Typesetting Tools

Tools

Below is a listing of free software layout tools.

Canvas based (GUI)

• Scribus https://www.scribus.net/
• Inkscape http://inkscape.org/
• Laidout https://laidout.org/
• Libre Calc

CSS Print based (CSS Print)

• your browser (based on CSS Paged Media): use CTRL+P/CMD+P
• Weasyprint https://weasyprint.readthedocs.io/
• Paged.js https://www.pagedjs.org/
• wkhtmltopdf https://wkhtmltopdf.org/
• OSPKit (CSS Regions legacy support!) http://osp.kitchen/tools/ospkit/

P5.js bases

• genzine https://github.com/munusshih/p5.genzine by Munus Shih and Iley Cao

Python based

• rinohtype http://www.mos6581.org/rinohtype/master/
• ReportLab https://www.reportlab.com/
• Flat http://xxyxyz.org/flat/
• PyX https://pyx-project.org/ (outputs to PostScript, PDF and SVG)

TeX based

• TeX https://tug.org/ + https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX
• LaTeX https://www.latex-project.org/
• ConTeXt https://wiki.contextgarden.net/
• texinfo https://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/manual/texinfo/html_node/Short-Sample-Texinfo-File.html
• tectonic https://tectonic-typesetting.github.io/
• lyx https://www.lyx.org/

XML based

• speedata https://showcase.speedata.de/en/

Misc

• groff https://www.gnu.org/software/groff/
• SILE https://sile-typesetter.org/ (LaTeX-like)
• typst https://typst.app/ (custom markdown syntax)
• SATySFi https://github.com/gfngfn/SATySFi (LaTeX-like + OCaml-like)
• Patoline https://patoline.github.io/ (wiki/LaTeX/Ocaml-like)

Readings

• Awkward Gestures, Femke Snelting, 2008
• CREATION, TOOLS, RESEARCH GRAPHISME EN FRANCE, 2022 + French version
• Composer avec les technologies du web (PhD thesis), Julie Blanc, 2023
• Designing Design Tools (PhD thesis), Nolwenn Maudet, 2017
• BLIND MAPS AND BLUE DOTS (PhD thesis), Joost Grootens, 2020

See also

• PDF
• Category:PagedMedia
• Category:FLOSS design
• Web-to-print
• https://polytype.dev/ (a rosetta's stone for typesetting tools, quick demo's of many different typesetting tools)
• User:Kiara/Type for an amazing list of online type foundries