Doing Desktop Publishing with Linux Software

Unlike Mac and Windows, there are only a handful of Linux programs for doing desktop publishing. But if Linux is your preferred OS and you want to create fliers, brochures, newsletters, business cards, and the like, then give one of these programs a spin. Because there aren't many Linux options, this list includes more graphics software and office titles for Linux that are often used in conjunction with desktop publishing or to produce typical desktop publishing projects.

Laidout

Laidout 0.096 for Linux is a page layout program by Tom Lechner, a SourceForge.net Project. See this feature comparison chart for Laidout, Scribus, InDesign, and other programs.

"Laidout is desktop publishing software, particularly for multipage, cut and folded booklets, with page sizes that don't even have to be rectangular."

SoftLogik/Grasshopper LLC: PageStream

PageStream page layout and publishing program — Grasshopper, LLC

PageStream 5.8 for Linux (and Mac, Windows, Amiga, MorphOS) is a desktop publishing and page layout program for multiple platforms by Grasshopper, LLC. It also has integrated illustration tools.

Scribus

Scribus 1.5.2 for Linux (and Mac, Windows) is probably the premiere free desktop publishing software application. It has the features of the pro packages, but it's free. Scribus offers CMYK support, font embedding and sub-setting, PDF creation, EPS import/export, basic drawing tools, and other professional level features. It works in a fashion similar to Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress with text frames, floating palettes, and pull-down menus — and without the hefty price tag.

GIMP

GIMP 2.8.20 for Linux (and Windows, Mac, FreeBSD, OpenSolaris) is a popular, free, open-source alternative to Photoshop and other photo editing software.

Inkscape

Inkscape 0.92 for Linux (and Windows, Mac, and will run on FreeBSD, Unix-like systems) is a popular free, open source vector drawing program, Inkscape uses the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Use Inkscape for creating text and graphics compositions including business cards, book covers, flyers, and ads. Inkscape is similar in capabilities to Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW. Inkscape is also being used to create fonts.