I don't get In Design?

[Indie767]

I tried In Design and found it a pain to place photos to create a print ad, so I used Microsoft Word instead. It is cake to resize images in MS Word - a far easier design tool to use. I guess In Design is for people who don't have MS Word. Again, I don't see any value to In Design, which comes off as a half baked app.  What am I missing? 

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

What are you missing? Proper training for one thing. 

Word is a very good word processor that can do simple layouts. InDesign is a complex page-layout program. They are not meant to compete. 

[Randy Hagan]

To be kind, a lot of capabilities for designing and producing quality materials for print and digital publishing.

If you're truly happy with the design work you get from Microsoft Word, nobody here will dissuade you. You're working with the tools you like and you're getting the results you're looking for. That's all any of us want in life. InDesign can do a lot more in designing and producing print-ready materials, but if you don't need or care about those extra tools and capabilities, I personally am happy for you.

Good luck with your future efforts,

Randy

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

I agree--if you're happy with the result, stay with what you know. I use Word quite a bit and like it. I recently created a 24 page guide that looks as professional as anything I might create in InDesign.

If you are interested in learning InDesign, a lot of community colleges have classes and there are lots of online videos. I recommend getting a 30-day trial from LinkedIn Learning.

[Indie767]

Thanks Dave for this.  MS Word is far more easier to use than In Design.  If I need more capablity, I use Photoshop which is a far better design tool than In Design. 

[BobLevine]

That's like calling a hammer a better tool than a screwdriver. It's absolute nonsense to compare the two.

What you need is some professional training and the desire to learn. Otherwise, stick with Word.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

If you are creating print ads, as per your original post, I would use Photoshop. Save the Photoshop file as a PDF to keep any type you entered in Photoshop nice and crisp. (First save as a standard Photoshop file for future edits, then do a Save As.)

[Indie767]

HI Dave, I agree. Photoshop is a much better tool than In Design. I guess In Design is for people that don't have Word and/or Photoshop. 

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

I was speaking to your current abilities--Word or Photoshop. If I was doing a print ad, I would use either Illustrator or InDesign, with InDesign being my first choice. 

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

HI Dave, I agree. Photoshop is a much better tool than In Design. I guess In Design is for people that don't have Word and/or Photoshop. 

By @Indie767

I don't think you should be making such "bold" opinions about a tool that you don't know.

[leo.r]

I guess In Design is for people that don't have Word and/or Photoshop. 

By @Indie767

You actually got it exactly right. That's why InDesign has been the industry standard publishing software worldwide for the last like 20 years. Unfortunately, it's extremely rare for publishers and printers to have access to either Word or Photoshop, which is why they have to settle for InDesign.

(I know I didn't have to post it.)

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Well, I think most printers would actually have Photoshop, it is why I suggested saving as PDF. Opening in Photoshop would cause potential font problems.

[leo.r]

Well, I think most printers would actually have Photoshop

By @Dave Creamer of IDEAS

Dave, if you were replying to my post, then yes of course they do... that's exactly what I was trying to convey.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

>>Unfortunately, it's extremely rare for publishers and printers to have access to either Word or Photoshop,

I read it the other way around. In either case, we agree a good printer will have the entire Creative Cloud.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Indie767

It's like comparing a basic version of a Notepad = Word - to Word = InDesign 😉 

[Indie767]

Robert, I disagree. Word can is a great tool to roll out is simple designs and layouts. If I need something more, I use Photoshop.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Robert, I disagree. Word can is a great tool to roll out is simple designs and layouts. If I need something more, I use Photoshop.

By @Indie767

Yes, WORD is good enough for a basic text formatting - WITHOUT anything fancy - and as long as you turn off all the "M$ knows better what user need". 

But as others pointed out - Photoshop is for bitmaps - with not much text. 

[rob day]

found it a pain to place photos ...What am I missing?

File>Place...  or drag and drop from the Finder.

[Randy Hagan]

Methinks I'm detecting a leg-pulling ...

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Methinks I'm detecting a leg-pulling ...

By @Randy Hagan

That may be. The OP has been posting since 2017 and was discussing starting with Illustrator back then. One would think that one would learn enough in 7-odd years to produce and ad. 

That would be disappointing. Most of us are busy professionals taking time out of our day to help others. 

[Mike Witherell]

[Don't be] unwilling to learn.--Benjamin Franklin, 1755

[Eugene Tyson]

Saying Word or Photoshop is better than InDesign is like saying a screwdriver is better than a saw. It depends entirely on the job.

Word is great for typing documents.

Photoshop is brilliant for editing images.

InDesign? That’s what you use when you need to combine text, images, precise layout, and professional print output all in one package.

It’s not about making it easier for beginners. It’s about giving professionals control where it counts: typography, styles, master pages, print marks, bleed, colour profiles, linked assets, packaging files, and so on.

If you've never had a print job bounce back from a printer because Word mangled your fonts, colour profiles, or bleeds... consider yourself lucky.

So no shame if Word works for you. But if you're serious about professional print or long-form layout, InDesign isn’t half-baked. It’s the whole kitchen.

The Publisher Panic
One of my first forays into Microsoft for professional output was a logbook for a well-known car manufacturer. They submitted it in MS Publisher. (Which, to be fair, is 100 times better than Word for layout. Still the wrong tool, but at least it knows it's trying.)

They didn’t want the “hassle” of setting it up in Quark properly. So I had to go down to the estimators' office just to edit it, because Publisher was PC-only and they were the only ones with PCs.

I got it over the line CMYK, bleeds, crop marks but not because Publisher made it easy. It's not about the software, it's about the experience behind the wheel. Anyone can glue two bits of wood together. A carpenter makes it last.

The Photoshop Magazine Fiasco
Someone once submitted an entire magazine in Photoshop. Each page a separate file. Want to edit page 51? No problem just open 52, check the reflow. Then open 53. Then 54. Maybe page 50 needs a tweak now too? You see where this is going.

Yes, Photoshop can be used for print-ready files. Doesn’t mean it should be. A magazine needs structure and layout tools. Using Photoshop is like icing a cake with a hammer technically possible, but morally questionable.

PowerPoint Playing Cards
I’ve had a full deck of playing cards arrive in PowerPoint. Looked fine on screen, but didn’t translate to print. Every single card had to be tweaked. We had to make PDFs, open them one by one in Illustrator, and untangle the mess.

Great idea. Bad tool. In the end, it cost them more to fix than it would’ve cost to just do it right from the start.

The Word Report on the Brink
Then there was the 120-page annual report, built entirely in Word. Looked OK on screen... until print day.

Fonts changed randomly. Images were stretched like chewing gum. Headers wandered into the margins like ghosts. The whole document was a ticking mess.

I asked, “Did you use styles for headings and body text?” They said, “What’s a style?” I knew we were in deep.

We rebuilt the whole thing in InDesign properly. Master pages. Styles. Correct image placement. Print-ready PDF with marks and bleeds. No drama. No stress. Just done right.

Here’s the thing with Word
It uses system fonts. Not all fonts are created equal or even the same version. Move that document to another machine and the fonts can go rogue. Text shifts. Layouts break. It's like playing Jenga with a blindfold on.

InDesign links to fonts, images, colour profiles the whole lot. It gives you tools to manage and control the outcome.

Can I design a print-ready job in Word? Yes.
Do I? No.
Because it’s like trying to fix a car engine with a spoon.

If Word’s working for you then grand.

No judgement. If you’re happy using it, keep going.

Just remember MS Paint works too.

So does writing on the back of a cigarette pack and leaving it in the rain.

But don’t mistake “it prints” for “it prints properly.”

[Colin Darby]

You're 13 dys too late mate - it's not April 1st...

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

You're 13 dys too late mate - it's not April 1st...

By @Colin Darby

You mean 15?