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Writing and Publishing, Part 13:
Creating the book:
The Computer in publishing:
Last week, I finished what I had to say about creating the content
of the book. That is the work of the writer/author. Now, we can
begin talking about creating the physical book. This is one of
the things the publisher controls. I want to start with a discussion
of the role of the computer in publishing.
It is no exaggeration to say that, without the computer, the modern publishing industry could not exist. Everything we do, from the prepress work to the actual book manufacturing, involves the use of a computer. Now, the computer is just an electronic device. What makes it useful to us is really the programs which we run on it.
We have already discussed the role of the word processor in creating the content. This is in the domain of the writer. The publisher will be mainly concerned with the software used in what we call prepress. As the word implies, this is everything which happens after the author's work is complete and before the actual book manufacturing. There are three major software tools in prepress plus a number of utilities. The major tools are the page layout software, the graphic arts software, and the photo manipulation software.
By far, the most important program in prepress is the page layout software. Until recently, there were only two contenders for this task. One is called QuarkXPress. I know nothing about it. The one we use at Wesoomi Publishing is called Adobe PageMaker. Now there is a third contender from Adobe called InDesign. They have yet to sell me on it. I would have preferred that they spend their investment dollars in improving the functionality of PageMaker.
All three of these programs perform the same functions. They allow the precise layout of important documents and books. We can import files from our word processors, drawing programs, and photo manipulation programs. Then, we can lay them out to design logical and visually pleasing documents.
When we are satisfied with the layout of our book, we can produce proprietary output files for the book manufacturer. These output files are created in a special language called Postscript. Postscript is a proprietary product owned by Adobe Systems, Inc. It is a page definition language which is used almost exclusively in the publishing industry. All book manufacturers who accept electronic input will insist on either Postscript files, or, more recently, Portable Document Format (PDF) files. I'll cover PDF at the end of this essay. I don't know of any book manufacturers who will not accept electronic input. I doubt they would stay in business long.
This essay is not intended to be a tutorial on the use of page layout software. That would be a very large volume by itself. For those who want more detail on these products, the companies which make them offer educational material in many forms. You can find Adobe's web site from our web links pages. In addition, there are many third party firms in this education business. It is possible there is a class or seminar going on in your neighborhood. To find out about them, just join any publishing organization. You will soon be deluged with brochures.
In addition to the page layout software, the publisher will use graphic arts and photo manipulation software. These programs are essential to our cover layout and design. They are also necessary if our tome is to contain illustrations or photos. Coffee table and some educational types of books fall into this category.
This is one of the last of the software free-for-all areas with contenders duking it out from all corners. The choice and variety is almost overwhelming. These programs cover the range from drawing software, through painting, and on to photo manipulation. The lines of functionality are blurred and most programs allow some form of all three activities. For example, my favorite drawing program, Adobe's Illustrator, allows me to do precise drawings. In addition, I can use it to do painting and to import and manipulate photos.
If I really want to do serious work with photos, I will use Adobe's Photoshop. This is a very sophisticated program and a bugger to learn. The bad part is, unless you use it regularly, relearning is necessary every time. Don't believe what they say. It is not intuitively obvious. Some things you can count on. The more the software costs, the more sophisticated it will be and the harder it will be to learn.
If you want to work with the art type of software and have no experience, it may be best to start with an inexpensive package and learn some basics. This may be especially true if you are artistic by nature. If you are used to using pencils, chalks, and brushes, these programs are guaranteed to make you angry; at least until you get the hang of it. There are some very inexpensive paint and photo manipulation programs. If you expect to purchase a printer or a scanner, just wait. You are almost certain to get some of this software thrown in.
A recent development in the publishing industry is a proprietary product from Adobe called PDF. I think everyone who has been banging around on the internet for a while has encountered the acronym "PDF" which means, Portable Document Format. I have never been to a site which offered PDF files and also had a decent explanation of what PDF is or how you deal with it. It's almost as though, if you don't know, that's not our problem. I'm not sure if it's arrogance or lack of perception on the part of the web masters. In either case, it leaves many people outside the loop.
PDF is a methodology and a set of tools. The intent of this methodology is to do what Postscript was supposed to do and never quite brought off. The goal is to simplify and standardize the transfer of documents across differing media and platforms.
By media, we mean the types of carriers we use to exchange information. For example, in this sense, a web page on the internet is a type of media. A CD-ROM is a different type of media. A printed book or magazine is yet another type of media. What all of these things have in common is that they carry information from the creator to the recipient.
By platforms we mean the devices or machines which are used to create and access the documents. Your PC is a platform. It is probably either an IBM type PC or a Mac of some kind. There are other, more expensive, platforms used in the printing industry.
So what? Why is it necessary? After all, we have E-MAIL and web pages for communication. Why do we have to muck around with some new technology?
In many cases, the objections are reasonable. For regular E-MAIL, PDF is not at all necessary. For most of us, most of the time, PDF offers little or no benefit. However, if formatting is an important part of your document, PDF guarantees it. That means that what you send or post will appear, exactly as you sent or posted it.
Although layout is part of formatting, PDF does not deal with just the layout. It also includes the type face, the graphic quality, and the color. If you create a document using Old English, 20 point, bold, red type, you do not want it to appear in Arial, 6 point, normal, black type for your recipient. That would undo a great deal of the artistic work you did. Yet, that is what is likely to happen if you simply send your document through E-MAIL.
So, who used PDF and when. On the internet, PDF will be used by web masters, and others, when they think the formatting of their document is important. When they do this, they usually also offer what they call a plain text version. You can have it either way. Also, they will usually offer a download of "Adobe Acrobat." Sometimes they even tell you what Adobe Acrobat can do.
Adobe Acrobat is the reader part of the PDF tool set. It allows any PDF document to be read and printed. Adobe gives it away free. There are dozens of places on the web where you can find downloadable copies of Acrobat including Adobe's site. It's just a piece of software which comes with a help file and installation instructions. If you download Acrobat and install it on your PC, you will be able to read PDF files. Sometimes, you will find this convenient. Be sure to get version 4. It's the latest and has some features which were not in previous versions, like improved print handling.
The file creation part of this new methodology is a program called Distiller. This is a program which takes files from a variety of sources and converts them to PDF documents. The coolest feature of Distiller is the output capability. It can optimize the PDF files for the intended type of media. It can do print optimized for your desktop printer. It can do screen optimized if you want to view the document on a monitor. It can also do press optimized if the output is to go to a publishing imagesetter for printing magazines and books. If you are really fussy, it allows you to change the settings to suit some particular device.
Most folks will never have a need for Distiller. Since I am a publisher, I do need it and expect to use it regularly as more and more book manufacturers implement the technology. Unless you need it, let it slide. Like all powerful tools, it's difficult to understand. However, it is easier to use than many other publishing tools. Enough said.
Next week, I will get into a discussion of utility software
and peripheral devices.
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