Desktop Publishing

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INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

The desktop publishing rubric covers quite a wide breadth of workers—including those employed at large publishing companies, media outlets, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, small businesses inside and outside the publishing industry itself, independent writers and publishers, and hobbyists—who produce everything from novels and newsletters to magazines and term papers. The emergence of desktop publishing (DTP) has completely transformed the publishing landscape. Conventional publishing requires writers, designers, typesetters, and artists, but sophisticated software and hardware afford a single individual the ability to perform all these functions on a personal computer to produce output for commercial printing. Books and newsletters sent directly to the consumer via the World Wide Web shift the cost of reproduction—paper, toner, printer wear and tear—to consumers who print or download the product on their own equipment.

DTP also fits in with the U.S. trend toward more flexible work schedules and work-at-home preferences. Desktop publishers can work at home, at an office for a DTP firm, or on site for contracting companies. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts above average growth for all sectors of the desktop publishing industry though 2010.

Businesses, associations, and other organizations of all kinds are engaged in the frequent printing and dissemination of information for internal or external purposes, including annual reports, newsletters, manuals, research papers, brochures, books, and an almost unlimited amount of other printed material. Many organizations carry their own publishing staffs and equipment to handle these tasks, while others contract out to DTP specialists, be they publishing companies or independent contractors.

The best desktop publishers have a feel for writing, since fitting text to a specific layout can often entail significant editing. Moreover, beyond just an ability to use the latest technology, they will have an understanding of design concepts so as to provide design and layout that complement the information presented. Thus, desktop publishing is something of a confluence of technical skills and artistic vision. The ability to communicate with and understand a client's or employer's vision is important in order to deliver a product consistent with intentions and often in order to help coax out an under-formulated vision. While the $500 million market for DTP software continues to introduce ever more user-friendly publishing tools, the requisite skills reside primarily in the user and not in the technology.

ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

Desktop publishing (DTP) has permanently altered the publishing and printing landscape. For example, according to Electronic Publishing, over 6,200 typographers, service bureaus, separators, and plate-makers were in operation in 1990, employing a total of 83,000 workers. Just seven years later, those sectors had dwindled to 1,600 establishments and 13,000 employees.

DTP is often associated with a single individual or a small group of individuals who produce books, newsletters, or other types of written communication. It is often performed by small and medium-size outfits to produce entire books or newsletters in camera-ready, or printable, form. Since the cost of software and equipment is low, large publishers also use DTP in-house for preparation of copy—including typesetting, graphics, layout, and other pre-press activities—instead of outsourcing these tasks. In some cases, the intermediate film or paper copy used to produce a plate has been replaced in favor of a direct computer-to-plate process. In the case of direct computer-to-Web publishing, a printed copy may never come from the publisher.

The small publisher must be concerned with proofreading, editing, production of camera-ready copy for reproduction or printing, marketing, distributing, shipping, and all other tasks of a small business such as accounting and inventory control. The most common publications are generated by individuals or small businesses and include flyers, newsletters, books, disk copies for use by a printer for processing, or CD-ROMs. Regardless of format, however, the publishing process is essentially the same, except for the medium of the final product.

The medium on which a product is printed largely governs the distribution method. Conventional paper books or newsletters are frequently distributed via a third party book or news distributor who acts as a jobber, specialty bookstores direct from the publisher, or direct mail order solicitation. By the mid-2000s, the World Wide Web was firmly established as a medium for distribution and marketing.

A number of companies print, bind, store, and ship final copies for desktop publishers. Seventy percent of books do not earn enough to cover the cost of a major distributing agent so some distributors also assist small publishers in marketing or distribution to bookstores, providing a channel not otherwise available. Publishers Group, Publishers Group West, Book World, and the National Book Network are some of the distributors who helped to expand the small publishers market. While these distributors may charge a fee of up to $25,000 per book, some vendors enter collective exhibits at national conferences maintained by a single distributor who charges a modest one-time fee for display in an exhibit booth. Large book company royalties hover between 8 and 10 percent, while self-publishing and marketing via a distributor can yield a 35 to 65 percent return on the retail price. Organizations assisting small publishers include PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association; and the Small Publishers Association of North America.

A trade association of nearly 4,000 independent publishers, including approximately 200 foreign affiliates, PMA was formed in 1983. Its purpose is to advance DTP professional interests, provide cooperative marketing programs, sponsor educational seminars about the industry, and make...