Newsletter HELP!

[JonoBN41]

I'm the president of our alumni association and we're putting together our next newsletter, which will be made available on a website.

Can anyone recommend a good program to do the layout? Right now it's just in Word and not very pretty. Since I don't know HTML, I was hoping there might be software that makes it easier to format the whole thing.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jono
Lambda Chi Alpha

[GammaPhiBabe]

If you are comfortable with Word (and you don't want to spend a lot of $$$ for software), try Microsoft Publisher. It's very easy to use and it is compatible with Word. It's not too expensive and it can be used for a variety of things, including newsletters.

One thing: I take it that you are printing these yourself and not having them professionally printed, right? If you are working on a small scale, Publisher works well. If you are printing hundreds of newsletters and having them professionally printed, Publisher is not your best option.

Hope this helps! I work in graphic design and layout.

[Cluey]

I am seconding GammaPhiBabe's advice. If you are just strictly wanting to create a newsletter that you will be producing on your own, Publisher is a great utility. Also, as a bonus, you can convert your Publisher file to a webpage with very little extra work (you just insert links between pages).

If you really wanted to get in depth with layout, you would do Adobe PageMaker or Quirk Express. They aren't as easy to use, but they are the standard if you will be sending your document to a printer to produce.

Just some of my thoughts...

[adduncan]

Just chiming in to confirm everything said above.

I do websites and newsletter layout for a living. If you need a program that is 100% intuitive and takes virtually no training, Publisher is the way to go. (If you're a Macintosh fan, it's very similar to "Ready, Set, Go!", another desktop publisher. But since that package is on its way to Software Heaven, stick w/ Publisher.) On a similar note, you can convert it to Adobe Acrobat in one click if you have that program.

PageMaker is extremely powerful but it takes a TON of practice to use. Even with their built-in templates, the tweaking takes a great deal of work, esp if you are just learning. 99 times out of 100, when I think I need PageMaker, I'll just bag it and convert to Publisher--you're hearing that from a power-user that's been trained in PageMaker and the entire Adobe line of tools.

Feel free to drop me a PM anytime if you need some pointers. I'll be glad to set you in the right direction.

Adrienne