Discover business opportunities in desktop publishing

Home Office Computing, Jan, 1991 by Steve Morgenstern

Discover Business Opportunities in Desktop Publishing

You see lots of articles in HOME-OFFICE COMPUTING on topics like financing a new business or moonlighting while holding down a full-time job. But I've never used this space specifically to address potential business opportunities in desktop publishing (DTP).

That's why, when I contemplated devoting a column to making money with DTP, I posted queries on the CompuServe and Prodigy on-line services to gather nuggets of wisdom from fellow DTPers across the country. Their responses convinced me that there are several ways to use DTP in--or as--your business.

TWO WAYS TO MAKE MONEY

The following comes from Casey Hill, a DTP professional from Grand Blanc, Michigan, who also teaches the subject to budding page jockeys at local colleges:

"It seems like there are quite a few articles on starting a DTP business, and I think that's a bit troubling. For someone who has a good sense of design and has done design or production work the old-fashioned way with traditional typesetters and equipment, the switch to DTP is a natural. But for people just looking around for a way to make some extra money with their computers, well . . . DTP takes a whole lot more work than just buying a program and putting up your in-business sign," Hill says.

I agree that there has been far too much written on this subject along the lines of great matchbook-cover come-ons: Make Big Bucks Operating the Big Rigs! Buy a DTP Program and Earn $$$ the Easy Way!

It's never that easy.

There's a Great Divide in DTP between using the technology to promote and expand your own business in some other field and making DTP a business in itself. You can't do slapdash work in either case. But if your DTP projects are limited to self-promotion activities, there's a lot more margin for error. In fact, simply moving to laser-printer output with columns and attractive headlines could lift you head and shoulders above the competition.

Enhancing your existing business with desktop-published materials is one tremendously important opportunity, and I encourage you to try it. If you want to do DTP work for someone else, though, you're in another ballpark. When you compete against other professionals, you have to bring more than technology to the game. DTP has one intrinsic advantage over traditional typesetting and page-layout techniques: It's less expensive. But it still takes talent and skill to turn out an attractive publication, and those don't come in a box.

PROFESSIONAL WORK FROM HOME

What makes the effort worthwhile, in my estimation, is the fact that the work you create using a personal computer can hold its own against traditional typesetting.

ACT Graphics is a case in point. John Cornicello and two partners started this business in January 1990 in a Cranford, New Jersey, apartment and recently moved into the basement of one partner's new home. Their software is pretty standard for a DTP operation--Microsoft Windows, Aldus PageMaker, and CorelDraw running on two 386-based PC clones. The assignments they tackle with this setup are impressive, though, including typesetting for local printers, local ad agencies, and national magazines. How do three guys working out of a basement turn out pages for Fitness Plus, Muscle Training, Oui, and other publications?

The answer isn't hardware or software--it's smarts. One of the partners spent 35 years in conventional typesetting, while Cornicello is the resident computer maven. The third partner is a salesman adept at schmoozing with clients.

"IT'S JUST ME RUNNING THE SHOW"

A three-man business with decades of relevant experience is definitely a high-end success story. A more typical example comes from Susan Quinn in South Carolina.

"I run a DTP business called Infographix out of my home," Quinn says. "I do several different kinds of projects, including brochures, newsletters, logo design, ad design, fliers, and posters, using a Mac II with a LaserWriter IINT. I am also a writer."

How does she market her business? "I have found many of my clients through direct mail, newspaper ads, and word of mouth. Ads are crucial. I advertise in a small weekly paper and sometimes in the business section of the daily paper. I have also taken out a good-size ad in the yellow pages. Another invaluable source of clients has been my local Chamber of Commerce, which is very helpful to small businesses.

"As far as tips go, the most important thing is to work hard and not settle for anything but your very best. I know that sounds trite, but if you do poor quality work, the word gets around, and no amount of advertising can cure that," Quinn says.

PARLAYING SKILLS INTO SUCCESS

Cornicello and his partners are professionals who were empowered to go it on their own by the availability of reasonably priced, powerful DTP technology. Susan Quinn's experience is closer to my own--she's someone who started out with expertise in one aspect of the publishing process and expanded on that skill.

Don Arnoldy of Santa Clara, California, is a graphic artist using a Mac-based system to turn out everything from four-color posters to forms to technical documentation. Arnoldy has 15 years of experience in graphic arts, including six with desktop publishing.