Desktop Publishing & Design for Dummies (Paperback)

by Roger C. Parker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Everyone appreciates professional-looking documents, whether they're newsletters and brochures or business proposals and presentations. Now, with Desktop Publishing & Design For Dummies, you can discover how to create effective, desktop-published documents yourself -- saving both the time and expense of working with designers, typesetters, and service bureaus. Leading desktop publishing guru and author Roger C. Parker shows you how to Apply basic design principles by using popular desktop publishing and page layout programs such as QuarkXPress and Adobe PageMaker Choose the right computer hardware and software to suit your budget as well as your needs Scan photographs and place them effectively on your pages Select the best typefaces for headlines, subheads, body copy, and captions Use color tastefully Prepare bug-free files for service bureaus and printers Talk the talk: A glossary of over 200 design terms helps you communicate with others to ensure that your job is done on time and within budget

Plus, Desktop Publishing & Design For Dummies features a special insert that takes you step by step through the process of creating successful newsletters.

About the Author
Roger C. Parker has been called "the nation's leading guru of desktop publishing design excellence." Over one million readers in over 30 countries throughout the world own copies of his 24 books, which include the best selling Microsoft® Office For Windows® For Dummies® series and Desktop Publishing & Design For Dummies®.

Roger has conducted hundreds of design seminars around the world, including the Magazine Publishing Association's Folio Conference in New York. Roger regularly contributes to numerous print and online publications, including Microsoft Smallbiz. He is a member of the Microsoft Small Business Council and a consultant to numerous firms. He is a member of the International Design Association.

For free additional print and Web design ideas, visit Roger C.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc (Computers) (January 20, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568842341
• ISBN-13: 978-1568842349
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #346,432 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily make your documents look professional, December 6, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This is a great, easy to understand desktop reference for making ANY document, brochure, newsletter, report, letter, etc. look professional, and for making people want to read them. It tells you what makes publications look better and WHY, and gives examples and ideas. Even using just a few tips from this book can help your documents look better and be easier to read. It explains fonts and how to choose, spacing, using pictures, clip art, and graphics (including scanning and sizing), borders, tables, charts, how to attract reader's attention, and how to use color and save money. The design, page formatting and layout tips also provide detailed instructions for most major word processing and desktop publishing applications, such as Word, Wordperfect, MS Publisher and Pagemaker (Windows and Mac). Although it was written in 1995, the tips and tricks still apply and I find the instructions generally hold up in the upgraded versions of the software applications (i.e., Office 2000)(- but it would still be nice to get a new edition of this book published). It also has a section on how to easily work with your service bureau or print shop, and on creating a corporate identity for your business.

I've read this cover to cover and keep it at my desk for quick reference. I think all design and publishing professionals should read this book as I can now do better than most I've worked with! I highly recommend this for anyone who owns their own business - but it even helps with the family Christmas newsletter.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspired a career change, March 25, 2001

By A Customer

OK, this book is old. I don't read it too often anymore, but have probably read it cover to cover three times, and referred back to it dozens of times. It is good generic information that still applies today. I bought this book back in late 1995. Around the same time I started fooling around with Corel Draw 4 and Serif Page Plus 3/Draw Plus 2. By June of 1996 I was a graphic artist at a weekly newspaper. Two years later I got a job as a signmaker for a few months. I returned to the newspaper business when a good offer came in, and have been doing dtp, design and signmaking freelance on the side ever since. When I bought this book, I didn't know the difference between a serif and san serif font. I was self taught, 100%. Other books that were a big influence "The Gray Book" and a little spiral bound book from DDC "Quick Reference Guide-Graphic Design for Desktop Publishing". Learning programs certainly is valuable, and I've worked with a lot of them. More valuable is the understanding of layout and design. Without this knowledge, knowing a bunch of programs is of little use. This book is good for someone starting out, or someone who thinks they know a lot.