The basics of desktop publishing software

Desktop publishing software creates visual communication documents and media files, like business cards, web pages and blogs, newspapers, posters, brochures, and magazines, for personal or professional publishing online or through print. The term “desktop” refers to the personal computer where the software is installed and where the work is performed from design to production. Whether through pre-made templates or creating layouts from scratch using drag-and-drop menus, these tools are used by individuals working in advertising, graphic design, media, and publishing. Ultimately, any organization that publishes print or digital content can use desktop publishing software.

What are the common features of desktop publishing software?

Desktop publishing tools often include popular features like layout editors, prebuilt templates, exporting capabilities, cloud storage, and document rendering. The list below contains some core desktop publishing software features that can help users create various graphic materials: Layout editor: The layout designer and editor offer several design capabilities, including editing images, text, borders, and the ability to resize elements throughout the design. Prebuilt templates: Users don’t have to create a design from scratch, as many design tools have prebuilt templates to choose from. These templates can be for flyers, posters, or infographics. File format exporting capabilities: From JPEGs to PNGs and PDFs, desktop publishing software lets users export files and designs into various formats, depending on their use. Cloud storage: Many desktop publishing tools allow users to save their page designs and projects into the cloud for security and easy sharing capabilities amongst larger teams. Layout adaptation: Layout adaptation automatically formats images and content to fit perfectly into blank areas of available space. For example, a template column with an area design for an image will automatically scale the image to fit the column, so the user doesn’t need to resize the image. Asset libraries: Users can use asset libraries, which often come with resources like icons, texts, and fonts, as well as the ability to upload brand elements, files, saved projects, and other apps. Saving preferencing: For designers who work with a specific layout, desktop publishing software can automatically save specific preferences, such as the template and export type. This makes it easier to create and distribute the layout multiple times without starting from scratch.

What are the benefits of desktop publishing software?

There are several benefits to using desktop publishing software. Some of these benefits include: Improved productivity: When using desktop publishing software, the rate of production becomes distinctively higher, thanks to its new technological capabilities and user-friendly platform design. Reduced production, printing, and marketing costs: Using desktop publishing software to print everyday marketing materials is more cost effective than using a third-party printing company. The design process is also less expensive since companies don't have to pay vendor staff members for expensive graphic design work. Simple revisions and customization: When a company finds a design that's almost perfect for its needs or had envisioned within the asset library, it can easily be customized using desktop publishing software. This may mean the layout is slightly modified, but users don't have to settle for the format they find in a template; they can simply make changes. Customizing every file to be what they want is simple, even if the change is small. Improved document quality: With so much functionality and varying features, desktop publishing software can improve the document's quality by making it more interesting, readable, and useful for the end user.

Page 3 | Best Desktop Publishing Software: User Reviews from September 2026

Picmaker

Picmaker - The smart AI-powered social media platform! With 1M+ users and counting, Picmaker is the ultimate all-in-one solution for businesses and individuals looking to boost their social presence. Discover trending topics, create stunning designs, schedule posts, engage audience, and analyze metrics - all in one place. Plus, Picmaker's AI features helps you with endless design suggestion, smart post captions, best time to publish , trending content and staying ahead of the competition. Get started for free with one of 10,000 built-in professional social media templates. Get access to 100 million images, 100,000 icons, colors, objects, shapes, and graphic elements that make your social graphics unique. Or, bring in our content calendar and one click scheduler, and get started right away - all within minutes. Visit https://www.picmaker.com/ to create a login id. If you already have a login id, visit https://accounts.animaker.com/login/picmaker/.

Average Rating: 4.7/5.0

Total Reviews: 111

How Do G2 Users Rate Picmaker?

Has the product been a good partner in doing business?: 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
Publishing formats: 9.4/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
File Storage: 9.1/10 (Category avg: 8.6/10)
Layout editor: 9.6/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)

Who Is the Company Behind Picmaker?

Seller: Animaker, Inc
Year Founded: 2015
HQ Location: San Francisco, California
Twitter: @animakerhq
4,054 Twitter followers
LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
199 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

Who Uses This: Director
Top Industries: Marketing and Advertising, Information Technology and Services
Company Size: 80% Small, 16% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Picmaker?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros

Users love the extensive template selection for YouTube thumbnails, appreciating its easy customization and quick support.
Users enjoy the ease of creation with Picmaker, thanks to its vast templates and quick customer support.
Users praise the quick customer support that efficiently assists with their needs and questions.
Users appreciate the super quick customer support of Picmaker, making their experience smooth and efficient.
Users value the easy customizability of Picmaker, especially with its extensive YouTube thumbnail templates.

Cons

Users note a limited selection of templates for various categories, which restricts creative options on Picmaker.
Users feel disappointed by the lack of diverse templates in Picmaker, limiting their creative options.
Users feel the lack of templates for various categories limits their design options in Picmaker.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Picmaker?

"Having excellent photos made this tool suitable to produce content that is visually appealing."

Rating: 5.0/5.0 stars

— Snehal B.

Best Desktop Publishing Software - Page 3

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Category Stats (Sep 2026)

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