I used to design all in tables, now I use CSS.
There are so many little tricks in CSS and the learning curve is kind of slow, but it's really more efficient at the end. Not in therms of first time makeup, but to do changes.
It is super easy to make your web page look good for print and mobiles. Also SEO love semantic HTML.
Sometimes you have to use a table here and there but, if you have the time, give CSS a try.
Look CSS in action in
http://www.csszengarden.com