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lindarobin -> The PrintShop Photo Projects (formerly the Print Shop Zoom) - a review (6/8/2007 7:23:51 PM)
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This product is unlike all PrintShop programs version 22 and before. While PrintShop Deluxe and ProPublisher are desktop publishing programs, I wouldn't describe Zoom as such. The interface reminds me of the older American Greetings Create a Card program. All the main features are presented to you on big tabs or buttons. No screen wide menu bar or toolbars.
Deluxe and ProPublisher can be considered serious work tools, but Zoom is a fun and quick way to print out a great-looking card or album page with its contemporary images and updated layouts.
You will like Zoom as long as you are happy with the template layouts as they are presented to you. You cannot change the page or paper size. The templates are made for 8.5 x 11 paper. There is no custom sizing option.
Zoom provides basic photo-editing tools such as cropping, lighten/darken, tinting, change to B/W - just like the "Photo Workshop" included in other PrintShop programs. Simple jobs like removing a yellowish cast from your photo can be done in a click, but something more complex like blending photos together cannot be done.
Zoom is for print projects only. Nothing can be saved or exported as a different file format to be used in other programs. However, you can print the project to a PDF printer, if you have one installed. I used the free download from here
and it created a perfect PDF file with embedded fonts so the PDF can be taken to a professional printer with results that are super sharp and vibrant.
Once you create the PDF, you can open it with other Adobe programs such as PhotoShop Elements and edit it and save as JPG. You can also print to the MS document writer - MicroSoft's answer to PDF.
(If you're like me, nothing stops you from creating web images from your Zoom projects. Just do a screenshot and edit the contents in a photo-editing program - MS Paint works just fine.)
One project that I do NOT recommend is calendars. You can only select the existing calendar templates. Extremely limiting, especially as the templates cannot be updated to future years.
If your goal is to make documents for a small business, Zoom is not the proper tool for you. You need the additional features such as mail merging and custom paper sizing, offered in PrintShop Deluxe and up.
Zoom's help is displayed by your browser. Easy to read because it's not very long and then you can jump right into making projects. Work with the templates you are given and keep it simple and you will find Zoom just about the easiest program to use.
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