create book pages

[gary_anthes]

<p>I'm looking for some simple, cheap (preferably free) Windows-based software that will create book pages, including two-page spreads, into which I can place jpg images and text. I tried Adobe InDesign but it is too expensive and more complicated than I need. I want to create dummy pages that I can print out and make into a draft book for review before submitting to a publisher. I have Photoshop and Word, but not Lightroom. Thanks for your help.<br>

Gary</p>

[peterbcarter]

<p>http://features.en.softonic.com/4-alternatives-to-microsoft-publisher</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>Photoshop and Lightroom are not workable for formatted text. You can format text and graphics with Illustrator 'til the cows come home - one page at a time. Microsoft Word is fine for creating text content, but not for formatting with images (beyond a few pages, you will spend more time adjusting and repairing than adding content). Publisher is only slightly better than Word, and is best limited to organization newsletters of 4 pages or less without serious text streaming and formatting.</p>

<p>Take the time and learn InDesign. It will do all you ask, easily, and is accepted by every service bureau I've done business with. It has basically supplanted Quark as the publishing gold standard.There is no practical to the number of pages and photos you can create, and the results are stable (unlike Word). Images are linked, not embedded as in Microsoft products, so the file size stays relatively small. You can "rent" InDesign for $10 a month. Since so many professional editors use it, and there is a good forum at Adobe.com, you have ample free (and paid) advice at your disposal. The best learning source I've found is Lynda.com, books or web service.</p>

<p>Since each page is complete unto itself in InDesign, you can use built-in tools for imposing a booklet in a variety of formats (e.g., saddle fold). I do my own imposition for proofs and limited runs, but your publisher may need to redo it depending on their printing process. I number the template page, outside the printing area, to keep things straight at a glance. You can key images to the text, and they will flow with the text from frame to frame. Or you can lock images to a page, and flow text around them. Everything is in fixed (but adjustable) frames (not the "windowshade" frames used by PageMaker and Publisher). You can link frames so that text flows properly, even once the document is imposed.</p>

<p>I've used every cheap program, including Publisher, I could find before my first professional program, PageMaker. I've used InDesign since version 1, at least daily, creating thousands of documents along the way. Cheap programs change formats like socks, without regard to compatibility, style or content. InDesign versions are backwards compatible since the beginning of time (you can open old projects, but just can't go back to an earlier version of InDesign without lossy intermediate formats).</p>

[JeffOwen]

<p>I use Word (my version is from Office 2003) to set the type and import photos to make a book. Once imported you can change the size of the image and move it around the text etc.<br>

It is not the easiest of programs to use but works for me. There may be free programs like Libra Office that can do a similar task.</p>

[MathewDH]

<p>Actually, formatting text in Photoshop is simple and easy to do and only has to be adjusted line by line. Once you have the tools understood and have some experience doing the work, it goes well. The last book I created had about 30+ pages of text combined with photos. The biggest challenge is working out several page layouts where the pictures will go, before the text is added. CHEERS...Mathew</p>