Is MS Word any good for desktop publishing?

Desk top publishing used to mean 'at home': DIY, printing, but even professionals work at the desktop nowadays. Locked down Design professionals will have had their Imacs couriered to their homes to allow work to continue.

It seems unlikely a professional would use Word to produce a poster or a leaflet or a brochure… but what happens if that’s all you’ve got?

Microsoft have spent decades adding features to Word, (I imagine most of us only use 20% of it’s functionality). I use if for grammar and spell checking. I type the poster/flyer/brochures text in Word and paste it into the desktop publishing software, after I’m happy with it’s content.

This can cause problems, so I often drop it into Notepad++ as an intermediary step to make sure all the Word formatting has gone.

But… Word has a mind of it’s own and is probably going to cause extra stress when designing your flyer.

My personal recommendation is to use PowerPoint for simple layouts. Just make sure the page is setup to the final size before starting (not the default Power Point page).

Your other options, rather than using Word, are many and varied. Probably best not to use open source Apps, they haven’t had the time and skill invested in them that Microsoft uses to ensure their suites are slick and bug free.

Serif provided a free version of their ‘obsolete/legacy’ software called Serif PagePlus Starter Edition. Google it and download the software; it is available on cnet.com.

Of course, many of us are working 'in the cloud' and some Apps (such as Canva) provide you with a platform for relatively easily creating professional and modern layouts.

Just check you aren’t working in non print/American sizes.

Alternatively get in touch with Minuteman Press, Stockport for a professional design service.
It will cause you less grief and stress.

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