Leaders give forecast at desktop summit; higher speed and lower costs will pave the way for start-up publishers

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, July, 1988 by Jean Marie Angelo

Leaders give forecast at desktop summit

New York City--Before long, publishers will see a broader range of start-up titles on the newsstand, thanks to higher speed, lower cost desktop systems, predicts John Warnock, president, Adobe Systems Incorporated. More "on demand" publications are also in the future, as well as growth in "nonpaper" publications, as graphics are applied to databases and on-line data. The result, he says, will be a magazine industry "lighter on its feet."

Such forecasts were cited by desktop leaders at a recent FOLIO:/Publish! "Desktop publishing summit," held during Face to Face, The FOLIO: Show/Spring. In addition to Warnock, other pundits included Paul Brainerd, president, Aldus Corp., manufacturer of PageMaker; Tyler Peppel, marketing manager, Apple Computer, Inc.; and Jeff Mason, general manager of publishing systems, IBM.

To date, say speakers, desktop users have fallen into two camps: corporate document makers and professional publishers. Brainerd, however, predicts that technology will soon produce a basic workstation to service both.

In fact, Apple's Macintosh systems, used extensively in the corporate world, will be upgraded to appeal to more high-end users, such as magazine publishers, Peppel says. "Publishing," he notes, "has specialized needs: high resolution and high speed."

Both needs are expected to be met soon. "Changes in printer technology are now opening new doors," Brainerd says. Instead of the common 300 dots per inch (dpi), he predicts, printer capability will approach 400 dpi and even 600 dpi within the next two years.

Adobe, furthermore, is working toward more exact "what you see is what you get (wysiwyg)" capability, with the development of Display PostScript. (PostScript is the language used to translate type and graphic information for printer output.) This new version drives information on the computer screen in the same language as that used to drive the printer. Currently, different languages can create discrepancies between screen information and printer output.

This year, Digital Equipment Corporation, Scitex and Next, the new company formed by Apple founder Steven Jobs, are expected to offer Display PostScript on their systems. Apple, too, had been expected to make Display PostScript a standard feature of its Macintosh, but will continue to use another language to handle on-screen graphics, while PostScript continues to transfer information at the print stage.

Adobe's next major partner for illustration modeling, says Warnock, will be UNIX. To date, UNIX has been a powerful operating system, but difficult for users to master, explains Susan Gubernat, editor, Publish!. Adobe will also be working to adapt its Illustrator program to MS-DOS computers, which include IBM PCs and their clones.

Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, too, are developing graphics-oriented programs for MS-DOS hardware. Apple, however, has brought lawsuits against the two companies, claiming that their products too closely resemble its own display program. In spite of the lawsuits, IBM's Mason said the new products will probably not be delayed.

In another development, Warnock says, Adobe's library of typefaces is expected to double this year, to 500.

Improved color ahead

Still to come is improvement in color capability, which many desktop users feel is a major stumbling block. Aldus, says Brainerd, is working extensively in this area, and several publications--including Canoe, a consumer title, and California Restaurateur, a business title--are using desktop to handle the bulk of their pre-press.

The four leaders also agree that technology must become easier to use if desktop is to grow. "We see shifting of power away from mainframes to independent workstations," says Mason of IBM. "We must make systems easy to use and easy to understand."

Meanwhile, desktop is becoming cheaper, as the industry moves to PCs. "Desktop is no longer a $250,000 system that takes several months to install and learn," says Brainerd. "Now a $500 expense gets you a software package."

"Desktop will not replace dedicated publishing systems," notes Peppel. But, he adds, it will be used as a frontend system that will work with dedicated technology.

"We have to look at where we can use the technology," he concludes. "We'll see more and more interfaces in creating work in color. We'll be able to proof at a certain resolution and then use other resolution for output."