desktop
publishing

The pioneer of layout design is Paul Brainerd, who in 1985 released the first computer program for this purpose – Aldus Pagemaker for Macintosh computers. Today, there are various sophisticated programs for this purpose, allowing layouts to be created not only by professionals but also by enthusiasts. It has never been so easy to get to a simple layout without prior knowledge. Of course, professionally designed layouts are on a completely different level and you need to have an in-depth knowledge of every detail.

The layout process itself is the use of computer software to combine different elements (text, images, graphics, illustrations, graphic design elements etc.) to produce a high-quality document that can then be printed or published online. The main goal of layout design is to produce easy to understand material, whatever it is – business card, brochure, billboard, web banner, presentation, email etc.

Each of these 3 programs has its own core function, advantages and disadvantages. However, there are often situations where programs are used for things they were not intended for. This leads to a situation where working with layout files is very inefficient and time-consuming.

Adobe InDesign – desktop publishing software. It has a wealth of options for very precise layout and formatting. Ideal for products with lots of pages or information.

Adobe Illustrator – vector graphics development software. Suitable for creating precise files and illustrations that are constant at any resolution – logos, outlines.

Adobe Photoshop  a full-featured image processing software. It allows you to make any kind of adjustment, from slight blending to detailed photo manipulation.

There are many details to know in desktop publishing that are easy to miss. Every day, the layouts submitted by clients tend to be miracles:

• the quality of the images is poor and grainy
• black, other than rich black, consists of all 4 basic colors
• the layout to be printed is prepared in RGB
• the layout for full-color printing is prepared in pantones
• bleed and crop marks are not applied to the print file
• graphic elements and logos are in raster rather than vectors
• the size or proportions of the model do not correspond to what is required
• the text in the layout submitted is an outline which cannot be edited

In most cases it is possible to make corrections to these files and prepare them correctly, but this is time-consuming and the result is rarely perfect. Changing color profiles makes images not look as expected, adjusting text causes text to shift or fade, graphic elements to be grainy or have white edges, and various other problems and imperfections.

There are no uniform guidelines on how to design and adjust the layout. Every company and layout designer works slightly differently, but there are a few stopping points that make layout efficient and fast. Taking these things into account reduces layout time and, as a result, costs:

• content is the most important thing. Before you design a layout, you need to see all the content elements that you intend to include in the layout. Based on the content, it is possible to design the appropriate layout as accurately and quickly as possible. Of course, you can change the content information and images, but as the overall size remains the same, these corrections will be made quickly.
• it is very important to bring them together in one place when planning revisions. It is much quicker (and cheaper) to make corrections if they are in one long list, rather than individually. It’s easier to get started and finish faster if the necessary adjustments are in one place, rather than scattered like so many small fixes.
• the client makes corrections to the preview file himself and does not specify the things that need to be corrected. There are situations where a small correction is needed, but the client, hasn’t said exactly what needs to be fixed. As a result, a lot of time is spent going through the whole layout and comparing it with the previous version in order to find and correctly implement corrections.