By Shelby Putnam Tupper
Publication Date: 2026-02-24 20:25:00
Come October, the 35-year-old Publisher app will go away forever, meaning you should start looking for a new graphic design solution soon. But before diving into your options, it’s worth understanding what made Publisher special.
The Windows-only app, which has long been part of Microsoft 365, is a lightweight desktop publishing platform for non-designers who need to create high-quality (but not professional-level) communication materials, such as flyers, internal documents, newsletters, and simple ads. Its familiarity, offline support, and simplicity are its key advantages. Publisher uses frames (boxes) as placeholders for text and images, making it much easier to move text and image blocks around than in Word.
That simplicity, however, comes with some trade-offs. Publisher doesn’t offer document preflight and print packaging, robust typographic controls (including support for variable fonts), master and parent page management, or other professional…
