How is desktop publishing done

Its many XTensions enhance and expand the software package's basic capabilities, allowing users to customize the app to their needs. Generally, four types of software make up the tools for desktop publishing: word processing, page layout, graphics, and web publishing. The lines between them are blurry, though, in much the same way as that between professional and home apps are.

Much of the best design software is used for both print and web, and sometimes, it also serves as page layout and graphics software, creative printing and business software, or other combinations. For this reason, manufacturers often offer these interrelated apps as suites. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data.

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Desktop Publishing. Definitions by TechTerms. Tech Factor? First Name:. Last Name:. Desktop publishing also known as DTP combines a personal computer, page layout software and a printer to create publications on a small economic scale. Users create page layouts with text, graphics, photos and other visual elements using desktop publishing software such as QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, etc. Desktop publishing began in with the introduction of PageMaker software from Aldus and the LaserWriter printer from Apple Computer for the Apple Macintosh computer.

The ability to create WYSIWYG page layouts on screen and then print pages at crisp ppi resolution was revolutionary for both the typesetting industry as well as the personal computer industry. The term "desktop publishing" is attributed to Aldus Corporation founder Paul Brainerd, who sought a marketing catch-phrase to describe the small size and relative affordability of this suite of products in contrast to the expensive commercial phototypesetting equipment of the day.

The term "desktop publishing" is attributed to Aldus Corporation founder Paul Brainerd, who sought a marketing catch phrase to describe the small size and relative affordability of this suite of products in contrast to the expensive commercial phototypesetting equipment of the day.

Often considered a primary skill, increased accessibility to more user friendly DTP software has made DTP a secondary skill to art direction, graphic design, multimedia development, marketing communications, administrative careers and advanced high school literacy in thriving economies.

DTP skill levels range from what may be learned in a few hours e. Early systems By today's standards, early desktop publishing was a primitive affair. Users of the PageMaker-LaserWriter-Macintosh K system endured frequent software crashes, the Mac's tiny x 1-bit black and white screen, the inability to control letter spacing, kerning and other typographic features, and discrepancies between the screen display and printed output.

However, for that moment in time, it was received like a magic trick: difficult to believe, but everyone wants to know how to do the trick. Behind-the-scenes technologies developed by Adobe Systems set the foundation for professional desktop publishing applications. Later, the Macintosh II was released which was much more suitable for desktop publishing because of its larger, color screen. This made it suitable for manuals and other long-format documents.

During these early years, desktop publishing acquired a bad reputation from untrained users who created chaotically organized ransom note effect layouts - criticisms that would be levied again against early web publishers a decade later.

Mature systems The improved typographic controls and image handling of PC and Mac-based publishing systems increasingly attracted the attention of professional publishers. The turning point was the introduction of Quark XPress in the s and an ever increasing number of digital typefaces. Xpress became dominant in the publishing world until the early s when Adobe InDesign grew in popularity for its powerful typographic controls and integration with other Adobe publishing products, especially those which were predominate within the design, photography, publishing, printing, and digital media industries.

By the late s, virtually all publishing had become "desktop publishing. Database publishing has further reduced the time required to develop thick manuals and catalog publications. Desktop publishing helped condition a generation of personal computer users to be on the lookout for "the next big thing. Many cinema length movies are now edited on Apple Final Cut Pro on a desktop computer, replacing equipment and software that would have cost a hundred thousand dollars in the s.

Comparisons with word processing While desktop publishing software still provides extensive features necessary for print publishing, modern word processors now have publishing capabilities beyond those of many older DTP applications, blurring the line between word processing and desktop publishing. In the early days of graphical user interfaces, DTP software was in a class of its own when compared to the fairly spartan word processing applications of the time.

Programs such as WordPerfect and WordStar were still mainly text-based and offered little in the way of page layout, other than perhaps margins and line spacing. On the other hand, word processing software was necessary for features like indexing and spell checking, features that are today taken for granted.

As computers and operating systems have become more powerful, vendors have sought to provide users with a single application platform that can meet all needs. Software such as Microsoft Word offers advanced layouts and linking between documents, and DTP applications have added in common word processor features.

Comparisons with other electronic layout In modern usage, DTP is not generally said to include tools such as TeX or troff, though both can easily be used on a modern desktop system and are standard with many Unix-like operating systems and readily available for other systems. The key difference between electronic typesetting software and DTP software is that DTP software is generally interactive and WYSIWIG in design, while older electronic typesetting software tends to operate in batch mode, requiring the user to enter the processing program's markup language manually without a direct visualization of the finished product.

The older style of typesetting software occupies a substantial but shrinking niche in technical writing and textbook publication; however, since much software in this genre is now open source, it can be more cost-effective than the professionally-oriented DTP systems. There is some overlap between desktop publishing and what is known as Hypermedia publishing i.

Some writing systems of the world, such as Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Hebrew, are written in a form known as right-to-left RTL , in which writing begins at the right-hand side of a page and concludes at the left-hand side. This is different from the left-to-right LTR direction in which languages using the Latin alphabet such as English are written. When LTR text is mixed with RTL in the same paragraph, each type of text should be written in its own direction, which is known as bi-directional text.

This can get rather complex when multiple levels of quotation are used. Almost all writing systems originating in the Middle East are of this nature. Bidirectional script support is the capability of a computer system to correctly display bi-directional text.

The term is often shortened to the jargon term BiDi or bidi. The CJK languages are syllabic languages. And each syllable occupies two bytes in computer memory. White space can be under-used, overused, or just carelessly used. Good control of white space can improve reader comprehension. For instance, too much space between a column of text and a new subhead can interrupt the eye movement of your readers. Generally speaking, it's easier for people to read quickly if the spacing between words and lines isn't too lose.

Also, pay close attention to the space between paragraphs. If you indent the first line of text, then don't insert extra spaces between paragraphs. Do one or the other. Magazines generally indent and minimize space between paragraphs. Some newsletter designers use block paragraphs and add space between them.

A halftone is a reproduction of a photograph on paper. That's the definition, but if you want learn more about the technology behind halftones, read the next two paragraphs. To learn more about creating halftones with your scanner, go to the next page. To reproduce the gray tones of a black-and-white photograph, printing services convert the photo into a series of black dots so small that the human eye blurs them together with the surrounding white paper.

The lighter areas of the photo are created by small dots and the darker areas by large dots. You're more limited when you try to reproduce a photo using your personal computer. Since your output device can only make dots of one size, it has to group the dots together into halftone cells. Then it reproduces the lighter tones by turning some of the dots off in each cell, while turning more of them on to create the darker tones. Okay, you've taken the photographs, now what?

You have a few options. Use a scanner to create digital images of the photographs. Have a printing service create halftones with traditional methods. Do both. If you have an 8-bit scanner, creating digital files is fairly simple, and you can use the images during the layout.

However, if you use your scanned images as the final for printing, you also have the burden of making them look good. The typical printing service won't take responsibility for photos unless it creates the halftones. Most services charge somewhere between seven and fifteen dollars to shoot each halftone, but the responsibility is all theirs. On the other hand, if you have image editing software, such as Adobe's Photoshop, with practice, you can create fine camera-ready images and save money.

The Freestone had around 30 photographs, and we saved a considerable sum of money by scanning and editing the images ourselves. We're not going to teach how to scan photos here, and chances are you've already done it. But we will discuss getting your scanned images ready for your printing service. Photos and screens are all halftones. Remember those boxes we talked about earlier. Why is this important?

Well, there are coarse screens and fine screens, which are all measured by the number of dots per line. For instance, coarse halftones may have less than 60 rows of dots per inch. The more rows of dots per inch, the finer the appearance.

This is referred as the line screen and is measured as lines per inch lpi. Finer line screens, around lpi, have more cells per inch. The lower the lpi, the more visible the rows of dots, especially when printed at a low resolution, such as dpi.

Images with a high lpi, look better when they're reproduced by output devices with a high dpi. So higher is better, right? Not necessarily, and this is where good communication with your printing service is important.

The line screen you choose should be based on a combination of factors: the quality of the inks, paper, and printing device being used. If you set the lpi too high, your printing service may have trouble reproducing the images on the paper stock you've chosen, so ask them for a recommendation.

Specify the line screen through your image editing software, or in PageMaker, open the Elements pull-down menu and select Image Control. When it comes to scanned images, a higher resolution isn't always better. Image resolution is measured as pixels per inch ppi , and images scanned at a higher resolution store more information in the digital file.

You should relate ppi to lpi. Set the ppi at roughly 2 times the line screen lpi. If your printer suggests that you use an lpi of somewhere between 70 and , you'll probably want to scan your photos with a ppi of between and If you hire a service bureau to produce your camera-ready copy, you can scan images using the higher ppi. In any case, it's a good idea to discuss both scan resolution ppi as well as line screen lpi with your printing service ahead of time. The Freestone is a high-end newsletter because it's printed on magazine quality paper with a slightly glossy finish, and the final product is printed by a professional printing service.

This also makes it more expensive to produce. So if you're on the Freestone staff this semester, you now know that you won't be printing 3, copies of this year's edition on a laser printer. However, if you have to produce your newsletter on a tight budget, using a high-end laser printer might be an acceptable option.

Unfortunately, you won't get the same quality from a laser printer as you will from a commercial printing or quick printing service. If you've already decided to use a printing service, then the next decision you have to make is whether to give them a final proof from your laser printer, or hire a service bureau to make a camera-ready copy on an imagesetter. If you really want high-quality results, go to a service bureau.

Service bureaus take electronic copies of your publication and create camera-ready output to either paper or film for your commercial printer. They are a middle-man in the process. Commercial print shops make printing plates directly from the film negatives.

Imagesetters can print to paper or film at resolutions up to dpi. This is very high considering that most laser printers only have a dpi of Your print shop should be able to direct you to a local service bureau.

Remember, you don't have to use a service bureau. Printing services can shoot film negatives from a laser printout. However, the quality of the finished product will be higher if you take advantage of the high-resolution output of the imagesetter. One word of caution: if you hire a service bureau, proof read a draft of what they plan to shoot on film. It's much more expensive to have them to redo the negatives later. Often printers begin with an 11 x17 inch piece of paper and print one page per quadrant, but this can vary from press to press.

Each quadrant is 8. The first 11x17 inch piece will have pages 1 and 24 facing each other on one side, and pages 2 and 23 on the other. The second 11x17 inch piece will have pages 3 and 22 facing each other on one side, and 4 and 21 on the other. Each printer spread is then folded into a booklet form known as a reader's spread, where the pages face each other in sequential order. Why do you need to know this? Your printer may ask you if you'll be providing your file as a printer spread or reader spread.

Sometimes they charge you a stripping fee to turn the pages into printer spreads. Next, after everything is printed, the papers are bound together with saddle-stitching or a side-stitching. Smaller publications are usually saddle-stitched, meaning that the staples are driven through the spine of the booklet. Nonetheless, your printer may ask you what type of binding or stitching you prefer.

Your other major decision is what type of paper to use, coated or uncoated. Coated papers produce better clarity, especially for halftones. This is because uncoated papers absorb more ink. But if you really need to keep costs down you might have to choose lower grade paper. The easiest way to choose a paper is to touch different samples.

Papers are described in pounds and finish. The Freestone was printed on a 70 paper with a matte finish. Generally speaking, 60 and 70 are adequate. The different finishes are offset, linen, smooth, matte, and gloss. If this is your first major project and you don't yet have a printer to work with, then find one early on. Compare prices, but also find one who you feel will give you the attention you need to learn the ropes.

See if they'll meet with you one-on-one. If you know what they expect of you, and what you can expect in return, you'll save yourself trouble later on. What could be worse than spending countless hours making a great product on computer only to have it turn out wrong at the print shop?

Doty, David and Joe Grossmann. Newsletters from the Desktop: The desktop Publisher's guide to designing newsletters that work. Ventana Press, Evans, Poppy. Cincinnati: North Light Books, Felker, Daniel B. Guidelines for Document Designers. Lupton, Ellen and J. Abbott Miller. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, Parker, Roger C. Chapel Hill: Ventana Press, Looking Good in Print. Siebert, Lori and Lisa Ballard.

Making a Good Layout. Microsoft Press, Wheildon, Colin. Mal Warwick. Berkeley: Strathmoor Press, Williams, Robin. The Non-Designer's Design Book. Berkeley: PeachPit Press, Some material displayed on this site is used with permission.

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