DESKTOP PUBLISHING

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Define desktop publishing and explain its limitations and capabilities.

In less than 10 years, desktop publishing has surfaced as one of the predominant personal computing applications. It has changed the way you, as a Navy journalist, produce a wide array of publications, from ship and station newspapers and familygrams, to welcome aboard pamphlets and commissioning/ decommissioning brochures.

DEFINITION

Simply stated, desktop publishing is an application that combines an economical personal computer system with page layout software and a laser printer to produce typeset-quality-printed products. This eliminates the need to work with dummy layouts and galley proofs, because the entire product is composed on a computer screen.

Using computers to compose pages is not a new concept. For many years, newspaper and magazine publishers have used computers for all facets of page layout and editing. However, the cost of their computer systems and accompanying software was prohibitive, and therefore, limited to national publications or those in relatively large markets. Accordingly, the manufacturers of customized computer publishing systems were hesitant to produce cheaper versions of their products. This changed in 1985 when desktop publishing went mainstream.

TRADITIONAL VS. DESKTOP PUBLISHING

Desktop publishing allows you to throwaway your drafting board, paste-up sheet, "T" square, rubber cement and the rest of the printing and layout "tools of the trade" mentioned earlier.

Consider, for example, you are a J03 tasked with laying out and designing page 5 of your weekly funded newspaper. Normally you would work with the newspaper dummy where you indicate the arrangement of the copy, headlines, photographs and cutlines. Your main tools are a pencil, printer's rule and eraser.

If you worked the same page on a typical desktop publishing system (fig. 8-4), you will notice a tremendous difference. You may lay out and design the entire page on the computer screen using the computer keyboard and a mouse. You could indicate the size and kind of type and its page position with relative ease. Using a seamer, you could insert illustrations and photographs into the layout; then make modifications as necessary. All the while you are working on-screen with body copy that will result in typeset-quality text - without the involvement of a military or civilian publisher.

STRENGTHS

With the proper computer hardware and software in place, you will enjoy the following attributes of desktop publishing:

A cut in printing costs by as much as 75 percent.

Fast turnaround time.

Making corrections to spelling errors, omission of words or entire lines of text and poor word division at your office.

Making last-minute changes without a major reworking of the paste-up.

Using less office space, a key consideration especially aboard ship.

Eliminating the need to work with a publisher on the initial paste-up of a product, as discussed earlier.

Eliminating the need to work with the subcontractors of the publisher, such as typesetters, proofreaders, and so forth.

WEAKNESSES

Any computer-literate JO can operate a desktop publishing system with relative ease. However, there are two common hazards you should recognize and avoid.

The old saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt;" certainly applies to desktop publishing. Some novice desktop publishers, convinced that the computer

Figure 8-4. - The components of a typical desktop publishing system: personal computer, laser printer, scanner, mouse and software.

hardware and software are suitable replacements for talent and skill, become complacent in the basic principles of layout and makeup. In turn, they produce page layouts you would only see in your worst nightmares. Make sure you follow the long-established rules of layout and makeup covered later in this chapter.

In addition, you should apply some forethought when selecting your computer hardware and software. On occasion, some hardware components will not function properly with others, and there are some word processing programs that will not work well with certain desktop publishing programs. If you are purchasing a new system, make sure you get satisfactory answers to questions about compatibility.