Basic Guidelines and Requirements
By Jacci Howard Bear, About.com Guide
Take a Crash Course
If you know what desktop publishing is but just need a plan or outline to get started, explore these tutorials for jumpstarting the design process no matter what your current skill level.
- How to Do Desktop Publishing and Desktop Printing
- How to Do Professional Desktop Publishing
- How to Do Desktop Publishing as a Freelance Business
- How to Create a Greeting Card
- The Rules of Desktop Publishing
- Best Page Layout Practices
- 4 Steps to Perfect Publications
- Why and How to Use Templates
- How to Use QR Codes in Desktop Publishing
Defining Desktop Publishing
Desktop publishing is a term coined after the development of a specific type of software.
- What is Desktop Publishing?
- When Was Desktop Publishing Invented?
- What is Page Layout?
- Myths & Misconceptions
- The Graphic Design Connection
- The Web Design Connection
- The Word Processing Connection
- The Digital Scrapbooking Connection
Things You Need
The main thing needed to do desktop publishing is the software and a computer to run it on. After that you'll need paper, fonts, clip art, templates, and other computer add-ons.
- Supplies You Need to Do Desktop Publishing
- Computers, Cameras, Printers, Scanners
- 4 Types of Software
- Minimum Software
- Top Windows Professional Software
- Top Mac Professional Software
Things to Make
What are you going to create? Dig into detailed design tips and tutorials, makeovers, ideas, techniques, and supplies for anything you can do with desktop publishing software.
- Top 4 Things to Make Using Desktop Publishing
- Advertising Pieces
- Annual Reports
- Books
- Business Cards
- Calendars
- Cards & Invitations
- Digital Scrapbooks
- Envelopes
- Identity System
- Iron On Transfers
- Letterhead
- Logos
- Magazines
- Newsletters
- Portfolio Projects (Makeovers)
- Postcards
- Posters
- 16 Areas of Specialization
Skills You Need
Although almost anyone can do desktop publishing, certain skills and education make it easier -- and may be critical for doing professional desktop publishing.
Related Areas of Interest
The lines are often blurred between designing for print and for the Web as well as desktop publishing professionally or for personal projects for fun or profit.
Pick Another Path to Explore
The basics of desktop publishing aren't simply a few quick lessons. You can spend months or years learning, practicing, and improving your basic skills. But at the same time you're digging deeper into the basics you can be learning more of the task and techiques involved in all parts of desktop publishing and learning how to take full advantage of everything that your desktop publishing software can do.