be between 6 - 10 pages (depending on time of year - Poppy Day, Armistice Day etc.). It will be set up in two columns per page. There might be occasion to insert an image within the text on a page but I think this is possible in Word (?).
    Pete
    Some of us can make MS Word sit up and dance, and some can make MS Word lie down, beg, play dead, as well as sit up and dance.

    I won't pretend that I know half of Word's arsenal of tricks, but attached is a structure document that shows some of what can be done within MS Word.

    If you want additional help, just ask
    Attached Files Attached Files
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  8. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by woodhutt View Post
    Ross/Ian, thanks for the input. I've looked carefully at what I can achieve with MS Word and I think you're right - I'm going overboard considering a Publishing package.
    I estimate the newsletter (a quarterly) will be between 6 - 10 pages (depending on time of year - Poppy Day, Armistice Day etc.). It will be set up in two columns per page. There might be occasion to insert an image within the text on a page but I think this is possible in Word (?).
    Pete
    Pete -

    Depending on the version of MS Word you are using, you can access MANY on-line newsletter templates directly from Word itself.

    In the current version - go to the menu "File>New" & enter newsletter in the search box:

    2020-08-04_13-37-17.jpg
    You get this:

    2020-08-04_13-38-20.jpg
    Don't be put off by the names - a "School" or "Corporate" template might have just the layout & design aesthetic you like.

    Alternatively, go to Office templates & themes

    Search for newsletter & select one for Word from there.

  9. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by ian View Post
    Some of us can make MS Word sit up and dance, and some can make MS Word lie down, beg, play dead, as well as sit up and dance.

    I won't pretend that I know half of Word's arsenal of tricks, but attached is a structure document that shows some of what can be done within MS Word.

    If you want additional help, just ask
    Ian, many thanks for the effort you put into the sample you posted, it is a great help.
    As for for making Word sit up and dance, I'll be happy if I can just make it limp towards a solution
    Pete

  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by RossM View Post
    Pete -

    Depending on the version of MS Word you are using, you can access MANY on-line newsletter templates directly from Word itself.

    In the current version - go to the menu "File>New" & enter newsletter in the search box:

    2020-08-04_13-37-17.jpg
    You get this:

    2020-08-04_13-38-20.jpg
    Don't be put off by the names - a "School" or "Corporate" template might have just the layout & design aesthetic you like.

    Alternatively, go to Office templates & themes

    Search for newsletter & select one for Word from there.
    Thanks Ross. I obviously have a great deal to learn about what's possible with Word. I'll certainly check out the available templates.
    Once I've done, I'll post a couple of sample pages for you and Ian to critique
    Pete

  11. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by woodhutt View Post
    Thanks Ross. I obviously have a great deal to learn about what's possible with Word. I'll certainly check out the available templates.
    Once I've done, I'll post a couple of sample pages for you and Ian to critique
    Pete
    Pete
    reference documents you may care to look through

    Looking Good in Print Looking good in print (1993 edition) | Open Library the link, at least on my Windows laptop, shows that some copies are available to borrow from the "open Library".

    then there's this one about photography (PDF) Looking Good in Print: Making your own Photobooks + Print-on-Demand Photo books | Doug Spowart - Academia.edu it should be a free download.


    The first one was my "bible" when I started out writing technical reports nearly 30 years ago
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  12. #11
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    Default Newsletter

    Ross/Ian,
    As promised here is my first stumbling attempt at the news letter. It's very much a WIP but it has been a real eye-opener what can be done in MS Word without resorting to publishing software.
    Thanks both for the advice and time taken to show what can be achieved.
    Cheers,
    Pete
    Attached Files Attached Files

  13. #12
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    That first attempt is looking quite good.

    Because you are producing an electronic newsletter you could get rid of page 6 (which is blank) entirely.

    more a comment than a critique, I'm sure that the information you have collated could be presented in a way that increases the impact of each article. For example, where you have a squadron badge and a picture of the relevant plane flown by the squadron, you could have the badge at the top of the story and the plane below the text.

    There is a rule of thumb about the maximum number of characters per line to ensure your publication is easy to read. I don't recall what that rule of thumb is, but you could try using two columns on some of your pages. Leave the front page as it currently is, but then use two columns on the subsequent pages.

    Another thought is to reformat the entire newsletter into landscape format. And think about formatting the document so that it is more easily read on a computer screen, many (most ?) of which now have an aspect ratio of 16:9


    just some comments to help you along
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  14. #13
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    An example
    Attached Files Attached Files
    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

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