Photoshop with PageMaker

PageMaker is Adobe’s business- and consumer-level page layout program. Like InDesign, PageMaker allows you to import a number of file formats — including the native Photoshop format — and to retain layers. Unfortunately, unlike InDesign, PageMaker doesn’t support transparency (with the exception of 1-bit TIFFs saved in Bitmap image mode). That means that if your image contains transparent areas and you place it over a background containing a color or image, you see a white box around your image. PageMaker fills all transparent areas with white pixels. Your workaround is one of two methods:
- Save your image with a clipping path.
PageMaker hides any pixels outside of the path, allowing your image to be silhouetted and not boxed in.
- Composite your desired background with your image in Photoshop.
Save and place it into PageMaker as a single file.

For bringing in images, PageMaker supports the OLE method, dragging and dropping, the clipboard copy-and-paste method, and my preferred method, the good old File-->Place command. PageMaker accepts PSD, TIFF, EPS, JPEG, GIF, PDF, PICT, and BMP file formats. I would stay with TIFF or EPS file formats. If you save your file in a PSD format, however, when you update the file in Photoshop, it is automatically updated in PageMaker.

Page layout programs, such as PageMaker, InDesign, and QuarkXPress, make it a snap to transform your placed images within those programs. It isn’t a disaster to do it within those programs, but it is really best to do any kind of image manipulation (outside of moving) in Photoshop. Your image quality will be better retained, and the page layout file prints much faster and has less potential for errors.