Microsoft Publisher has long served as a simple desktop publishing solution for creating brochures, newsletters, and other print and digital materials. However, Microsoft has announced that Publisher will reach the end of its support lifecycle in October 2026, prompting users to seek alternative tools for their publishing needs. Fortunately, a variety of modern design platforms provide robust options for both digital and print content, ranging from professional-grade software to intuitive, template-driven applications.
This guide highlights three popular desktop publishing solutions —Adobe Express, Adobe InDesign, Canva, and Microsoft Designer —and compares their features, use cases, and strengths.
For quick and easy creation of digital content—such as web graphics, social media posts, or simple flyers—Adobe Express is a strong choice. Canva offers a versatile, user-friendly platform with robust collaboration and digital design features, making it ideal for teams. Microsoft Designer provides a simple, AI-assisted option for users in the Microsoft ecosystem who want to quickly generate polished digital graphics. For professional print layouts or high-quality multi-page publications, Adobe InDesign remains the industry standard.
Audience
This article is intended for students, faculty, and staff.
Platform
Web, Microsoft Windows, and Apple macOS
Adobe Express
Adobe Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is a browser‑ and mobile‑friendly design tool from Adobe that focuses on rapid creation of graphics, web pages, and short videos. It emphasises ease of use, template‑based workflows, built‑in stock assets, and generative AI features.
Key Features
- Drag‑and‑drop interface for combining images, video clips, artwork, and audio.
- Large template library (static + video formats) for social posts, flyers, banners, and presentations.
- “Quick actions” such as background removal, image/video resizing, format conversion (PNG↔JPG, video→GIF).
- Integration with Adobe Stock assets and Adobe Fonts.
- Basic collaboration and brand‑management tools (for teams) and generative‑AI features such as image generation.
Use Case
- Suitable for users who need to create marketing materials, social‑media graphics, short videos, and other digital content quickly.
- Less suited for complex multi‑page print layouts or highly customised desktop‑publishing workflows.
- Good option for authors, content creators, and small teams needing speed and templates.
Adobe InDesign
Adobe InDesign is Adobe’s professional desktop‑publishing application, widely used for multi‑page layouts for print and digital publication.
Key Features
- Robust page‑layout tools: master pages, style sheets (paragraph, character, object styles), multi‑page document management.
- Advanced typography, support for print‑ready output (bleed, printer’s marks, ink separation), and digital formats (EPUB, interactive PDF).
- Ability to import/export or link multiple file types, manage assets, and interactive elements (buttons, hyperlinks, audio/video) in digital layouts.
- Collaboration and cloud document support in the latest versions.
Use Case
- Ideal for individuals who produce print‑oriented publications like books, brochures, catalogues, and detailed reports.
- The most capable option for complex layout, typography, and publication workflow, but also the steepest learning curve and highest cost.
- Less ideal if you only need simple graphic content or social‑media posts.
Canva
Canva is a web‑based design tool oriented toward accessibility and speed, offering drag‑and‑drop design for graphics, simple layouts, video, and presentations. It also supports collaboration and brand‑kit features.
Key Features
- Intuitive interface, large template library for graphics, presentations, videos, and social content.
- PDF editor (convert and edit PDFs), text‑to‑image AI, and video editing features.
- Free tier and paid (“Pro”, “Teams”) tiers with expanded assets, brand management, storage (e.g., 1 TB storage on Pro), and team collaboration.
- Ability to upload custom fonts (in Pro) and manage brand assets (logos, palettes, etc).
Use Case
- Excellent for users who need to produce visually appealing content quickly for web/digital use with minimal layout complexity.
- Particularly useful when you need to collaborate or share brand assets across a team.
- Less suited than InDesign when the output is a high‑end print publication or complex multi‑page documents with heavy typography demands.
Microsoft Designer
Microsoft Designer is a cloud-based design tool that integrates with Microsoft 365 and leverages AI to simplify the creation of graphics, social media posts, and marketing materials.
Key Features
- AI-assisted design: Generate layouts, suggest images, and create content based on text prompts.
- Template library: Prebuilt designs for social media, presentations, flyers, and invitations.
- Integration with Microsoft 365: Seamless use of OneDrive assets, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft apps.
- Collaboration: Real-time co-authoring with team members.
- Free and subscription-based options within Microsoft 365.
Use Case
- Ideal for users already in the Microsoft ecosystem who want a simple, AI-assisted tool for digital content creation.
- Suitable for creating quick marketing materials, social posts, and light design work, but less suited for complex multi-page print layouts or professional publishing.
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