Quick Printing

MAY 2013

Quick Printing is the only business resource serving the quick and small commercial printing niche in North America. Quick Printing is the authoritative source for business information, emerging technologies, shop profiles and management insight.

Issue link: https://quickprinting.epubxp.com/i/124861

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 33 of 43

DIGITAL ORIGINAL software has been around a long time and users are finding it is as feature rich as Microsoft Office. More importantly, open source products support the common document file types, including Microsoft file formats. Most free or open source alternatives to Microsoft Office have the basic applications for office productivity: word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. Several of the alternatives provide more, including drawing applications, database tools, and storage options. The top free programs to look at include ApacheOpenOffice, LibreOffice, GoogleDocs, and NeoOffice. Apache OpenOffice and LibreOffice are built on the same open source code. They let you save documents in the OpenDocument format, read Microsoft Word documents, and save your work in the Word format and standard Excel formats. Both suites include a word processor, a spreadsheet application, a presentation application, an image application, and a database tool. Both support the Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems and have third-par- ty extensions and templates available. LibreOffice offers additional functionality, including PDF import, a presentation minimizer, and a Wiki publisher. NeoOffice has most of the same features found in OpenOffice, but it focuses on Mac users. The newest version supports OS X 10.8 and integrates into the OS X interface and use of Mac OS X fonts and printing services. It also provides support for a fee. GoogleDocs is available to anyone with a Google account so they can create, For more information, visit MyPRINTResource.com/10004781 34 QUICK PRINTING / May 2013 share, and collaborate on the Web. It has tools for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and forms, all centrally stored and accessed via the cloudbased storage service Google Drive. Software is changing. You can expect standalone software packages to start disappearing as online delivery becomes common. Subscriptions provide a consistent revenue stream for software companies. You may end up paying more for the software over the life of the product, but you should gain so many advantages it will be worth it. You will also see additional free open source software options come on the scene. In the end, the user will benefit. ◗◗ John Giles is a consultant and technology director for CPrint International. He is the author of "12 Secrets for Digital Success" and "The DTP PriceList". He can be reached at 954-224-1942 or john@cprint.org. You can also find John on Twitter at @JohnG247 and LinkedIn. Read his blog at www.MyPRINTResource.com/blogs/john-giles. Order John's books from Crouser & Associates (MyPRINTResource.com/10004688). For more information, visit MyPRINTResource.com/10004688 w w w. M y P R I N T R e s o u r c e . c o m

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Quick Printing - MAY 2013