Techies Zone: Scribus - Open Source Desktop Publishing

Scribus is an open-source program that brings award-winning professional page layout to Linux/Unix, MacOS X, OS/2 and Windows desktops with a combination of "press-ready" output and new approaches to page layout. It works similar to Adobe® PageMaker, QuarkXPress or Adobe® InDesign.

With the release of Scribus 1.2, Linux and Unix desktop users have a user friendly, but powerful Desktop Publishing application capable of a broad set of DTP needs. Started with humble beginnings as a Python program to make menus, Scribus has been transformed into a young but rapidly maturing DTP application with numerous professional features, as well as some unique capabilities. Already, in use from everything to club newsletters to small newspaper production to animated interactive PDF presentations a la Power point. or Open Office Impress. Other uses are creating corporate stationery and brochures, small posters and other documents which need flexible layout and/or the ability to output to professional quality image-setting equipment.

While the goals of the program are for ease of use and simple easy to understand tools, Scribus offers support for professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, sophisticated "press-ready" PDF creation, EPS and PDF import/export and creation of color separations and optionally very complete ICC color management - thanks to littlecms, the first for an open source application.

Printing is done via its own internal level 3 PS driver, including support for font embedding and sub-setting with True Type, Type 1 and Open Type fonts. The internal driver fully supports Level 2 Postscript constructs and very large set of Level 3.

In the latest Scribus v1.3.3.11 includes: