Broderbund

The Print Shop is professional graphic design software designed for both individuals and small businesses. While the original was released in 1984, it has been consistently updated for the latest file types up to the present day. Unlike other design programs, The Print Shop provides tools that easily prep your graphics for printing — a game-changer for small business owners who don’t want to deal with complicated formatting.

PrintMaster is oriented towards families and individuals who need to design graphics for personal use, such as cards and event banners. This contrasts it with another Broderbund software release: The Print Shop. While The Print Shop can also be used for personal use, it was designed to meet the needs of small businesses.

By relying on a software retailer like SoftwareCW, you can save money on a wide range of graphic design software. Broderbund software is also already an affordable option, and it’s made even more affordable with our discounted rates. Plus, you can get the same savings on all the software for Windows and Mac computers you need.

Both are template-driven print-design programs, but Professional is aimed more directly at small-business and commercial projects. Encore’s current Print Shop 8 comparison shows that Professional adds business-oriented content and tools such as larger royalty-free template and image libraries, font embedding in PDF files, and additional project-management or design features. Deluxe can be enough for invitations, cards, labels, posters, and general home or club projects. Choose Professional when repeat business marketing and print-production workflows justify the extra tools.

PrintMaster is a broad personal publishing and creativity tool for cards, calendars, scrapbooks, banners, labels, invitations, and similar projects, while The Print Shop is more explicitly positioned for small-business marketing and professional print materials. SoftwareCW currently carries PrintMaster 10 alongside The Print Shop Deluxe and Professional. If your projects are mainly family, event, or personal designs, PrintMaster can be a natural fit. For recurring business cards, brochures, direct mail, labels, and marketing materials, compare The Print Shop editions.

Yes. Current The Print Shop 8 products can save or share projects as PDF and export image formats such as PNG, TIFF, and BMP, while PrintMaster also provides digital publishing and sharing options. PDF is useful when a commercial printer or recipient needs consistent page layout, while image export works well for social media or other design applications. Check the exact version’s export formats and resolution options if a print vendor has specific file requirements.

Font embedding stores the required font information inside the PDF so another computer can display the design as intended even if that font is not installed locally. Encore lists PDF font embedding as a Professional feature in The Print Shop 8. It can reduce unexpected substitutions in business cards, brochures, flyers, and other branded materials. You should still preview the final exported PDF and follow the commercial printer’s specifications for page size, bleed, color, and image resolution.

Yes. The Print Shop 8 includes contact-management features for storing addresses, phone numbers, dates, and other information that can be placed into projects. That can be useful for mailing labels, event materials, invitations, and repeat customer communications. The exact merge and contact tools can differ by product and version, so verify the workflow if you need high-volume personalized mail pieces. For sensitive customer data, also consider how the contact file is stored and backed up.

Encore describes the content bundled with The Print Shop Professional as royalty-free and specifically positions its templates and images for commercial projects. That is useful for small businesses creating marketing materials without sourcing every decorative asset separately. Licensing can vary among products, versions, third-party fonts, and user-imported content, so do not assume that everything added to a project has the same rights. Keep records for any external photos, logos, fonts, or graphics used commercially.

Encore’s current Print Shop 8 requirements support Windows 11, 10, and 8, call for a 2 GHz or faster Intel or equivalent AMD processor, 4 GB of RAM, about 4 GB of storage, and a Windows-compatible printer. Internet access is also required for parts of setup or use. Printer capability matters just as much as software compatibility for specialty labels, duplex projects, large paper sizes, or borderless printing, so verify your exact printer and media before buying.