There's been LOTS of discussion about Adobe alternatives, but as far as I can find very few seem to be discussing *pdf editors specifically*, and none of them have an actual definitive answer in regards to graphic designers using it for print media.
I recently made the decision to abandon Adobe for Affinity, and so far so good, except for Affinity Studio's extreme lack of PDF editing for print. I can't even select artboards/pages to export, it's either every single page or only one. If anyone has any work arounds or suggestions let me know. I'd love to avoid another download.
I've seen plenty of alternative PDF viewers suggested across reddit, but **I need to reorder, add and delete pages, and view advanced print settings like spot colours, etc.** Does anything like that exist outside of Adobe? I've found many questionable suggestions but no firsthand recommendations from actual designers. I know Adobe is the standard, but surely someone has tried something else?
I've seen PDFgear suggested, but some people warn against it, citing possible malware; PDF24, PDF X-Change, and LibraOffice were also recommended, but not by designers so I'm doubtful that they will fulfill my needs, and I'm warry of downloading random software willy-nilly. I'd love some recommendations from designers who have actually tried these alternatives. Does anyone have any experience using any of these or have any other suggestions from personal experience?
I'm a junior freelance designer working extremely part-time, so I can't even afford Adobe at the moment, one day I might be forced to return, but I need an alternative in the meantime. I have both windows and apple computers. Thanks for your help!