Projects:  

Like most print software, PrintMaster Platinum creates standard projects such as posters, brochures, letterhead and more. You can also create photo greeting cards, catalogs, menus and even web pages.

Ease of Use:  

PrintMaster Platinum is easy to use. From the startup screen, you can choose a project from a ready-made design, begin a new project, search through the image library and even send someone an animated greeting card.

The control panel design is simple. Most of your tools are easily visible and you can right click your mouse to access additional editing tools.

Photo/Graphic Tools:  

PrintMaster Platinum’s photo workshop allows you to adjust the color, brightness and focus, fix flaws, add effects and provides helpful hints to illustrate each tool in use.

Text Tools:  

While the text tools in PrintMaster Platinum are some of the best of any printing program we reviewed, you're still limited when working with body text. However, you can rotate body text any degree and add shapes.

Where PrintMaster Platinum really shines is its headline text and title text. You can choose from ready-made headline text or start with a font and customize your own by adding colors, textures or a photo. Shape the headline, add an outline and drop shadows, change the depth of the shadows and set the proportion of the text for the look you want.

Printing/Sharing:  

This is the one area that PrintMaster Platinum falls short. It has limited print options and can only export as a PDF. There isn’t an option for printing color separations either.

Help/Support:  

PrintMaster Platinum offers standard help content along with a built-in help center where you can view or print useful tutorials.

PrintMaster also has online help, email and phone support. The phone option, however requires a fee. You can also check for updates quickly or connect to the Broderbund troubleshooting system through the site’s online support.

If you're looking for desktop publishing software equipped with a large selection of tools and features and easy for computer novices to operate, PrintMaster Platinum by Broderbund is for you. For a more fully-featured option, be sure to check out our #1 pick and “TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award” winner PagePlus for a program with more punch.