Basic desktop publishing: tools to control type, graphics, and the layout and design of pages ability to create master pages and stylesheets that are used to automate and structure documents and utilities to check files for technical compliance with the printing industry's standards (also known as 'preflighting') before sending them to a service bureau.The evaluation below categorizes the publishing layout programs by key features needed for different types of publications: Some programs have specialized tools for long documents and tabular material, while others have specialized tools for design- intensive publications such as magazines and brochures. Of course, no one program has all the tools to meet every publisher's needs. The five most popular desktop publishing packages - Adobe PageMaker, Adobe InDesign, QuarkXPress, Adobe FrameMaker, and Corel VENTURA - can help you do that. You can save time and money at the service bureau division of your print shop, and make your life easier, if you prepare your files well and according to the print industry's specifications. In this issue she compares five of the best desktop-publishing packages, reviewing their strengths and weaknesses, and suggesting which types of publications they're best suited for.

She has agreed to share with JEP some of the information she gives to clients about the publishing business. Bevi Chagnon is a consultant to publishers in academe, business, and government.

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