Affinity Publisher beta launched – try it free

The Affinity range of professional creative software takes a step closer to completion with the launch of desktop publishing app Affinity Publisher in a free public beta today (30 August).

Anyone can download and test the pre-release version of the app from https://affinity.serif.com/publisher.

Affinity Publisher is the result of thousands of hours of development time dedicated by the multi-award-winning team at developer Serif’s UK headquarters.

Serif are emphasising that the app is still in development and beta users will play an influential role in shaping the first retail release, around the end of the year.

Uniquely, Affinity Publisher will boast full integration with Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo, allowing owners of all three to edit vector designs and images right there in one app, in a stunning new way.

Early users will see buttons to switch to Photo and Designer within Affinity Publisher, though these will not be activated until later in the beta period.

Serif Managing Director Ashley Hewson says: “From the earliest days of visualising the Affinity range, we planned an unrivalled trio of sleek, super-modern apps created to work with the latest technology – ultra-fast, with stunning power and completely stripped of bloat.

“The final step towards realising that initial ambition will come with the launch of Affinity Publisher.

“It’s an all-new app which we believe will revolutionise desktop publishing in the same way Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer have shaken up professional photo editing and vector graphic design.”

Key desktop publishing capabilities built into Affinity Publisher include

Advanced typography
Linked text frames
Master pages
Facing page spreads
Dynamic photo frames
Tables
Baseline grids
Linked resources
End-to-end CMYK

Hewson adds: “It’s a beta, so there will be bugs and areas of the app which are not yet fully polished, so we don’t recommend you use it for any important production work at this time.

“We are relying on beta users to let us know what works and what doesn’t. If there are any features that need adding, let us know. Even if we don’t get them in before we release version 1, you can expect plenty of free updates to come, just like with our other apps.”

Serif has set up a dedicated forum where beta users are encouraged to share their feedback, suggestions and requests, at https://affin.co/publisherbetaforum.

The beta version of Affinity Publisher is for Mac and Windows only. An iPad version will follow later, as with Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo, Apple’s reigning iPad App of the Year.

Edited by Daniëlle Kruger
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