Affinity Publisher 2 review for print design, mockup and setup

Ayup! Following four months of steady use here at Leaflet Lion, it’s time for an outrageously excitable Affinity Publisher 2 review. Wohoooo!

As you’ll see from the star rating below, I’ve been seriously enjoying this app. If you’re new to the world of Affinity, they provide digital art, illustration, design, photography and page layout solutions on a one-off payment basis.

As one of the folks seeking out Adobe alternatives this year, Affinity Designer, Photo and Publisher have now completely replaced Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. Happy days!

So, how does Publisher measure up when running a design, print and distribution business? Let’s get into it.

Four months in – Affinity Publisher 2 review

• Current version: 2.5.5
• Operating system: macOS (also available on Windows & iPad)
• Current price: £67.99 or all three apps for £159.99
• Affinity Publisher Website

Of the three Affinity apps, Publisher was the one I expected to use the least. I never really got along with InDesign, favouring Illustrator for both designing flyers and setting up print files.

Conversely, I now use Publisher for all of the above. The first Brucie Bonus I stumbled upon when finding my way around was the consistency across all of the apps.

Once you’ve learned the layout and tools in one app, you’ve pretty much mastered them all. Mahoosive tick ✔️

Learning curve

Firstly, the learning curve. It’s probably a little steeper if you’re coming from Adobe apps. Everything just seems to work very slightly differently, and that’s definitely not a bad thing. It just takes a bit of getting used to.

On the plus side, anything you can’t figure out is somewhere on Google or Bing. For example, the first time I tried to place a PDF page into a document, I couldn’t see any of the bleed area. Weird. It definitely should be there.

Basically, there’s a list of Page Box options that simply needed to be changed to Media Box or Bleed Box. A quick Google search provided this answer.

Overall, I wouldn’t say it’s any more or less difficult to learn compared to alternative page layout design software. After a few weeks, I’d gotten the hang of everything that I specifically needed.

Related post → How to export print-ready files with Affinity

Related post → How to export print-ready files with Canva

Preparing files for print

This is what I’ve mainly been using Publisher for. Most of our clients here in Nottingham and Mansfield already have their artwork ready to print.

In spite of the above Page Box discombobulation, it’s been an absolute breeze importing PDF files and exporting print-ready files. Again, some of the export settings take a little getting used to, but once you’ve done it a few times, it’s all extremely straightforward.

With this in mind, I have no doubt in my mind that Publisher is as good, if not better than the industry standard.

Page layout & mockups

In addition to firing out print-ready files, I’ve also been using Publisher to design client’s leaflets and flyers. This doesn’t come up that often, but regardless, when it does, it’s plain sailing all day long.

Absolutely no issues to report here. Everything is fairly intuitive and works as you’d expect it to.

Admittedly, I don’t dabble in anything too complex, but if you need to, all the tools you’ll ever need are available at your disposal.

Note – .psd mockup files with smart objects will open in Publisher and look lovely, but there’s not much you can do with it from there. Most print designers use mockups to showcase their work. If this is a priority for you, make sure you purchase the full three-app package. Much the same as you’d use Photoshop to handle .psd mockup files, we’ll now need to use Affinity Photo.

Tip – To enable the use of smart objects in Affinity Photo, head to Settings, Other, and make sure Import PSD smart objects where possible is ticked.

The above flyer design was created in Publisher and then used with a .psd file and smart objects in Photo to create the mockup. It’s a flawless workflow—at least when the .psd file opens as it should. Which leads nicely on to…

Do Adobe files open ok?

It’s important to realise that not all Adobe files will play nicely with the Affinity apps. The only real reason preventing this from being a 5/5 review.

This section isn’t directly related to Publisher but is more geared toward how the three apps handle these files. Generally speaking, I’m opening .ai files with Designer and .psd files with Photo.

For example, some of the more complex .ai files don’t open correctly. It’s usually the sort with many layers that create a shadow effect.

Furthermore, a few of my .psd mockups don’t align correctly (pictured below). Anything that would usually be curved seems to be straight. Using the Mesh Warp tool, however, you can realign your file.

Lastly, it is worth noting that InDesign template files (.indt) won’t open with any of the Affinity apps.

Although I’ve encountered plenty of the above examples, they’re far outweighed by the number of files that open with no issues at all. Therefore, I wouldn’t see this as a major drawback.

Can Publisher fully replace InDesign?

For me personally, it’s a resounding yes. Publisher, paired with Designer and Photo has eliminated our need for the full Adobe subscription.

If the budget allows, I’d recommend getting all three of the Affinity apps. This increases your capabilities by approximately a gazillion percent. However, if you only need Publisher and know it covers all of your requirements, happy days—you’ve saved even more on your outgoings.

Again, this is based on my specific use case: setting up print-ready files and creating artwork for flyers and leaflets.

If you’re unsure how it’ll work for your particular needs, I highly recommend taking out their free trial to see how you like it.

Am I happy with the decision to switch?

When you calculate how much I spent with Adobe over the last ten years (somewhere just over £9000😳), not a moment goes by that I’m not grateful for switching to Affinity.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m always happy to pay for the best tools I need for the job. However, Publisher, as mentioned above, is easily as good, if not better, than InDesign.

In the world of print design and setting up print-ready files, it’s no longer a case of there only being one option.

All three of the Affinity apps are a pure joy to use. I’ve been recommending them to all of my creative friends, and now I can certainly recommend them to you without hesitation.

Affinity Publisher 2 review – Conclusion

It’s not often that switching to a new way of doing things gets you this excited. To conclude this Affinity Publisher 2 review, if you’re coming from Adobe (or any other page layout apps), you won’t be disappointed.

Yes, there’s a learning curve, as with any new software, but as soon as you find your feet in one of the Affinity apps, you’ve more or less mastered them all.

Half a star knocked off due to a few issues opening Adobe files. Nothing major, and maybe it’s time to stop relying as much on these file types anyway.

All in all, I love using all three of the Affinity apps. Publisher also surprised me, becoming the most used so far. It’s a joy to use. Affinity has a lovely community of users, and, of course, the savings compared to a monthly Adobe subscription are a massive bonus!

Disclaimer – There are zero affiliate links in this article. No BS, just some ruddy decent software for all things print. Enjoy!