Learn How to Do Desktop Publishing for Fun or Profit

Doing desktop publishing involves more than just having and using desktop publishing software. Discover the basic and advanced knowledge needed to do desktop publishing from start to finish as well as how to do desktop publishing as a freelance business.

How to Do Desktop Publishing and Desktop Printing: Assuming you have the appropriate desktop publishing software, chosen for the type of projects and printing you plan to do, and understand the basics of using desktop publishing software, here are the key steps to creating an attractive layout in most types of page layout software and printing it from your desktop printer. Ten Basic Steps to Doing Desktop Publishing

What are the Rules of Desktop Publishing?: While there are no hard and fast rules, there are guidelines, best practices, and tried and true methods of arranging a page and doing desktop publishing that result in attractive pages that effectively communicate the intended message.
Learn my personal selection of 12 Rules of Desktop Publishing

4 Steps to Perfect Publications: No matter what your level of expertise or your desktop publishing experience you can turn out a great looking desktop document by focusing on four basic areas: page layout, typography, graphics, and printing.

• Overview: 4 Steps for Everyone
• Perfect Publications for Non-Designers
• Perfect Publications for New or Intermediate Desigeners
• Perfect Publications for Experienced Designers

How a Desktop Publishing Document is Created: Learning how to do desktop publishing involves mastering desktop publishing tasks that fall into six areas: design, setup, text, images, file preparation, and printing. Each of these six areas involve learning a multitude of specific tasks and techniques and may also require learning the more advanced features of desktop publishing software.
How to Create a Desktop Document Step-by-Step

Graphic Design Basics: You don't need a degree in graphic design to do desktop publishing. But an understanding of the graphic design basics, including the elements and principles of graphic design, will help you do better work as a designer, publisher, and visual communicator.
Explore these lessons in the free Graphic Design Basics Course for Desktop Publishing.

How to Start a Desktop Publishing or Graphic Design Business: While some sources might have you believe that all it takes to start a desktop publishing business is to have some software, a color printer, and some fancy paper, the truth is that a desktop publishing or graphic design business requires the same attention to detail of any small business venture. You can start small and build up but the basics are the same.
Take this 10-step approach to getting into desktop publishing as a freelance business