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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Publisher

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application available with an Office 365 subscription, or as a standalone download.

    $139

    one time purchase

    Vellum Publishing App

    Score6 out of 10
    N/AVellum is a publishing tool by 180g, that enables users to create ebooks for every platform: Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, etc. Each specialized file can guide readers to buy the writer's next book in their favorite store. Vellum is currently available for Mac.

    $199.99

    one-time fee

    Pricing
    Microsoft PublisherVellum Publishing App
    Editions & Modules
    Microsoft Publisher
    $139
    one time purchase
    Vellum eBooks
    $199.99
    one-time fee
    Vellum Press
    $249.99
    one-time fee
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft PublisherVellum Publishing App
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft PublisherVellum Publishing App
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    180g
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    12 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    12 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    80%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    4 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    83%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft PublisherVellum Publishing App
    Small Businesses
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft PublisherVellum Publishing App
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.4
    (13 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.3
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft PublisherVellum Publishing App
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Publisher is well suited for almost any situation. It is something that I'm sure has far more advanced tools than I use or am aware of, but it is also very simple for entry-level users to create professional documents quickly. I have used it for very involved brochures in real estate scenarios and I have also used it for very simple "Construction Zone" signs at a job site under construction. There are so many uses for this program!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    Vellum is perfect for novels, novellas, short fiction anthologies, and any lightly illustrated fiction. It’s excellent for most non-fiction. It’s great for e-Books and Paperbacks. I haven’t tried using the file for hardcover but it is likely good for that as well. Vellum wouldn’t be the right tool for coffee-table art books, picture books or children’s illustrated books.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • Design of my quarterly full color magazine: (usually 28-56 pages in length)
    • Design of the quarterly planning system used by me and others in the annual conference.
    • Design and layout of any document that requires graphics/photos.
    • Simple to use with ample flexibility and strength of features
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    • Professional, Tasteful Formatting
    • Table of Contents management
    • File Management
    • Ease of switching elements (i.e. Chapter, Acknowledgement, About the Author etc.)
    • Beautiful Style Sheets
    • Generating uploadable files quickly and painlessly
    • Previewing for a variety of formats and devices
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • Formatting in general. It's a pain to refine a layout in Publisher in my opinion.
    • Microsoft is so invested in their approach to software and making it look and feel like an Office 365 application that they inadvertantly cripple applications like Publisher.
    • Earlier versions of Publisher gave you a lot more latitude and creative freedom. They were also much easier to work with. Not everything has to look like it's part of Office 365. They did the same ... thing to Access.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    • Could improve ability to change the look of a design element like Ornamental Break.
    • Doesn’t currently output in Smashwords .doc format (but does EPUB).
    • Spell Check is rudimentary but accurate - still, it’s much better to use Word or Grammarly.
    • If style uses initial drop cap, it doesn’t handle one-letter words well (I, A, O) - repeats letter in sentence. This may be standard practice, not sure.
    • There are a couple dozen styles. I would gladly pay for a “Style Pack” to add on additional styles.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    We use this product 2-3 times a month and have not been able to find a comparable alternative.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Microsoft
    There are a few quirks with Microsoft Publisher that make some functions a little tricky for new users at first, but most of our employees are able to figure out the quirks and work around them to use the product for their job. It is relatively high on the scale of usability.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    While I have not directly used support for Microsoft Publisher, I have used their help files and found them to be useful. I have also found that most answers that I need can be found through simple web searches and chat platforms. In all though, there are very few times when the preloaded help files have not given me the answers that I need.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Publisher is more for beginners, or for basic needs, anyone with some familiarity with the Microsoft suite should be able to use it easily. If you’re looking to create something more graphic and advanced, you’d probably want to look into something like InDesign, which is not as user friendly if you’re not familiar with it at all. For basic needs the average employee should be able to use Microsoft Publisher with ease.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    Up until purchasing Vellum, I’ve used Smashwords Meat Grinder template and Kindle’s PC-Only software. I had to buy a PC just to publish to Kindle - very expensive investment with modest return. Vellum is only for Mac. In fact, it would have been cool if it worked with a PC. But Mac is my ecosystem for writing, and the PC is a pain. I ultimately chose Vellum because it works with my MacBook.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • we have invested on our Microsoft license for our team and that has made a very big productivity for making banners and holdings for our projects as making it from third party would cost much higher and the return is very well over the comparison with third-party vendors
    • Functionality is very easy, so we don’t have to train much to get it in production and use it efficiently so we don’t have to invest much on training and learning things and we can work on it directly with a very basic knowledge as well
    • It has functionality to get stored and share things directly to the OneDrive and using curated links, which is very secure and reliable to transfer files without losing picture and banners quality and share them in lossless quality.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    180g
    • Less time publishing means more time writing
    • Beautiful books sell better than Times New Roman dreck
    • I’ve stayed away from Google Books but will move into that market now
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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