The Print Shop Deluxe III
YOUR ONE STOP SHOP FOR PRINTING….AGAIN
A Review of The Print Shop Deluxe III
by Rich Cunningham
Many, many years ago, back in the dark ages of home computers, when the land was ruled by Ataris, Commodores, and Sinclairs, back in the days when Microsoft was still a struggling software company, a program was released that made it very easy to use these computers. It was a program that made it very easy to print items on your home computer, such as invitations, banners, posters, all sorts of items that were useful. The name of this program was The Print Shop, and the company that published it was Broderbund Software.
When I was asked to review the latest revision of The Print Shop, I was nostalgically reminded of the version of this program I used many years ago. It was on my Atari 800XL, and I was using an Atari 1025 printer (yes, in those days, it wasn’t unusual for computer makers to also make their printers as well). In fact, I printed the announcements and thank you cards for my first daughter’s birth using that program. I still have some of them, and, truthfully they look a little amateurish by today’s standards. But, like a lot of others, I soon left my Atari behind, and went on to other computers and publishing programs. So I was curious to see how The Print Shop had survived the test of time, and how it stacked up against the high power programs of today.
The answers: very well to the first, and it could be better to the second. But the answers have to be placed in the proper perspective. First of all, The Print Shop is available in 3 versions today: The Print Shop, The Print Shop Deluxe III, and The Print Shop Ensemble III. (The version I will be looking at is The Print Shop Deluxe III, so comments about this program may not apply to the other two.) As a program that is designed for home use, The Print Shop Deluxe III has progressed along with technology over the years, and gives very good results. It is now available on CD ROM, and taking advantage of that technology, includes some extras on the disk. As far as comparing it to the high powered programs of today, it lacks in it’s punch. But that is what makes it such an attractive program to home users. It is very easy to sit down, and with very little experience, create an attractive document.
The program is very easy to install and use. It supports the Windows 95 autorun feature, and can be installed under Windows 3.1 as well. Once installed, it is run by clicking the appropriate Print Shop icon. The opening screen is a pictorial menu of 8 items, called projects, that the user can choose to work with. These include Greeting Cards, Signs & Posters, Banners, Certificates, Stationery, Calendars, Labels, and some Extras. In each project area, there is an option to select a ready made item, or to create one from scratch. If the user selects the ready made path, they are stepped through some basic choices such as theme type, and then print the document. With the start from scratch path, there are a few more choices involved, such a backdrop, graphic, and other print-oriented items. These items are explained in the included manual, and help is also available while using the program. I recommend using the included tutorial a time or two until a user feels comfortable with the program.
The CD includes a lot of data that can help make a document easier to design. There are over 500 of the ready made projects, as well as many professionally designed layouts. There are also 80+ graphics libraries, that total over 4500 graphics, 73 TrueType fonts, as well as thousands of special text and graphics effects. These items can be used to give documents a polished look for an endless number of occasions. The program can be installed in one of three ways. The first way is a Typical installation that requires 13mb of hard disk space, and includes the most common items used in the program. The second way is the full installation, and requires 38mb of hard disk space. This installation installs the full CD on the disk, and allows the user to run the program without the CD. The third installation is a custom install, that allows the user to determine what components are installed on the hard disk, and the space requirements vary with the items selected.
Comparing The Print Shop Deluxe III to a program such Corel Draw or Adobe Printshop is not the type of comparison that accurately reflects the quality of the program. They are aimed at totally different markets. Comparing these programs is like comparing a Chrylser mini-van to an Indy race car. They both are automobiles, but serve totally different markets. The Print Shop Deluxe III is for the home market, and in that arena it is second to none. It has an identity that has stood the test of time, and in this day and age of ever changing technology, that speaks well for the product.
Multimedia Cafe Scorecard
| Product: | The Print Shop Deluxe III |
| Company: | Broderbund |
$29.95
System Requirements:
IBM: 486DX-33 minimum; 8mb ram minimum; 13mb hard disk space minimum;
Windows 3.1 or Windows 95; SVGA display adapter and monitor supporting 256
colors or higher; Windows-compatible mouse; Windows-compatible printer
(24-pin, ink jet or laser recommended); CD ROM drive
Breakdown:
Entertainment Value 2
Educational Value 3
Concept 3
Depth 3
Interface 4
Overall Score:
(* 0 rating, 0 votes)
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