What is desktop publishing?
Desktop publishing is using your computer with page layout software (PageMaker 6.5 in
our Danville High School lab) and principles of design to design, edit, and produce your
own professional-looking publications.
What types of publications can be
created?
Advertisements, books, brochures, business cards, catalogs, flyers, forms, letterhead
stationery, newsletters, newspapers, reports, etc.
Why use desktop publishing?
Save time and money
|
Reduces turnaround (the
time to produce a publication from the beginning through the final production) time Uses
less paper--meaning less postage, less file cabinet space
Able to produce a proof copy in-house without paying typesetting and other costs |
Make revisions more
easily
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Changes can be made in-house without worrying about extra charges for
typesetting. Changes can be made at the last minute. |
Maintain control of your
publication
|
With more steps done in-house, a company maintains control of the
publication throughout the publication process. |
Keep information
confidential
|
By producing the publication in-house, the number of people with knowledge
about the content of the publication is reduced. |
Distribute your
information more easily
|
Because the publication is created and stored on the computer, it can
quickly be sent to other computers via FAX or modem. |
Produce more publications
|
Once the equipment and software is available, a company is more likely to
see other uses and produce more publications. |
Improve your (or your
organization's) image
|
Companies can produce all documents and publications with a more
professional look. |
How were publications created before DTP?
The earliest form of creation and reproduction of material was hand copying. Until
Gutenberg created movable type in 1437, books were hand copied or produced on carved wood
blocks. For more information on the development and impact of publishing, read Printing:
History and Development.
Desktop publishing system
requirements
When shopping for your computer system to be used with desktop publishing software, buy
at least 256 mb of RAM and the fastest processor possible. Consider where your files will
be saved. If they are to be saved on the hard drive, remember that files containing
graphics are very large.
The monitor should be high-resolution with a large screen. Resolution is measured in pixels--picture elements--small squares or dots
arranged in rows and columns. The more pixels your monitor can display, the higher the
quality of your image. Consider the monitor's refresh
rate--or how quickly the screen image is redisplayed. A WYSIWYG--What
You See Is What You Get--display is helpful in showing the look of the finished hard copy
on screen.
The printer should be a PostScript laser printer with as much speed and memory as you
can afford. Although 600 dpi is available, most PS printers print at a resolution of 300
dpi. A PostScript printer is preferable because it provides many typefaces and allows you
to print rotated and scaled text and graphics.
Industry standards for software:
Word processing: Word
DTP:
Quark or PageMaker
PhotoEditing:
PhotoShop
Drawing:
Illustrator or FreeHand
Clip art, or ready-made libraries of graphic images, is available
for purchase.
Last updated
December 15, 2002
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