7.13 Desktop Publishing Programs

Companies producing white papers etc. often find word processing programs do not provide the control needed for professional layout and typesetting. Unless the task is farmed out to publishing companies (often the case), a desktop publishing program has to be used.

DTP Versus Word Processing

Word processing is not to be despised. Today's programs are sophisticated, and capable of typesetting to a standard better than that commonly seen in novels and academic paperbacks. MS Word has an excellent indexing facility, moreover, and tables can be attractively laid out with proper borders and cell spacing. {1} Typesetting is also made quicker and more professional-looking by using stylesheets and third-party plugins. {2}

Word documents can be converted to the PDF format preferred by printers by using one of the many Word to PDF conversion programs: A small selection:

Program	Price	Retains Formatting	Retains Hyperlinks	Extra Features
Abbyy PDF Transformer	$80	Yes	Yes	Also converts PDF to Word. Some editing functions.
Acrobat X	$250-400	Yes	Yes	Many: the originator and still market leader.
Cute PDF	Free	Yes	Yes	Basic, but commercial versions available.
Expert PDF 7	€69	Yes	Yes	Also converts PDF to Word. Many editing functions.
Lead Tool's ePrint Professional	$99	Yes	Yes	Also converts PDF to Word. Many editing and batch functions.

Good typesetting requires painstaking care, experience and a strong sense of graphic design, i.e. skill more than software. {3} {12 {13} Nonetheless, word processors fail in more advanced tasks: {4}

1. Where text must be flowed through separate box inserts.
2. Complex layouts with superimposed graphics and text.
3. Finer typographic control
3. In making color separations for CMYK printing.

Popular DTP Programs

A general comparison of the more popular programs with the word-processor Microsoft Word.

Feature	InDesign	Quark Express	PageMaker	Framemaker	Ventura	Word
Market	design studios	design studios	business	long technical manuals	long technical manuals	home & business
Text flow	7	8	6	7	7	4
Typographic Control	9	6	4	7	6	5
Master page control	8	6	5	8	8	5
Section saving	7	7	6	7	7	1
Drag & Drop	8	3	7	2	7	5
Program to program conversion	7	5	7	7	5	3
Macros	8	7	7	3	7	8
Layout tools	8	8	6	8	8	5
color control	8	5	6	3	3	2
Image manipulation	9	5	7	6	6	2
PDF handling	8	8	8	7	7	2
Preflighting	7	9	5	6	6	1
Integration with Adobe programs	9	3	4	8	5	2

Ranking is from 1 (missing) to 9 (superb). Companies will need to undertake a more detailed comparison for specific tasks, but many graphic design studios have moved to Adobe's InDesign. Plugins exist for both InDesign and Xpress (indexing, tables, etc.), and for all shortcomings there are work-arounds. Backward convertibility remains an important issue (InDesign CS2 files cannot be read with InDesign 2), but InDesign is a program engineered from scratch, and seems easier to learn. Corel Ventura and Framemaker address a loyal but specialist market (long, highly structured technical manuals in XML).

Questions

1. For what tasks would you employ a word processing package to lay out a page?
2. What DTP package would you employ for these tasks, and why:
a. a mass market novel,
b. a flyer for your local pizza takeaway,
c. a scientific paper involving complex math formulas,
d. your company parts manual with 6,000 entries, and
e. a photographic journal?
3. Your fashion company's magazine is to become available on tablet computers. Investigate the format conversion software available and devise a preproduction flow path.

Sources and Further Reading

1. Microsoft Word 2010 Bible by Herb Tyson. John Wiley & Sons. June 2010. One of many such guides. Earlier Word versions, though with fewer features, often have better typesetting facilities.
2. Program Add-ins for Microsoft Word. The Editorium. Several inexpensive typesetting tools.
3. Layout Workbook: A Real-World Guide to Building Pages in Graphic Design by Kristin Cullen. Rockport Publishers. May 2007. Many such guides exist.
4. Word Processing vs DTP. Scribus. Specifications for the free layout program.
5. Color separation. Webopedia. Simple introduction and links to related subjects.
6. Adobe InDesign CS5 Bible by Galen Gruman. Wiley. June 2010.
7. Real World QuarkXPress 7 for Macintosh and Windows by David Blatner. Peachpit Press. August 2008.
8. Adobe PageMaker 7.0: Classroom in a Book. Adobe Press. January 2003.
9. Adobe FrameMaker 9: Classroom in a Book. Adobe Press. October 2009.
10. Desktop Publishing Style Guide by Sandra Letz Devall. Delmar Cengage Learning. July 1998. Basics of DTP design.
12. The Elements of Topographic Style by Robert Brighurst. Hartley and Marks. October 2004. A long-established favorite.
13. Butcher's Copy-Editing by Judith Butcher, Caroline Drake and Maureen Leach. CUP 2006. One of many handbooks for editors and proofreaders.
14. Mark Boulton. Blog of professional typesetter and author.