Each type of application has been optimized for a particular aspect of design work. Trying to use a program to do more than it was intended to do will result in more work for you and your printer, and a poorer-quality finished job.

For example:

• Don't lay out whole pages or pieces in Illustrator. Use vector-art programs like Illustrator only for individual vector graphics. Include text or photos only if they are integral to the graphic; otherwise, composite the finished graphic together with any text or photos in a page-layout program.
• Avoid using text and vector art in Photoshop. Any text or vector art in Photoshop must be rasterized when printed, resulting in a significant loss of quality. This effect can be reduced by increasing the image resolution, but this causes a large increase in file size and printing time.
• Don't add graphics to Word files. Use word-processing programs only for creating copy and assigning character and paragraph styles. Wait to add graphics and adjust text flow until after the copy is placed in a page layout program.

As a rule, the final layout of any job should occur in a page-layout program. Most graphics programs are designed to create artwork optimized for placing and manipulating in page-layout software, not for sending directly to a printer or press.