Affinity Publisher. Full price was $49.99 $49.99 Now $24.99 $24.99. Free Journal, a Microsoft Garage project. Free Save $40.00 Leonardo. Full price was $79.99 $79.99 Now $39.99 $39.99. Save $10.00 Scrble Ink. Full price was $16.99 $16.99 Now $6.99 $6.99. Microsoft Font Maker. Like its two companion apps, Affinity Publisher offers an impressive array of design tools for a modest fee of just £48.99/ $49.99. In contrast, Adobe’s ‘single app’ subscription for InDesign costs around £20 per month on an annual contract for an individual license (with higher rates for businesses that require multiple licenses). Affinity Publisher 1.8 is here, and as usual is free to existing users on the platform(s) you have purchased a license for. Read our handy guide—How to install Affinity updates—if you need any help updating. So what’s new in Affinity Publisher 1.8? This is a biggie. Affinity Publisher has to be number one. You can do 99% of what you can do with Adobe's InDesign, for $50/user lifetime (even cheaper if you buy in bulk), as opposed to a. Adobe InDesign – Our Choice. Handles print and e-books. Top-tier interface and instruments.
The Affinity Publisher is making a tough time to its competitors, especially for Adobe InDesign, and its unique attributes are filling the digital publishing space. Although it lacks certain features, the cost-effectiveness is enough to enter the market and stand against the industry giant – Adobe.
Read further and found out who is the winner in the Affinity Publisher vs InDesign duel.
About The Affinity Publisher
Serif released the full version of Affinity Publisher on June 2019, and it is running on a Mac OS and Microsoft Windows as well.
Publisher works like InDesign and being the part of Serif product line alongside with Affinity Photo, and Affinity Designer makes him a powerful tool, and with the use of the whole family, you can create any type of publishing media imaginable.
Affinity Publisher Making it Hard for InDesign
Tutorial Videos
The Affinity Publisher provides several tutorial videos for the beginners. They help you to understand the essential functions like setting a new document or adding the text etc.
If you are a new user or even an advanced one, you should watch the introductory videos to utilize the program to the maximum.
I cannot merely say that Affinity Publisher is a copy of InDesign. If you are familiar with Adobe InDesign, you would probably know how to set up the master spread, when designing a book or brochure.
The same feature is available in Publisher, but it works a bit differently than in InDesign, so you have to get used to its design process.
Features And Workflow
If you are accustomed to the InDesign, you will immediately see the resemblance between the two. They both have similar tools and features, but the workflow of Publisher is relatively unique, and like with every new program, it takes some time to get used to it.
If you haven’t used InDesign before, you will find Affinity Publisher smoother to use because it has a better UX design compared to InDesign, which makes you find the desired functions with ease and fewer clicks.
Use For Different Media
Affinity designer is not limited only for the use of print media, but you can also use it for making online presentations, e-books, and if you’re a UX designer, you can neven use it for creating wireframes for apps or websites.
What About The Performance?
InDesign lacks in handling power of the workflow and is quite RAM thirsty. Especially users with slightly older computers or the ones who make designs on a laptop can definitely feel how much power InDesign needs for running.
InDesign Fast Display function can resolve the problem to some degree. However, you would have to complete the design without seeing the actual pixel quality, which might lead to a problem later on in a printing process.
On the other hand, Publisher is quicker in handling the document. No matter what workstation you are using, PC or laptop: images will remain sharp, and you will not face any crushing problems which are typical for InDesign.
Imitation of The Interface
To attract the users of InDesign, Publisher had to make the interface looking similar to InDesign, for instance, Strokes, Swatches, and Colors are in their usual positions.
Even though the Publisher imitated some of the InDesign’s features, it improved the overall usability of a program, with the use of the vital commands available right at your fingertips.
Asset Panel
Publisher’s assets panel is an attractive feature for many users. You can choose between different pre-made vector icons, which you can simply drag into your designs. This feature can improve and fasten your design process.
Should You Consider Switching to Affinity Publisher?
If creating magazines, brochures, and other print media daily, Affinity Publisher is brilliant software to use. It has an impressive interface, enough capacity to deal with the complicated task, and has a unique attributes list.
It is also part of the StudioLink, which is one of the most noteworthy things Serif has created. It enables you to alter photographs, make vectors, and create page breaks inside one application.
Best fit for Publisher would be a freelance graphic designer or small designer team, and if you are one of the two you should consider shifting from InDesign.
Despite being a new player in the publishing business, it is still a professional-grade all-in-one publication tool, that will definitely suit all your needs.
On the other hand, if you work in an environment where everyone uses Adobe InDesign, switching to Affinity Publisher most likely isn’t the right choice.
The Publisher Needs Some Essential Nuts and Bolts
When the software was in sill in a Beta form, developers were collecting users feedback to make necessary improvements for the final version. However, there are still some specific features missing, which might be quite unfavorable for some users.
For example, if you want to make a three-fold brochure where you put together three spreads one next to another, you can, for now, forget about it.
Another thing that you can not make with Publisher are interactive presentations, and if you make a lot of those, I suggest you stick with the InDesign for now because Serifs said that they are not planning to take any steps in that direction.
Farewell to Adobe InDesign?
Publisher covers print and in some way also web design, besides it’s made for both Windows and Mac operating system. You will be able to create single or multi-page documents, books, brochures, and magazines with ease, and if you’re looking for processing speed, power, and flexibility, the Publisher is the ideal choice for you.
Before purchasing Publisher, be sure to check out how long your Adobe subscription lasts, so you won’t be stuck with two programs that do the same job.
Final Words: Affinity Publisher Vs Adobe InDesign
With the one-off payment of $49.99 Publisher is an excellent choice if you’re looking for an InDesign substitute, which runs at $239,88/yr, besides being a cheaper alternative Serif also offers free updates on all their programs.
Even though Affinity Publisher is not perfect yet, developers are listening carefully to the design community and are developing new tools that will come with future updates, besides that they are trying to make the program runs smoothly as possible, without any crushes.
If you’re still on the fences, try the Publisher trial version, test it out, and it might convince you to dump InDesign for good (I know I did).
If you’re interested in other Affinity products, you can also read my review about Affinity Designer vs. Adobe Illustrator here on DesignyUp.
Affinity Publisher Cost
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