THE Print Shop Deluxe



Author:  Lynn Hunsinger

Date: March, 1994

Keywords: Br*derbund application printing software review program

Text:
     I was excited when I found out that THE Print Shop Deluxe was
available for review through our Mac User Group. I first used THE Print
Shop back in my Apple ][ days. It was a unique program. It made
banners, signs and greeting cards. The graphics were crude, and it was
sooooo.. slooow, but no other program was quite like it. My students
loved it.
          Later I had a version for the Mac. It was, perhaps, an
improvement over the Apple ][ version. But, it was still very slow, and
was not compatible with System 7. Reluctantly, I gave it up. There were
rumors that a new, System 7 version was in the works. Here it was, and
I was eager to try it out.
          I installed it on my MacClassic II (with 8 MB RAM, a 68020
processor, and operating on System 7.1). Then I took it out for a spin.
          Well, THE Print Shop has grown up. I guess that is why they
call it THE Print Shop Deluxe. Now it can import or export graphics!
The graphics are really crisp and clear. It still makes banners, signs,
and greeting cards, but now it also makes calendars and letterheads.
There are now four types of cards; signs, laid out vertically or
horizontally; and banners that have borders that stretch or shrink to
fit the message.
          All can be customized in almost endless combinations.
Graphics, borders and text can be stretched or shrunk. Headlines, which
are a special type of text, can be bent, twisted, highlighted and
shadowed in four different directions, and on, and on. These can be
placed on the page anywhere you want them, and they can be placed on a
large number of backgrounds.
          THE Print Shop Deluxe can print in black and white, gray
scale or color. It can even dither the colors for a better
presentation.
     Br*derbund also sells other graphics packages made just for THE
Print Shop Deluxe. They also sell specialty paper to print on, and a
foil that you can tape to a page before printing on a laser printer.
The heat of the printing makes the foil tape adhere only where the
letters were supposed to print. When you peel off the tape, you have
letters in glittery gold, silver, blue or whatever. Wow!
          My wish list for the program would include more freedom in
shaping the headlines, and a graphics editor. It has an Edit Graphics
selection, but this option just lets you choose a different graphic.
          Yes, THE Print Shop Deluxe is a versatile program, but it has
drawbacks, some major. While editing, THE Print Shop Deluxe does not
recognize the Macintosh double-click convention to select a word. If
you cut some words, then move the screen, an undo will place the words
back where they were on the screen, not back in the text where they
came from. Once I did this and had words on top of words. I undid my
undo and retyped the words.
          It is slow, slower than before. I know that there is a lot
going on, but... I mean, this program is slow. Whenever you reposition
anything, the whole screen is redrawn. This takes half a minute to two
minutes each time. That adds up quickly.
          Printing is slower. For a simple calendar, it took 5 minutes
27 seconds just to spool to the print monitor; 17:03 before the paper
moved in my StyleWriter, and a whopping 32:45 minutes to print a single
sheet. My custom made Christmas, and Thank You cards took much longer.
One took over 15 minutes just to spool.
          The program is massive. It requires 6 MB of disk space to
install. This was reduced to 4.3 MB once I installed it on my hard
drive, (Br*derbund claims 4 MB even). In addition, the Print Monitor
needs to have its memory increased to at least 350k. It normally uses
only 80k to 90k.
          I was concerned that printing was taking so long, so I called
Br*derbund's Tech Help line. The person I talked to was very polite,
but he told me something I found very hard to believe. He said that THE
Print Shop Deluxe wanted to have 4 MB of free disk space to spool to.
          Well, I just happen to be swimming in free space right now. I
took advantage of both the LaCie hard drive and the Bernoulli disk
offers that were mentioned on our Macintosh User Group's SMUGgler's
BBS. The times stated above are with over 200 MB of free space on the
LaCie drive. I don't know how long it takes to print in color.
          I was frustrated by the extreme slowness of the program. But
taking everything into account, the program still has that uniqueness
that made my students love it so much. It can still do wonderful
things, and it can do them even better than before. 
     Program:     THE Print Shop Deluxe
     Published by:     Br*derbund
               500 Redwood Blvd.
               Novato, CA 94948-6121 (800) 521-6263, (415) 382-4750
     Packaging:     Packaged in a large box with three 1.44 MB disks
     Directions:     Several well written manuals; On-line help &
               Balloon Help
     Price:                Retail - $69.00,  MacZone - $46.98
     Requirements:     68020 processor or higher
                    System 7.0 or higher
                    1.44 MB floppy drive
                    Hard disk with 6 MB free (to install)
                    4+ MB after installation
                    4 MB RAM
                    100% Mac-compatible printer (B&W or color)
     

Copyright © march, 1994 by Lynn Hunsinger