Desktop Publishing

• Desktop publishing


  The use of the computer and software to create visual displays of ideas and information
• Desktop publishing


  • Documents may be for desktop or commercial printing or electronic distribution, including PDF, slideshows, email newsletters, electronic books, and the Web
  • It is a term coined after the development of a specific type of software
• Things you can do with desktop publishing

  • Design print communications such as brochures, fliers, ads, and posters
  • Design print communications such as catalogs, directories, and annual reports
  • Design logos, business cards, and letterhead
  • Design and publish newsletters, magazines, and newspapers
  • Design books and booklets
  • Convert print communications to formats for the web and smart devices such as tablets and phones
  • Create resumes and business forms including invoices, inventory sheets, memos, and labels
  • Self-publish books, newsletters, and e-books
  • Design and publish blogs and websites
  • Design slides shows, presentations, and handouts
  • Create and print greeting cards, banners, postcards, candy wrappers, and iron-on transfers
  • Make digital scrapbooks and print or digital photo albums
  • Create decorative labels, envelopes, trading cards, calendars, and charts
  • Design packaging for retail merchandise from wrappers for bars of soap to software boxes
  • Design store signs, highway signs, and billboards
  • Take work designed by others and putting it into the correct format for digital or offset printing or for publishing online
  • Create more attractive, readable reports, posters, and print or on-screen presentations for school or business
• In the '80s and '90s, desktop publishing was for print almost exclusively. Today, desktop publishing includes much more than just print publications
• Desktop publishing today


  • It's publishing as PDF or an e-book
  • It's publishing to blogs and designing websites
  • It's designing content for multiple platforms, including smartphones and tablets
  • It's the technical assembly of digital files in the proper format for printing or for electronic distribution
• Graphic design


  Uses text and graphics to communicate an effective message in the design of logos, graphics, brochures, newsletters, posters, signs, and other types of visual communication
• Web design


  A spin-off of graphic design and desktop publishing that focuses exclusively on visual communications for display on websites and mobile devices – to include text, graphics, sound, animation, and video
• At one time, only professional graphic designers used desktop publishing software. Then along came consumer-level desktop publishing software and an explosion of people who did desktop publishing for fun and profit, with or without a background in traditional design
• Today, desktop publishing is still a career choice for some, but it is also increasingly a required skill for a wide range of jobs and careers
• The Apple Macintosh debuts

  1984
• Hewlett-Packard introduces the LaserJet, the first desktop laser printer


  1984
• Adobe introduces PostScript, the industry-standard Page Description Language (PDL) for professional typesetting

  1985
• Aldus develops PageMaker for the Mac, the first "desktop publishing" application


  1985
• Apple produces the LaserWriter, the first desktop laser printer to contain PostScript


  1985
• PageMaker for the Windows platform is introduced

  1987
• Microsoft ships Windows 3.0

  1990
• Fast forward to 2020 and beyond. You can still buy Hewlett-Packard LaserJets but there are hundreds of other printers and printer manufacturers to choose from as well. PostScript was at level 3 while PageMaker was at version 7 but is now marketed to the business sector
• Quark


  In the intervening years since PageMaker's introduction and purchase by Adobe, Quark, Inc.'s QuarkXPress took over as the sweetheart of desktop publishing applications. But today Adobe's InDesign is firmly planted in the professional sector and wooing over many converts on both the PC and Mac platforms
• Macintosh is still considered by some to be the platform of choice for professional desktop publishing (that is changing slowly), dozens of consumer and small business desktop publishing packages hit the shelves in the 1990s, catering to the growing legions of PC/Windows users
• Desktop publishing (DTP) software


  Software designed for creating visual communications such as brochures, business cards, greeting cards, web pages, posters, and more for professional or personal printing online or on-screen
• Professional graphic designers and commercial printing technicians

  Use high-end professional page layout software applications including Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress
• Office workers, teachers, students, small business owners, and non-designers

  Use desktop publishing software depending on capabilities, budget, and personal preference
• Other applications and utilities often included in the desktop publishing software category are better classified as graphics, web publishing, and presentation apps. Nonetheless, they play important roles in print and digital media
• Since the 1990s, the explosion of consumer programs and the associated advertising hype has stretched the phrase "desktop publishing software" to include software for making greeting cards, calendars, banners, and other crafty print projects
• The primary page layout applications that professional graphic designers and commercial printing prepress technicians use is quite advanced and draws on refined skills ranging from graphic design to computer proficiency. These most often include Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress
• Main players in desktop publishing software

  • Adobe
  • Corel
  • Microsoft
  • Quark
• Adobe


  Makes many professional software packages used by designers, including Photoshop and Illustrator. Adobe InDesign dominates the field of professional page layout software
• Corel


  Best known for its CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, which includes apps and tools for vector illustration, layout, photo editing, and typography
• Microsoft


  Produces Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and various consumer graphics and creative printing programs used alone or in conjunction with other applications to do some form of personal desktop publishing. Microsoft's entry into page layout for print is Microsoft Publisher
• Quark


  Makes other software, but the one most closely associated with desktop publishing is QuarkXPress. Its many XTensions enhance and expand the software package's basic capabilities, allowing users to customize the app to their needs
• 4 types of software for desktop publishing

  • Word processing software
  • Page layout software
  • Graphic software
  • Electronic or web publishing software
• Word processing software

  Use a word processor to type and edit text and check spelling and grammar. You can usually format elements on the fly and include those formatting tags when you import text to your page layout program. While you can do some simple layout work, word processors are best suited for working with words, not for designing a page layout
• Page layout software


  • Allows for the integration of text and images on the page, easy manipulation of page elements, artistic layout creation, and multipage publications such as newsletters and books
  • High-end or professional-level tools include prepress features, while software for home publishing or creative projects often involves more templates and clip art
• Professional page layout software


  • Adobe InDesign
  • QuarkXPress
• Home publishing software


  • The Print Shop
  • Print Artist
  • PrintMaster
• Graphic software


  • Print publishing and webpage design often require a vector illustration program and a photo editor
  • Illustration software makes use of scaleable vector graphics to create artwork that can be resized and edited through multiple iterations
  • Photo editing software works with bitmap images, such as scanned photos and digital images
• Illustration software


  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Inkscape
  • CorelDraw
• Photo editing software


  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Corel PaintShop Pro
  • Gimp
• Electronic or web publishing software

  Most designers today, even those in print, need web-publishing skills. Many of today's page layout or other desktop publishing programs include some electronic publishing capabilities. Even dedicated web designers still need illustration and image-editing software
• Web design software


  • Adobe Dreamweaver