Print Artist Grande Suite

Description:

Print Artist Grande Suite is a collection of programs and tools that allow you to publish in print and for the web. Eight CDs provide a vast amount of clip art and photos.

Programs include:

• Print Artist 8.0 - create and print greeting cards, calendars, newsletters, banners and more
• iCollect - collect and archive graphics from various sources
• SnapShot Express - enhance, organize and store your photos
• Web Studio Express - design web sites (includes sounds, animations, and links)
• e-card Express - 50 animated email cards to personalize and send

Features:

• 5 programs
• AGFA Font Manager with over 300 fonts
• Over 200,000 graphics
• Print Artist Graphics Grabber
• Print Artist Graphics Manual
• Customize from 10,000 professionally designed layouts or create your own

Technical Aspects:

CDs #2 through #8 contain the Graphics Grabber Catalog, Print Artist Clip Art, Print Artist JPEG Art, and ART MANIA images. I found the Graphics Manual to be especially helpful because of the enormous volume of available images - it was much quicker for me to flip through the pages of the manual to search for an image, than it was to scroll through the Graphics Grabber. However the Graphics Grabber did work very well and made it very easy to find and attain the desired image.

Report and Conclusions:

I have found that when it comes to desktop publishing programs the rule is: the more it does, the harder it is to use. Print Artist 8.0 is a great middle of the road program. It contains a variety of good quality pre-designed projects and enough tools to create some uniquely customized items - and if that's what you want, it should work well for you. However, if you want a program that will simply allow you to choose a pre-designed card, insert your own message and print it, you may be happier with a program like Greetings Workshop by Microsoft. Likewise, if you've moved beyond templates and pre-designed projects and insist that everything you print be a unique custom creation, then Complete Publisher '99 by Sierra Office will provide you with more tools and options to get the job done.

The other programs included in the suite offer about the same level of family service. Web Studio Express is a good beginner/intermediate tool for designing simple web pages. SnapShot Express is a great tool for budding digital photographers or persons who want to scan, enhance and archive family photos. iCollect is also a great archiving tool, offering thumbnails of stored photos and webpages. I was least impressed with e-card Express. With 50 cards spread over 22 different categories, it left a very narrow selection. Also, I was never able to connect to the mail server to send a card, so I had to send the cards as attachments from my own email program.

Before purchasing a publishing suite, it's important for a family to assess their needs. If you want a desktop publishing program that will provide ready-to-use projects as well as the opportunity for customization, and you believe that the other programs included in this suite will fit you needs, then give Print Artist Grande Suite a try.