Writing tip:

Paragraphs are not merely visual breaks in a document. Each paragraph should address a single topic or group of related thoughts. Often, but not always, the topic is stated in the opening sentence. Extremely long paragraphs may be divided for easier reading.

Publishing Services

Publishing covers a wide spectrum of activities ranging from content acquisition to printing and distribution. Here I use the word in a narrower sense to describe the post-editorial and preproduction phases such as page layout, figure placement, and prepress services. I work with several print vendors who provide printing, finishing, and fulfillment. I also will assist with electronic distribution.

Document Layout

The "desktop publishing" revolution of the early 90s was certainly a democratizing experience. However, savvy companies realize that professional-looking publications demand more than access to a software program. They require a thorough knowledge of layout, typography, image resolutions, color space, and content editing. The tools have merely made easier what was once a tedious process.

Quark and InDesign Layout

Once content has been developed, it should be presented in a manner that is visually interesting and aesthetically pleasing. For the past decade, the standard layout application has been Quark XPress; however, Adobe InDesign recently has risen to challenge Quark's dominance. If format matters, you have a choice. Both applications are widely supported in the printing and publishing industries.

Typographic Services

Typesetting was once a specialized occupation that required tedious work. The rise of the word processor has changed that, and as a result, the art of typography often is forgotten. Typography involves the selection and application of typefaces, leading, kerning, margins, hyphenation, and justification. The choices made can have a powerful impact on the readability and psychological effect of the document.

Prepress and Print Management

Offset printing no longer requires mechanicals, films, and "stripped-in" images; however, digital press technologies have not obviated the need for pre-flight checks. Although PDF-based printing has removed many obstacles, the distillation process has its own set of pitfalls. Obtaining professional results at affordable prices requires someone who can work with your printer and act as your liason.

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Graphic Design Services

The term graphic design may be used to describe any number of activities, including illustration, bitmap editing, page layout, and typography. As used here, the term refers to a more limited subset of these skills. Specifically it refers to the creation and manipulation of digital artwork. This artwork may be in either vector or raster (bitmap) format and used either in print or online.

Images and Illustrations

Bitmap images are those in which color values are mapped to each pixel in a grid. The dimensions of this grid, in the context of the output device used, determine its resolution. For a variety of reasons, images used in print have a higher resolution than those used on the Web. In contrast, vector images are defined by mathematical formulae and are scalable. These are most suitable for use in print.

Photographic Support

If a picture is indeed worth a thousand words, then using photographs to accompany a written piece will dramatically increase its information density. High-resolution digital photography is rapidly replacing traditional techniques, although the fundamental concepts of exposure and composition remain the same. Digital photos may require extensive processing to achieve the desired results.

Data Presentation

Effective data presentation requires a knowledge of statistical methods, graphing programs, and illustration techniques. Figures and graphs produced in a spreadsheet or analysis application often do not conform to publication standards. These figures may require changes in fonts, colors, line weights, and spacing. Careful manipulation will improve the appearance while maintaining their validity.

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Electronic Publishing

With the advent of on-demand digital printing and computer-based layout, the line between traditional publishing and electronic publishing has become blurred. Most publications are in digital form at some point in the production cycle. However, true electronic publishing is that which is delivered to the end user in digital form or distributed via electronic communications.

Acrobat (PDF) Publishing

Adobe's Portable Document Format has long been the de facto standard in paperless documents, and it has now been submitted for consideration as a true ISO standard. Although many print vendors now use PDFs as an alternative to native layout files, the format's popularity arose from its ability to combine the "look and feel" of a printed document with the convenience of electronic distribution.

Web-Based Publishing

Using a combination of back-end database applications and content management systems, Web-based publishing offers an immediacy and a flexibility not available in traditional media. Although online content is easier to produce, the same standards of quality should be applied. In a well-designed web site, content and presentation are separated, allowing each to be changed independently.

CD-ROM Development

Electronic publications may be combined with physical distribution channels. Documents delivered on CD-ROM are available to the user without regard to network connectivity. These CD-ROMs may contain PDF documents, multimedia presentations, slide shows, HTML files, or any combination of these. Many high-tech companies are now using bundled CD-ROMs to provide user manuals and support documents.

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