DTP design creates a level playing field - desktop publishing - Small Magazine Workshop

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, July 1, 1994 by Robert Sentinery

In 1989 when I was developing the magazine that would become Zone, I was looking for a way to capture the attention of potential readers without spending a lot of money. The best way to achieve this, I felt, was to create a publication that looked radically different from the rest - and I knew that desktop publishing technology could help achieve this goal. From the outset, our designer was able to create unique layouts that would not have been cost-effective using conventional methods. This design system helped to give Zone its distinct visual identity while keeping production costs to a minimum. And the simplicity of the process allowed our one-person design department to bring the magazine from concept to ready-to-print film easily. I think that with the right approach, almost any small publication could operate like this.

Hardware requirements

The right computer system is essential. I have always been an advocate of Apple Macintosh products because of their user friendliness and their adaptability to publishing applications. Prices on systems have dropped considerably, and you can probably acquire all the hardware you need for a high-quality magazine for about $10,000. For starters, you'll need a CPU with at least 24 megabytes of RAM (preferably more) and a hard drive with at least 200K. A larger-than-standard color monitor (around 20 inches) would be helpful, especialy for viewing magazine layouts and spreads at full size. I would also recommend buying a goodquality flatbed scanner capable of scanning at 600 dpi.

You can save an enormous amount of money scanning your own black-and-white images, and you can probably get away with doing smaller full-color images with this system.

The only other components you'll need for your in-house system are a laser printer for outputting proofs, and some type of transport/storage system for moving large files to your service bureau for final outputting. A SyQuest drive and 44 or 88 megabyte disks work fairly well for this purpose, and will probably remain the standard until the price of read/write optical drives comes down.

The next area to concentrate on is software. You should be able to handle almost all of your design needs will three basic types of programs. First, you'll need a design layout program like QuarkXress or Aldus PageMaker. Using them, you will be able to build your publication, set type, s c colors, drop in photos, and man- age a host of other important functions.

Next, you'll need software to manage your photos. In this category, Adobe Photoshop seems to have the market cornered. An image can be scanned and brought into Photoshop, where any number of adjustments can be made, including changing contrast, altering colors, making separations and even removing flaws. There are also a number of special-effect filters that allow you to change the original photo dramatically Photoshop files are easy adaptable to other graphics programs and can be quickly brought into a layout program and placed in picture boxes. Finally, it would be an advantage to have a program like Adobe Ilustrator or Aldus Freehand for creating special marks, icons or graphics.

Service without headaches

Another important facet of design and production is finding the right service bureau. The bureau serves as an intermediary between your design department and your printer, often acting as a troubleshooter, catching problems before press time. Service bureaus provide a number of basic services - most important, the outputting or imagesetting of layout files to film negatives or RC paper. Most service bureaus have high-end, specialized equipment that would be far too costly for publishers to have in-house.

The service bureau is a]so where you go to have high-quality color scans done. These ultra-crisp scans can take up very large amounts of memory and are slow and difficult to work with. Many service bureaus will offer to store these files and give you low-resolution replacement files to work with.

Hub of the wheel: The designer

Even more important than the hardware, software and service bureau is, of course, the designer. You can have all the equipment in the world, but it's not much good unless your designer has a clear understanding of your editorial vision. The most successfully designed magazines effortlessly fuse editorial and visual elements into a unified whole. I've seen too many examples of comuter- generated lay-outs with text pushing the the limits of readability. There's a fine line between cutting-edge and overstated design.

Finally, for the smallest publishers (one- or two-person operations), computer layout skills can eleminate the need for a separate designer - thereby dramatically reducing costs. Generally software for desktop publishing is fairly easy to learn, and definitely not to be feared. You can pick up a class or two at a local community college for a few dollars and then experiment until you gain confidence. In some cases, your software retailer may offer free instruction on the use of these graphic design packages - an opportunity anyone thinking of creating an in-house design program shouldn't pass up.