PrintMaster Platinum is a well-designed and appealing application that is extremely simple to use and jam-packed with useful features. Even if you are a little new to the world of computers and hesitant to try anything remotely crafty, you can easily create appealing greeting cards that will please your friends, family, business associates, neighbors and just about anyone else. This software is overflowing with options and features, and it boasts one of the largest image libraries we've seen among greeting card software. It easily is our choice for the TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award.
PrintMaster Platinum is so intuitive that it is a pleasure to operate. The application offers ample help and creative advice, and it has one-of-a-kind project ideas that are just a click away. Each new version expands on everything that was good about the previous versions, and additional features emerge to make the software all the more valuable.
One of the newest features is the Greeting Card Wizard that takes you systematically from the very start of your project to the final result, which is the right greeting card for just the right person that you can email or print and send through the postal service.
In PrintMaster Platinum, the entire card-building process is both intuitive and fun. You can create cards from scratch or alter a ready-made card template to fit your needs. PrintMaster Platinum has added even more templates to its latest version, and it boasts an enhanced search function that makes it easy to find matching sets of templates. With this handy tool, you can create sets of matching stationery, party theme-related items and more.
After you pick a project, all your embellishment choices appear on the left-hand side of the screen as labeled icons. A general menu bar appears across the top screen as well.
A general resource gallery runs down the right-hand side of the page, and if you cannot find what you want from the already generous selection of materials included in PrintMaster Platinum, you can purchase and download a number of captivating designer templates, page layouts, clip art, digital kits and more. These come with instructions on how to download and use what you have bought.
To create a greeting card for a particular occasion, just click on the photos, fonts and effects you want to arrange on the greeting card shape you have selected. You can position photos almost effortlessly with the application's simple drag-and-drop feature. Once you have finished the job, just click to save your work. You can also save all your favorite elements, whether they are fonts, pictures, themes, borders or more, in a favorites folder for extra-quick access.
PrintMaster has plenty of features that let you create exactly the right card for any occasion. After picking a template, you can move on to choosing a background, and here PrintMaster Platinum has plenty of choices. You can experiment with the background appearance of your greeting card and choose from a wide-ranging selection of colors, paper looks, textured effects and more.
PrintMaster Platinum offers extensive text features, ranging from fancy, colorful designs to custom special effects such as warping and adding shadow. You can match colors using an eyedropper-shaped tool. You also can align and edit the content of your greeting card until you get it just the way you want it.
There is a full supply of all types of fonts: You'll find a range of fanciful fonts that you might use for a humorous birthday card as well as more traditional fonts if you need to make a dignified product, such as a condolence card. This greeting card software also includes a spell-checker.
PrintMaster Platinum offers an enhanced headline capability that you can use to add snazzy special effects to make the headlines on your greeting cards really stand out. You can change the color gradient on a headline, add a shadow, apply a bevel effect or shape the headline wording into fun styles and shapes, including things like arcs and swirls. For headlines that really jump off the page, try one of the latest and most whimsical touches: a fun 3D capability that will truly rev up your cards.
We were impressed with PrintMaster Platinum's large variety of photo editing tools. This greeting card software tool covers all the basics, such as red-eye removal and color adjustments, but it includes other perks as well, such as special photo effects. They now include over 3,500 new templates and over 150,000 high quality clip art images to help you get your project off the ground.
Broderbund, which manufacturers PrintMaster Platinum, is well known for its quality graphics, and we weren't disappointed with the quality available in this greeting card software. This program contains one of the most generous assortments of clip art images and project templates available. This application will offers a wide array of images bound to satisfy even the greatest clip art buff. The selection of images is one of the benefits that makes PrintMaster Platinum the top greeting card application we reviewed.
The software has a nifty set of tools for creating coordinated birthday party decorations that include everything from invitations to matching party hats. If you are creating a more lighthearted greeting card, this is the software for you. The application includes an enchanting animated greetings section. You can create eCards and animated greeting cards and enjoy the ability to import your favorite sounds, music, photos and video into the card. This software even has the capability to publish your creations to the web.
You can add dimension to your projects with die-cut shapes and create party sets and stationery with the option allowing you to search through templates in matching sets. Broderbund has enhanced its content search capabilities so you get large thumbnails and great resolution for previews that will make it easy for you to find just the right items for your particular project.
We had no trouble installing PrintMaster Platinum. Everything involved with the software worked smoothly and well, which is not always the case with every greeting card software product on the market. While the final size of the application ended up being quite large, we were not surprised because we understood how much content comes along with this multimedia monster. It would be nice if they slimmed it down to make it easier on people who are starved for hard drive space, but in the meantime, be aware of the space that PrintMaster Platinum occupies before you decide to install it.
This software offers standard help content and also links to a built-in help center where you can view useful tutorials. It also has a separate menu for getting assistance with your order, technical support and how-to resources including answers to commonly asked questions. In addition, there is a highly useful live chat, an email address and phone support. You might encounter a long wait for telephone support, but the employees who answer are polite and helpful.
PrintMaster Platinum by Broderbund is an excellent value, and the software is simple to use for creating custom greeting cards that can look better than a generic one you pick up from a store rack. Each screen throughout PrintMaster Platinum has a similar design, which makes navigating the application a breeze. This greeting card software guides you expertly through the process of constructing cards worthy of any occasion. PrintMaster Platinum is full of tools and ideas that can help and inspire you to make beautiful, unique greeting cards that really put your creativity on display.
