Desktop+Publishing

**Desktop Publishing**


 * __ What is Desktop Publishing? __**

Desktop publishing is a term coined after the development of a specific type of software. It's about using that software to combine and rearrange text and images and creating digital files. Desktop publishing (also known as DTP) is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer. The basics of combining text and images are the specific tasks and techniques involved in creating readable, effective page layouts.

Desktop publishing is the use of the computer and specialized software to create documents for desktop or commercial printing. Desktop publishing refers to the process of using the computer to produce documents such as newsletters, brochures, books, and other publications that were once created manually using a variety of non-computer techniques along with large complex phototypesetting machines. Today desktop publishing software does it all - almost. But before PageMaker and other desktop publishing software there were e-scales, paste-up, and other non-desktop computer ways of putting together a design for printing.
 * OLD / TRADITIONAL DEFINITION: **

Properly speaking, desktop publishing is the technical assembly of digital files in the proper format for printing. In practical use, much of the "graphic design" process is also accomplished using desktop publishing and graphics software and is sometimes included in the definition of desktop publishing.


 * __List of Desktop Publishing Programs__ **

is a software application produced by Adobe System. It can be used to create works such as posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers and books. In conjunction with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite InDesign can publish content suitable for tablet devices.
 * Adobe InDesign:[[image:indesssssign.jpg width="274" height="172" align="right"]] **

Adobe corporation has been at the forefront of developing publishing software. They started off with Adobe PageMaker, which remains my most popular application to date. It has slowly lost market share to other new faces, but in the nineties it was way on top of any desktop publishing software. It occupied very less memory, would work on any PC, made no demands on the hardware and was reasonably priced. No doubt offices churned out newsletters, fliers and pamphlets using PageMaker. It haschanged hands many times. With Aldous bought over by Adobe, PageMaker had a makeover from a purely Macintoshapplication to a Windows one. Adobe added the hugely popular postscript language to it, giving it an added dimension.PageMaker's easy to navigate menus, color palettes and intuitive tools has added to its attraction. Text can be directly typed and formatted in the layout view. The latest data merge feature helps in importing text, images and graphics from external databases making page layout a fun affair. Provision of color separation tool with authentic print output is an attractive feature of PageMaker.
 * Adobe Pagemaker: **

CorelDraw is another of my favorites. It was developed for the Intel based computers running windows operating system. Though a vector based software, it was projected successfully as a complete solution for desktop publishing. The feature which I liked most had nothing to do with the software. It was the large collection of clipart which was included with the package which made it almost indispensible. The clipart were so popular that even today one would find them in use. Its latest version X3 includes a powerful bitmap to vector tracing application. Its interactive Fit text to Path tool can be used to manipulate and draw text in various shapes. This is a favorite tool with designers because of its use in all sorts of print applications, from mailers to brochures.Desktop publishing has revolutionized the print technology. The tedium of manual typesetting has been replaced by a creative and exciting alternative which has boosted productivity to unimaginable levels.
 * Corel Draw: **

QuarkXPress ("Quark") is a computer application for creating and editing complex page layouts in a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environment. It runs on Mac OSX and Windows. It was first released by Quark Inc in 1987 and is still owned and published by them.
 * QuarkXPress: **

 iStudio Publisher is a desktop publishing (DTP) application developed by c:four. iStudio Publisher 1.0 was released on 6 January 2009 at the Mac word conference in San Francisco. The most recent version, iStudio Publisher 1.1.8, runs on Mac OSX 10.4 tiger, 10.5 leopard, 10.6 snow leopard and 10.7 lion.
 * iStudio Publisher: **

The Adobe Postscript language allows all of our DTP images (mathematical and referenced) to be converted, using a common interpreter, and passed through to an output device suitable for visual reproduction. Therefore any computer systems, software and output devices from different manufactures can send or receive via a common page description language (PDL) file - if those devices all include a PostScript interpreter.
 * Adobe Postscript **

PostScript (PS) is a dynamically typed concatenate programming language created by John Warnock and Charles Gesckhe in 1982. It is best known for its use as a page description language n the electronic and desktop publishing areas. Adobe PostScript 3 is also the worldwide printing and imaging standard. Used by print service providers, publishers, corporations, and government agencies around the globe, Adobe PostScript enables reliable printing of visually rich documents.

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 paper size 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.
 * Terminology **

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 reflow. 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."

Unlike word processing applications, desktop publishing software permits users to modify multiple elements within a document via master pages. Instead of needing to change each instance of an element on several pages of a document, users can modify a single linked element and thus change every occurrence of this element in the document; typographical elements in a document such as column width, spacing, or font size can be easily altered, and text can be modified to wraparound graphical images, or enlarged or reduced on command.
 * VS. Word Press **

Printing plates can be produced through desktop publishing programs, downloaded as files, and printed through a range of printing methods. While desktop publishers are compatible with standard lasers printers, they can also function with more specialized printers such as flexographic printers used in product packaging, photogravure printers used for making art prints, or thermographical printers used to make raised lettering on wedding invitations.

**Videos:**

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References:
1. [|http://www.optimism-modernity.org.uk/documents/index.html#note1] 2. [] 3. [] 4. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-desktop-publishing.html 5. [] 6.[] 7. []