Here’s a HEADS UP on a great deal for a publishing and design program we use a lot and don’t hesitate to recommend.

For many years we have used Serif Software’s Page Plus publishing program to make all of our price lists, handouts and other promotional materials. We had used Microsoft Publisher for some time and I came across Page Plus and gave it a try. It did everything that Microsoft Publisher did and more. It was easier to use and it cost considerably less.

Over the years, like most software, it has been continually improved and many new features have been added. This program has professional features that go well beyond most users’ needs, but is still very intuitive to use. No previous experience with a design or layout program is needed. Serif offers online help and a series of videos to acquaint new users and bring them up to speed quickly.

Serif Page Plus X5 (the current version) is offered by Costco at what we think is an amazing price: Just $30.00 (OK… $29.99) for the full version, including shipping.

(Costco’s offer ended on 11/30/11, so we removed the link, but the rest of the comments about PagePlus remain valid!)

Page Plus can also be used with any Gardenware product to create specialty labels and signs for just about any use you can imagine. We have templates available for nearly every layout.  We’ll be glad to e-mail them to you at no cost.

In addition to the ability to create great documents, leaflets, flyers, etc., you can turn any document you have prepared with Page Plus into a PDF file with a mouse click. This makes it easy to create a quote (or any other document) that you may attach to an e-mail to a client or to create documents that may be linked through your website for easy customer access.

I had planned to do an article on Page Plus, hopefully with a special price promotion from Serif for Gardenware users, but when Scott alerted me to this great offer I felt I had to pass it on to you. If you don’t currently have a publishing program or if you are not happy with the one you are using, you should take a look.

I did go online to be sure this is really a great deal. Serif sells direct and lists the package at $99.99 but there are a number of offers for less. Some were as low as $39.99. The ones I checked out were on e-bay and listed limited quantities and did not include shipping. If you are a member, you probably already know you can’t go wrong with Costco.

Scott created our website using another Serif product, Web Plus. They also publish a photo editor but we have little experience with it at this point. You will find in-depth reviews on their products on the internet.

Just so you know, we have no connection to Serif Software. Our only connection to Costco is that we spend too much money with them.

As usual if you have questions don’t hesitate to contact us. If you use Serif products, you might share your experiences with other Gardenware users and prospects who read this blog.