To use it well, all of the digital software that has become industry standard -including PageMaker, QuarkXpress, Illustrator, FreeHand, InDesign, Photoshop, and Acrobat- require extensive printing knowledge. Even Web designers, since it is impossible to increase the resolution of Web projects, must begin their planning in print. That's why Introduction to Digital Publishing is a 'must' for students and professionals alike! This comprehensive, highly practical orientation to the real, day-to-day aspects of working in printing, Web design, marketing and advertising, and graphic design effectively captures and organizes essential knowledge in a single, easy-to-read volume. The book includes in-depth information about hardware and software requirements, insights into the similarities and differences among technologies, extensive coverage of typography basics, plus astute observations gleaned directly from the author's knowledge of design principles and printing history. It goes beyond the software-specific manuals to equip new designers with the foundation they need to succeed in the highly competitive print, Web, and multimedia industries.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Digital publishing Why not desktop publishing? Print publishing, Web publishing, multimedia publishing, entry level requirements for designers, current realities Chapter 2: Printing history and the different types of printing Letterpress, Intaglio, screen, lithography, xerography, inkjet, dryography, and the new variants. Chapter 3: The digital revolution and the online world Desktop publishing, imagesetters, PostScript, the World Wide Web, email, FTP Chapter 4: Hardware CPUs, RAM, hard drives, removable storage, scanners, mice and tablets, printers Chapter 5: Software Why Office won't do: PostScript illustration, bitmap illustration, image manipulation; page layout Chapter 6: File management Making a folder to save the pieces: document, word processing file, graphics, halftones; where to save it; how to move it Chapter 7: Graphic design history Editors rule, the entry of illustrations, the birth of marketing, the addition of color Chapter 8: Fonts Terminology, baseline measurements, weight, italics, families, PostScript, TrueType, OpenType; character lists; small caps, oldstyle figures, ligatures. When to use them and when not to. Chapter 9: Typestyles Usage of serif, sans serif, script, text, display, types of serifs, development of serif styles, styles of sans serif, historical periods; faux elements: faux bold, italic, small caps, superscript, subscript, fractions, etc. Why they happen, how to avoid them, why and when to avoid them. Chapter 10: Typography The differences between typewriting and typesetting, typographic measurements, hundreds of standard characters Chapter 11: Producing type Excellent type is invisible, a basic procedure: 1. Read the copy; 2. Place the copy in historical and typographic context; 3. List the different pieces needed: headers, body copy, bulleted lists, captions, bylines, sidebars, bursts, legalese; 4. Pick an appropriate typeface; 5. Shape the page to reveal the pieces as they need to be seen to be read; 6. Pay especial detail to the details Chapter 12: Typographic norms Margins, indents, column widths, gutters, body copy, bulleted lists, headers, captions, bylines, stationery, newsletters Chapter 13: Forms, rules, and tables Tabular matter, leaders, paragraph rules, tables, white space, leading the eye Chapter 14: Paper and media Basis size, and weight; office paper, printing paper, cover stock sheet-fed, Web or roll-fed Chapter 15: Basic Web design Purpose of the Web, why do they come? How do you attract them? What can you use? Chapter 16: Career positions and customer relations Traditional, digital, online, deadlines, attitude, the key is communication, client approval, business ethics Appendix A: Shortcuts & customized interface: a rationale Appendix B: Teaching style & expectations Appendix C: Glossary