Marq vs. Microsoft Publisher

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Marq
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Marq, formerly Lucidpress, is a design & brand templating platform that enables users to create & share branded collateral. Marq offers consistency so brands can deliver its message more effectively wherever it goes. The vendor states over 5 million people use Lucidpress to create, customize, control & distribute their brand’s content.N/A
Microsoft Publisher
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application available with an Office 365 subscription, or as a standalone download.
$139
one time purchase
Pricing
MarqMicrosoft Publisher
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Microsoft Publisher
$139
one time purchase
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
MarqMicrosoft Publisher
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
MarqMicrosoft Publisher
Best Alternatives
MarqMicrosoft Publisher
Small Businesses
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.8 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Canva
Canva
Score 9.1 out of 10
Canva
Canva
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.8 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 9.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
MarqMicrosoft Publisher
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
MarqMicrosoft Publisher
Likelihood to Recommend
It’s a good platform to provide a hub for locked down template management. If you are needing a service for managing branded assets and users across multiple teams or departments this can be a good fit. However if you are looking for an online design software you may be better served by other platforms
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Microsoft Publisher is well suited for almost any situation. It is something that I'm sure has far more advanced tools than I use or am aware of, but it is also very simple for entry-level users to create professional documents quickly. I have used it for very involved brochures in real estate scenarios and I have also used it for very simple "Construction Zone" signs at a job site under construction. There are so many uses for this program!
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Pros
  • User management
  • Easy to create and edit templates
  • Able to install an approval layer to govern use
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  • Microsoft Publisher is just like Word, but Publisher, give much more features like multi page printing of single image and banner
  • We have faced very much difficulties for picture control in Microsoft Word, but Microsoft Publisher has much advanced picture. Control features with multiple alignment and distortion correction function.
  • We are also using Publisher for big banners for streets for promotion of our products, which is helping us on a very large scale advertisement with in-house design, designing, and printing of large banners easily
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Cons
  • Automated page numbering would be amazing
  • Scroll button should be darker to find it easier
  • More template options
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  • Formatting in general. It's a pain to refine a layout in Publisher in my opinion.
  • Microsoft is so invested in their approach to software and making it look and feel like an Office 365 application that they inadvertantly cripple applications like Publisher.
  • Earlier versions of Publisher gave you a lot more latitude and creative freedom. They were also much easier to work with. Not everything has to look like it's part of Office 365. They did the same ... thing to Access.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
It has a great feature set but does not overwhelm me with its complexity. This is not an entry-level program, but it is also not one of the top of line graphic designer programs, like Abode In-Design. I can use Publisher to do 95% of what I need to get done. The other 5% I farm out to the graphics design person in the organization. It simply works and does so in a simple to use manner.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
While I have not directly used support for Microsoft Publisher, I have used their help files and found them to be useful. I have also found that most answers that I need can be found through simple web searches and chat platforms. In all though, there are very few times when the preloaded help files have not given me the answers that I need.
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Alternatives Considered
I tried to use Canva as a more affordable option early on but found that the platform didn't really work well with text and creating cohesive design was difficult because of the way the page layouts were. Every page was separate and it wasn't easy to scroll to find errors in margins, font size, and spacing.
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Microsoft Publisher is more for beginners, or for basic needs, anyone with some familiarity with the Microsoft suite should be able to use it easily. If you’re looking to create something more graphic and advanced, you’d probably want to look into something like InDesign, which is not as user friendly if you’re not familiar with it at all. For basic needs the average employee should be able to use Microsoft Publisher with ease.
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Return on Investment
  • I am able to save over $10K per issue by doing the design and layout myself.
  • I am able to save at least 2-3 weeks per issue by doing the design and layout myself.
  • I don't need to employ a team to compile each issue, I do it all myself.
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  • Don't really have a way to measure ROI in my industry (Religious organization), but let me say, Publisher is at the heart of the way that I do things. If I did not have it, then my productivity would be crushed and the ability to communicate with individuals within the annual conference would be greatly diminished.
  • Publisher allows me to produce quality, sometimes complex, documents in a simple and efficient manner.
  • It has been my go-to program for the majority of my communication needs for more than 10 years. It would be difficult to do my job without Publisher.
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ScreenShots

Marq Screenshots

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