DESTOP PUBLISHING

Desktop publishing (also known as DTP) combines a personal computer and

WYSIWYG page layout software to create publication documents on a computer for either large
scale publishing or small scale local multifunction peripheral output and distribution.

The term "desktop publishing" is commonly used to describe page layout skills.
However, the skills and software are not limited to paper and book publishing. The same skills
and software are often used to create graphics for point of sale displays, promotional items, trade
show exhibits, retail package designs and outdoor signs.

HISTORY:

Desktop publishing began in 1985 with the introduction of MacPublisher, the first
WYSIWYG layout program, which ran on the original 128K Macintosh computer. (Desktop
typesetting, with only limited page makeup facilities, had arrived in 1978–9 with the introduction
of TeX, and was extended in the early 1980s by LaTeX.) The DTP market exploded in 1985 with
the introduction in January of the Apple LaserWriter printer, and later in July with the
introduction of PageMaker software from Aldus which rapidly became the DTP industry
standard software.

Before the advent of desktop publishing, the only option available to most persons for
producing typed (as opposed to handwritten) documents was a typewriter, which offered only a
handful of typefaces (usually fixed-width) and one or two font sizes. The ability to create
WYSIWYG page layouts on screen and then print pages at crisp 300 dpi resolution was
revolutionary for both the typesetting industry and the personal computer industry. Newspapers
and other print publications made the move to DTP-based programs from older layout systems
like Atex and other such programs in the early 1980s.
 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.

By the standards of today, early desktop publishing was a primitive affair. Users of the
PageMaker-LaserWriter-Macintosh 512K system endured frequent software crashes, the Mac's
tiny 512 x 342 1-bit black and white screen, the inability to control letter spacing, kerning (the
addition or removal of space between individual characters in a piece of typeset text to improve
its appearance or alter its fit) and other typographic features, and discrepancies between the
screen display and printed output. However, it was a revolutionary combination at the time, and
was received with considerable acclaim.

Behind-the-scenes technologies developed by Adobe Systems set the foundation for

professional desktop publishing applications. The LaserWriter and LaserWriter Plus printers
included high quality, scalable Adobe PostScript-fonts built into their ROM memory. The
LaserWriter's PostScript capability allowed publication designers to proof files on a local printer
then print the same file at DTP service bureaus using optical resolution 600+ ppi PostScript-
printers such as those from Linotronic. Later, the Macintosh II was released which was much
more suitable for desktop publishing because of its larger, color screen, support for multiple
displays, greater RAM capacity and its SCSI storage interface which allowed fast, high-capacity
hard drives to be attached to the system.

Although Macintosh-based systems would continue to dominate the market, in 1986, the
GEM-based Ventura Publisher was introduced for MS-DOS computers. While PageMaker's
pasteboard metaphor closely simulated the process of creating layouts manually, Ventura
Publisher automated the layout process through its use of tags/style sheets and automatically
generated indices and other body matter. This made it suitable for manuals and other long-format
documents. Desktop publishing moved into the home market in 1986 with Professional Page for
the Amiga, Publishing Partner (now PageStream) for the Atari ST, GST's Timeworks Publisher
on the PC and Atari ST and Calamus for the Atari TT030. Even for 8-bit computers like the
Apple II and Commodore 64 software was published: Home Publisher, The Newsroom and
geoPublish.
During these early years, desktop publishing acquired a bad reputation from untrained users who
created poorly-organized ransom note effect layouts — criticisms that would be levied again
against early web publishers a decade later. However, some were able to realize truly
professional results.

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.g. learning how to put clip art in a word processor) to what requires a college education and
years of experience (e.g. advertising agency positions). The discipline of DTP skills range from
technical skills such as prepress production and programming to creative skills such as
communication design and graphic image development.

TERMINOLOGY:

There are two types of pages in desktop publishing, electronic pages and virtual paper
pages to be printed on physical paper pages. All computerized documents are technically
electronic, which are limited in size only by computer memory or computer data storage space.

Virtual paper pages will ultimately be printed, and therefore require paper parameters that
coincide with international standard physical paper sizes such as "A4," "letter," etc., if not
custom sizes for trimming. Some desktop publishing programs allow custom sizes designated for
large format printing used in posters, billboards and trade show displays. A virtual page for
printing has a predesignated size of virtual printing material and can be viewed on a monitor in
WYSIWYG format. Each page for printing has trim sizes (edge of paper) and a printable area if
bleed printing is not possible as is the case with most desktop printers.

A web page is an example of an electronic page that is not constrained by virtual paper
parameters. Most electronic pages may be dynamically re-sized, causing either the content to
scale in size with the page or causing the content to re-flow.
 Master pages are templates used to automatically copy or link elements and graphic
design styles to some or all the pages of a multipage document. Linked elements can be modified
without having to change each instance of an element on pages that use the same element.
Master pages can also be used to apply graphic design styles to automatic page numbering.

Page layout is the process by which the elements are laid on the page orderly,
aesthetically, and precisely. Main types of components to be laid out on a page include text,
linked images that can only be modified as an external source, and embedded images that may be
modified with the layout application software. Some embedded images are rendered in the
application software, while others can be placed from an external source image file. Text may be
keyed into the layout, placed, or (with database publishing applications) linked to an external
source of text which allows multiple editors to develop a document at the same time.

Graphic design styles such as color, transparency, and filters, may also be applied to
layout elements. Typography styles may be applied to text automatically with style sheets. Some
layout programs include style sheets for images in addition to text. Graphic styles for images
may be border shapes, colors, transparency, filters, and a parameter designating the way text
flows around the object called "wraparound" or "runaround."

COMPARISIONS
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 common
in many applications today.
 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.

With other electronic layout software

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
WYSIWYG 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 freely available, it can be more cost-effective than the
professionally-oriented DTP systems. It is also particularly suitable for corporate newsletters or
other applications where consistent, automated layout is important.

One of the early and comprehensive reference books on the art of Desktop Publishing is
Desktop Publishing For Everyone by K.S.V. Menon. This publication deals with virtually every
facet of publishing and nearly all tools available as at the time of the publishing of this book in
the year 2000. It is currently out of print.

There is some overlap between desktop publishing and what is known as Hypermedia
publishing (i.e. Web design, Kiosk, CD-ROM). Many graphical HTML editors such as Microsoft
FrontPage and Adobe Dreamweaver use a layout engine similar to a DTP program. However,
some Web designers still prefer to write HTML without the assistance of a WYSIWYG editor,
for greater control and because these editors often result in code bloat.
DTP applications
 Adobe FrameMaker

 Adobe InDesign

 Adobe PageMaker

 CorelDRAW

 Corel Ventura

 iStudio Publisher

 Microsoft Office Publisher

 OpenOffice.org

 PageStream (used to be "Publishing Partner")

 QuarkXPress

 Ready,Set,Go

 Scribus

 Serif PagePlus