The Bottom Line
- 31 Free Demo Videos
- Project-Oriented Training
- Thorough Overview
- Dated Software
Description
- General Desktop Publishing Training on CD
- 95 Lessons- Video run time: 9 Hours
- Narrator: Brian White
- Win 95/98/2000/NT/XP and Mac OS/OSX
Guide Review - VTC Professional Desktop Publishing on the PC
Presented through a series of screen shots and slides with simple animation, tutorials in the first two chapters are not in-depth but do touch on several key concepts starting with the differences between graphics and page layout software, vector versus bitmap graphics formats, and a brief look at color modes.
After the first two chapters, training is presented in the context of specific projects: logo, business cards, letterhead, ads, newsletter, and brochure. Project 1 - Creating a Logo is available as 24 free Quicktime videos to demonstrate the style and depth of the training on the CD. Although the demos use CorelDRAW and Photoshop for logo design, the software-specific instruction does not detract excessively from the graphics creation process making most of the discussion relative to the viewer who doesn't use those programs.
Assuming that the remaining training on the CD follows the same style as the free demos, as a basic introduction to desktop publishing techniques the material is interesting, easy-to-follow, and fairly thorough. It won't have you doing professional desktop publishing as soon as you're done watching; but, for someone with little to no prior knowledge of desktop publishing and graphics software, it can be a worthwhile listen.
