Aldus PageMaker

Aldus PageMaker (later Adobe PageMaker) was a desktop publishing (DTP) computer program introduced in 1985 by the Aldus Corporation on the Apple Macintosh. The combination of the Macintosh's graphical user interface, PageMaker publishing software, and Apple LaserWriter printer marked the beginning of the desktop publishing revolution. PageMaker was ported in 1987 to PCs running Windows 1.0, and it helped to popularize both the Macintosh platform and the Windows environment.

A key component in PageMaker's success was its native support for Adobe Systems' PostScript page description language. Adobe purchased the majority of Aldus's assets in 1994, including FreeHand, PressWise, and PageMaker, then phased out the Aldus name. PageMaker remained a major force in the high-end DTP market through the early 1990s, but new features were slow in coming. By the mid-1990s, it faced increasing competition from QuarkXPress on the Mac and Corel Ventura on the PC, and it was no longer a major force by the end of the decade. Quark proposed buying PageMaker and canceling it, but Adobe released Adobe InDesign in 1999 and began to phase out PageMaker. The last major release of PageMaker came in 2001, and customers were offered InDesign licenses at a lower cost.