InPage vs Laidout

InPage is page-making software for Urdu and related languages, intended for publishing newspapers, magazines, and books. Its desktop product supports Perso-Arabic scripts including Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Sindhi, Kashmiri, Pushto, and Hazaragi. Layout tools provide linked or separate text boxes and automatic rules between columns; automatic kerning adjusts extra word spacing in Nastaliq text. InPage 4.1 adds character style sheets, multilevel bullets and numbering, spell checking with autocorrection, and word completion. It imports AI and EPS files, exports pages to EPS, GIF, PNG, TIFF, or BMP at selectable resolutions from 96 to 1200 DPI, and can generate ePUB files. The free mobile app creates and edits Nastaliq and Naskh files for use with the Urdu desktop application. Online InPage Tools runs in the cloud without downloads, though conversion limits depend on file version: PDF conversion supports files up to version 4.0, while EPUB and TXT conversion supports versions up to 3.6. The maker says InPage has served publishing needs since its introduction in 1994. The desktop product is for Windows, not Mac.

Laidout is free Linux desktop publishing software for arranging pages into folded print layouts, including book signatures, accordion folds and polyhedron nets. It also supports single pages and can help arrange posters for printers limited to small sheets. Its graphics objects include paths, ellipses, rounded rectangles, gradients, point sets, color meshes, warped images and captions. Laidout imports SVG, images, Scribus files and OFF polyhedra; PDF pages can be imported as rendered images, though PDF page import for reimposition is under development. Export options include PDF, SVG, Scribus, images, HTML galleries, Podofoimpose plan files, Page Atlas images and PostScript. Command-line use supports batch import, reimposition and export without opening a window. Laidout is released under GPL 3.0. The homepage identifies version 0.097 and says the stable release is old, suggesting a development snapshot or compiling from source where possible. Proper color management has not been a development priority; the FAQ suggests exporting to Scribus for that work.