DESKTOP PUBLISHING

Before 1985 the process of creating and publishing a professional-
looking document was quite different from what
it has evolved into since that time. Before the invention of
the laser printer and then in 1985 desktop-publishing software,
the publishing process involved numerous professionals
performing various tasks—typically in a variety of
locations. Writers and editors created the text for a project;
designers and artists created the layout and necessary photographs
and other artwork; typesetters created galleys of
finished type that then had to be cut and pasted into place
on an art board; camera operators, “strippers,” and other
printing professionals produced negatives, flats, and printing
plates; press operators printed the finished project.
All that changed significantly with the advent of laser
printing and desktop-publishing software. Aldus Corporation
founder Paul Brainerd coined the phrase desktop
publishing to refer to a new publishing process—a combination
of technology that now allowed the functions of
writing, editing, designing, typesetting, illustrating, formatting,
and printing a document to be accomplished by
one person (if desired) working at one location—his or
her own desktop!
The process of desktop publishing can be accomplished
with word-processing software or with sophisticated
desktop-publishing software. Desktop publishing
includes projects printed on desktop printing equipment
(black-and-white laser printers, ink-jet printers, and color
laser printers) as well as those prepared in electronic form
for final printing on high-end commercial printing
presses. The use of personal computers (PCs) has become
so widespread that the traditional publishing process
described earlier is obsolete—and rarely seen. Essentially,
all professional printing projects are created on PCs with
word-processing or desktop-publishing software (or
both).
As a result, desktop publishing is taking on a new
meaning. Rather than referring to the process that was
such a revolution in 1985 or even to the type of software
used to produce a project, the term is now generally used
to refer to the type of document produced. Generally
speaking, desktop publishing refers to a “designed” document
that effectively integrates type and visual elements
for printing either on desktop-printing equipment or on
traditional or digital professional-printing equipment.
Thus, desktop publishing could be summarized simply as
the combination of design principles, type, and visual elements
into a professional-looking document. By contrast,
word processing refers to such basic text-intensive documents
as business letters, memos, and reports created with
word-processing software that facilitates efficient entry,
editing, and layout of the text.
The term desktop-publishing software refers to PC programs
designed to facilitate professional document design
and creation. Also referred to as page-layout programs,
Adobe InDesign, Adobe FrameMaker, QuarkXPress, and
Corel Ventura were the leading professional-level desktoppublishing
programs in the early twenty-first century. In
addition, Adobe PageMaker—producing basic documents
such as brochures and newsletters—was targeted to business,
education, and small- and home-office users.
Desktop-publishing software targeted to small- and
home-office users included such programs as Microsoft
Office Publisher and Serif PagePlus. Another category of
desktop-publishing software is home-publishing and specialty
programs—programs not considered to be serious
desktop-publishing programs—designed for home users
to create such projects as calendars, greeting cards, business
cards, and fliers. Such programs included Print Shop,
PrintMaster, Calendar Creator, and Greeting Card Factory.
HOW WORD-PROCESSING AND
DESKTOP-PUBLISHING PROGRAMS
DIFFER
Understanding the essential differences between the functionality
of word-processing software and that of desktoppublishing
software can help an organization or individual
make a good choice between the two types of software for
use in creating desktop-publishing projects.
Both word-processing and desktop-publishing programs
include basic word-processing capabilities such as
these:
• Copy, cut, move, and paste functions
• Spell-checking

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 199
Desktop Publishing
• Find-and-replace functionality
• Automatic generation of tables of contents and
indexes
• Styles for formatting characters and paragraphs
• Tables and columns
Despite the inclusion of such features in desktop-publishing
software, word-processing software is nearly always a
much better choice for basic word processing, as it allows
the user to focus more on editing and developing content
efficiently than on creating the document layout and
implementing design elements.
Where word-processing and desktop-publishing programs
begin to differ most noticeably is in the way the
programs handle the integration of graphical elements
and text elements. In word-processing software, all the
text of a document is treated as one long “string” of words
running through the entire document. If a new paragraph
is inserted on the first page of the document, all the text
in the document (and often the graphical elements as
well) typically moves down by the length of that inserted
paragraph, and the text on the last page of the document
may even move to the top of a new page that is automatically
added to the document. Even if the document contains
sections, chapters, or other “unmovable” breaks, the
insertion of the paragraph on the first page can significantly
alter the layout of the entire document.
In most word-processing applications (basic documents
such as letters and memos), this string of text running
through the document works just fine, because the
document is not layout- or format-intensive. Likewise,
designed documents that do not include extensive graphical
elements and that are not adversely affected by the
flow-through-text effect of word-processing software can
often be created more easily in word-processing software
than in desktop-publishing software.
On the other hand, when documents are carefully
designed and formatted to integrate text and graphics in
Desktop publisher at work. © MARTHA TABOR/WORKING IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHS

200 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION
Desktop Publishing
specific ways on each page, the string effect of word processing
can be frustrating and inefficient. That is where
desktop-publishing software is much more effective.
Desktop-publishing software is designed as a pagelayout
tool, meaning that its emphasis is not on processing
words but on laying out and integrating textual and
graphical elements in a document. Text is generally placed
in a desktop-publishing document in text boxes or
“frames” that can be positioned in exact locations on specific
pages. A “story” or unit of text (such as an individual
article in a newsletter) may be broken into several frames
in a document, and the text will “flow” like a string
through these frames—but the frames retain their original
sizes, shapes, and positions, and graphical elements are
not moved or otherwise affected.
If the addition of a paragraph to a story pushes text
through the associated frames and causes the text to
exceed the capacity of those frames, the user is warned
that some text is not “placed” and must be positioned or
placed by the user. But the overall document layout is not
affected by the new text as it can be in word-processing
software. In short, the desktop-publishing-software user
has greater control over the layout of document elements
than does the word-processing-software user.
TYPICAL DESKTOP-PUBLISHINGSOFTWARE
FUNCTIONALITY
Functions and features that are typically present only in
desktop-publishing software and that therefore set desktop-
publishing software apart from word-processing software
include the following:
Grids and guidelines: Document layout is facilitated
by nonprinting guidelines and underlying document
grids. Graphical and textual elements
placed in the document may “snap” to these
guidelines and grids to ensure alignment with
other document elements, creating a more-professional,
consistent look in the document.
Printing-industry measurements: Although type size is
measured in points in both word-processing and
desktop-publishing software, word-processing
software typically uses inches for all other measurements.
In desktop-publishing software, units
of measure more common to the traditional
printing industry are used for greater ease and
accuracy. For example, indentations and margins
may be set using picas and points rather than
inches. (One pica is 12 points, and 6 picas is an
inch. Thus, an inch is 72 points.) A margin of
three-quarters of an inch would be designated as
54 points or, more typically, 9p0 (9 picas and 0
points). A line height of just over one-sixth of an
inch could be designated either as 14 points or as
1p2 (1 pica and 2 points).
Sophisticated typographic control: Desktop-publishing
programs often have very sophisticated typographic
control that results in the most professional
typesetting possible. For example,
individual character widths and heights can be
expanded or condensed as needed, and line spacing
and word spacing can be set to custom specifications.
The appearance of fully justified text
(text lines that are either “stretched out” or “compressed”
to make them all exactly the same
length) is enhanced by multiline “composition”
rather than single-line composition typical of
word processing. That is, the desktop-publishing
software evaluates multiple lines of type at a time
to determine the optimal places to break each
line for the most-pleasing overall look of a paragraph.
Other advanced features: Desktop-publishing software
may include such other advanced features as
book and chapter management, built-in manipulation
of graphical elements (such as the addition
of key-line borders, drop shadows, rounded or
beveled corners, and feathered edges), text set on
a curved line, and easy overlapping or “wraparound”
of graphical and textual elements for the
desired effect.
USING DESKTOP-PUBLISHING
SOFTWARE EFFECTIVELY
An experienced word-processing operator can probably
learn to be proficient in using desktop-publishing software
fairly quickly with the right training. Most people
find that the learning curve for desktop-publishing software
is much steeper than it is for word-processing software
because of the advanced features of
desktop-publishing software.
One of the most-useful practices for effective use of
desktop-publishing software is that of using both wordprocessing
and desktop-publishing software in the overall
process of creating a desktop-publishing project. Since
word-processing software is especially suited to entering,
editing, and collaborating with others on the basic copy or
text of a project, it should generally be used to complete
those copy-intensive tasks. Then, when the copy is completely
edited and ready for layout and formatting, it can
be imported into desktop-publishing software, where it
can be laid out on the page along with graphical elements
much more efficiently because of the advanced page-layout
functionality of desktop-publishing software.
SEE ALSO Information Technology; Software