Acorn Publisher ran for 9 volumes of 6 issues as a comparitively expensive magazine for those using the best multi-media home computer of its age. At a time when only the richest home users could afford the Apple computers, the 32-bit A-series, Archimedes, and RiscPCs were widely used in homes and schools in the UK and beyond. Acorn Publisher catered for those making serious use of the Acorns' desktop publishing and graphics capabilities. After the ninth volume Publisher merged with Acorn User with the combined name Qercus. For a short while the new magazine catered specifically for Publisher readers with an alternative graphics-rich issue, and a complicated dual subscription system but confusion and good sense led quickly to a simple general magazine for Acorn/RISC OS users.