Learn More About Desktop Publishing Software
Desktop publishing software allows users to create and publish page designs and various printed materials in a professional style. These tools create layouts of text and other graphic files for publishing in either print or digital formats, focusing on materials like magazines, blogs, ebooks, newspapers, and other online publications.
Desktop publishing solutions often come with a library of premade templates and easy-to-use features that require no editing from the user, so the software is ideal for everyone, from experienced to novice designers. This software can also be equipped with drag-and-drop page builders and editing and design features, making it easy to create custom and unique layouts for specific needs and use cases. These designs can then easily be exported in a variety of different formats.
Any organization that publishes print or digital content, including graphic design, advertising, and publishing companies, can benefit from desktop publishing software. Design teams can also use it in an organization to create branded marketing materials, since they also easily integrate with drawing software or photo editing software to streamline the production of publication-ready materials.
The basics of desktop publishing software
Desktop publishing software creates visual communication documents and media files, like business cards, web pages and blogs, newspapers, posters, brochures, and magazines, for personal or professional publishing online or through print.
The term “desktop” refers to the personal computer where the software is installed and where the work is performed from design to production.
Whether through pre-made templates or creating layouts from scratch using drag-and-drop menus, these tools are used by individuals working in advertising, graphic design, media, and publishing. Ultimately, any organization that publishes print or digital content can use desktop publishing software.
What are the common features of desktop publishing software?
Desktop publishing tools often include popular features like layout editors, prebuilt templates, exporting capabilities, cloud storage, and document rendering.
The list below contains some core desktop publishing software features that can help users create various graphic materials:
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Layout editor: The layout designer and editor offer several design capabilities, including editing images, text, borders, and the ability to resize elements throughout the design.
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Prebuilt templates: Users don’t have to create a design from scratch, as many design tools have prebuilt templates to choose from. These templates can be for flyers, posters, or infographics.
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File format exporting capabilities: From JPEGs to PNGs and PDFs, desktop publishing software lets users export files and designs into various formats, depending on their use.
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Cloud storage: Many desktop publishing tools allow users to save their page designs and projects into the cloud for security and easy sharing capabilities amongst larger teams.
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Layout adaptation: Layout adaptation automatically formats images and content to fit perfectly into blank areas of available space. For example, a template column with an area design for an image will automatically scale the image to fit the column, so the user doesn’t need to resize the image.
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Asset libraries: Users can use asset libraries, which often come with resources like icons, texts, and fonts, as well as the ability to upload brand elements, files, saved projects, and other apps.
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Saving preferencing: For designers who work with a specific layout, desktop publishing software can automatically save specific preferences, such as the template and export type. This makes it easier to create and distribute the layout multiple times without starting from scratch.
What are the benefits of desktop publishing software?
There are several benefits to using desktop publishing software. Some of these benefits include:
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Improved productivity: When using desktop publishing software, the rate of production becomes distinctively higher, thanks to its new technological capabilities and user-friendly platform design.
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Reduced production, printing, and marketing costs: Using desktop publishing software to print everyday marketing materials is more cost effective than using a third-party printing company. The design process is also less expensive since companies don't have to pay vendor staff members for expensive graphic design work.
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Simple revisions and customization: When a company finds a design that's almost perfect for its needs or had envisioned within the asset library, it can easily be customized using desktop publishing software.
- This may mean the layout is slightly modified, but users don't have to settle for the format they find in a template; they can simply make changes. Customizing every file to be what they want is simple, even if the change is small.
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Improved document quality: With so much functionality and varying features, desktop publishing software can improve the document's quality by making it more interesting, readable, and useful for the end user.
Desktop publishing software vs. word processing software
Some users may confuse desktop publishing software with word processing software, but the two have key differences.
Desktop publishing software handles more graphical elements of a document and is often used to produce physical media like books, newspapers, brochures, and magazines.
Word processing software, sometimes called word processors, focuses on the line-by-line creation of text documents. These tools typically cannot handle many graphical elements as they’re used for creating paragraphs of text in typed documents.
Who uses desktop publishing software?
Various job roles across industries use desktop publishing software to create, format, and design documents. Some of these roles include:
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Graphic designers: Graphic designers use these tools to create layouts for various materials, including advertisements, posters, banners, and other promotional documents.
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Print and media designers: Professionals with roles in print and multimedia design use desktop publishing software to create page layouts that can be printed or used in digital formats. This includes working on projects like magazines, brochures, eBooks, interactive presentations, and slide decks.
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Writers and editors: Those in writing and editing roles use desktop publishing software to format and structure documents, ensuring the result meets the necessary publishing standards. This is especially important for books, manuals, and other long-form content, like blogs.
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Marketers: Marketing teams turn to desktop publishing software when designing marketing documents, such as flyers, product catalogs, and promotional materials. This work helps create visually compelling content for social media campaigns.
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Small business owners: Owners of small businesses often turn to desktop publishing software to create promotional materials, business cards, and other documents needed for marketing their products or services to their target audience.
Desktop desktop publishing software pricing
The pricing models of desktop publishing software vary based on which tool a business is leaning toward and how many packages are offered. Many tools may start with a free plan for users who need basic features and functionality and then offer other packages and plans that range in price and features.
For example, a free plan may offer five seats, a library of 100,000 templates, and 5GB of cloud storage. The same tool may also have a paid plan offering 100 seats, a library of 400,000 templates, and 1,000GB of cloud storage.
Packages and the price points attached vary by tool, and businesses should first assess how they’ll be using the tool, how many employees will be using it, and which features matter most to those employees.
Challenges with desktop publishing software
While desktop publishing software is a valuable tool for creating visually appealing documents, users may encounter challenges when using it. Some are:
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Learning curve: Since desktop publishing software has so many elements and features, it often requires time, effort, and several tutorials to master. The learning curve may be steep for beginners, who also may not know how to utilize more advanced features properly. However, the user-friendly platforms of many products help to make the onboarding process smoother for beginners.
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Price of the tool: Some desktop publishing tools, especially ones with high-quality features, may have a high price tag. These software options may be challenging for freelance graphic designers or small business owners with limited budgets.
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File size and storage: Depending on how many high-resolution images are used and how complex the layout is, a project designed using desktop publishing software can be a fairly large file size. Managing and storing these files can be challenging, especially when collaborating with others and sharing access to documents online.
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Processing power and memory: Similarly, with large file sizes also comes the need for a computer with enough power and memory. Some large projects made with this type of design software could end up slowing down performance or result in software crashes of devices or operating systems that are less up-to-date.
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Font and image licensing: Depending on the font, typography, or image a user would like to use, licensing agreements may be needed for a project. Not following these licensing terms could lead to legal issues or complications.
Which companies should buy desktop publishing software?
While desktop publishing software is great for several types of businesses, there are specific companies with multiple benefits to investing in these tools. Some are:
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Marketing and advertising agencies: Typically, a marketing or advertising agency must create visually eye-catching and appealing content and materials for customers, like posters, brochures, and other promotional items.
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Publishing houses: Publishing programs and houses that produce magazines, books, and other printed materials use these tools to design layouts and format content.
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Graphic design studios: Professional designers working in a graphic design studio often focus on creating visual content like marketing documents, branding materials, and vibrant logos.
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Printing companies: Commercial printing companies that handle printed materials will use desktop publishing software to prepare and format content before printing.
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Small businesses: Small business owners can use desktop publishing software to create their own marketing materials, business cards, and promotional content instead of paying a third-party vendor.
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Web design and development agencies: These tools can help web design and development companies design mockups and visual elements for websites or apps.
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Nonprofit organizations: Desktop publishing software can design materials for fundraising campaigns, awareness programs, and other events thrown by nonprofit organizations.
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Photography studios: When creating portfolios, promotional materials, or photo books for customers, a photography studio may use desktop publishing software.
How to choose the best desktop publishing software
The following explains the step-by-step process buyers can use to find suitable desktop publishing tools for their business.
Identify business needs and priorities
Before choosing a desktop publishing tool, businesses should identify what content and materials they’ll create with desktop publishing software. For example, companies looking to create standardized templates, fonts, and colors to establish brand consistency will have a business need for desktop publishing software.
The same can be said for companies prioritizing marketing and promotional content or ones who want to handle all design tasks within their workflow in-house instead of outsourcing this work.
Choose the necessary technology and features
A buyer should then create a list of the features and functionality they want most in desktop publishing software.
Some of these key features that the best desktop publishing software will have to address specific needs are:
- A library of layouts, templates, shapes, stock images, and clipart to choose from
- The ability to upload custom images
- Import and export capabilities
- Saving preferences, file sharing, and file storage
- Collaboration among various accounts
- Mobile access or a mobile application with compatibility across Mac and Android devices
- Drag-and-drop functionality for editing
Once buyers narrow down based on their requirements and must-have functionalities, it’ll be easier to narrow down which options best suit their needs.
Review vendor vision, roadmap, viability, and support
In this stage, a buyer should start vetting selected vendors and conducting demos to determine if a product meets their requirements. Ideally, a buyer should share detailed requirements in advance so a vendor knows what features to showcase during the demo.
Below are some questions buyers should ask vendors during the demo.
- What operating systems is the tool compatible with (Windows, Linux, macOS, etc.)?
- Does the tool integrate with other currently used tools (graphic design software, product management software, etc.)?
- What type of training and support is provided to users?
- Is there a support team available for assistance? If yes, what are the support hours?
- Are their additional costs associated with updates, support, or additional features? Are they one-time fees or monthly fees?
- Can this software scale as our business and usage grows?
- How does this tool support collaboration across teams?
- What file formats are supported for import and export?
- Is there a trial or demo version of the software to test its features and suitability?
Evaluate the deployment and purchasing model
Once a buyer has received answers and is ready to move on to the next stage, they will likely loop in key stakeholders within the organization and at least one employee from each department that will be using the software.
The final evaluation should also consider end users’ feedback on workflow integration, usability, and departmental requirements of must-have features.
Put it all together
A buyer makes a final decision after getting buy-in from everyone on the selection committee, including end users. This buy-in is essential for getting everyone on the same page regarding implementation, onboarding, and various use cases.
Implementation of desktop publishing software
Companies typically implement desktop publishing software once they better understand marketing materials, graphics, or visual content they’d like to create and distribute for their business.
Who is responsible for desktop publishing software implementation?
Implementing desktop publishing software successfully will require collaboration among different stakeholders within a business or organization. The specific individuals or teams responsible will vary depending on the size of the organization, its structure, and the nature of the desktop publishing needs.
Leaders within the IT department, graphic design team, project management team, or the human resources department may be tasked with steps within the implementation process.
What does the implementation process look like for desktop publishing software?
The implementation process for desktop publishing software starts with installing the software and going through training and onboarding from the product’s support team. Having adequate training will set employees up for success and get everyone up to speed regarding the various features and functionality offered.
When should you implement desktop publishing software?
Businesses of all sizes typically implement desktop publishing tools once their marketing department is more established, and there's a need to create visual content or graphic design work as part of an ongoing strategy or campaign.
Desktop publishing software trends
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More cloud-based solutions: Cloud-based desktop publishing tools are increasing in popularity as they make it easier for users to access and collaborate on projects from various devices and locations, providing more flexibility and making it easier to work on projects as a team.
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An increase in artificial intelligence (AI) integrations: Desktop publishing tools are being integrated with AI to automate certain tasks, provide intelligent design suggestions, and enhance image recognition. Integrating AI with this software can improve efficiency and creativity as users navigate through the design process.
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Machine learning for image editing: Some tools are beginning to offer machine learning algorithms for advanced image editing with features like background removal, intelligent image enhancement, and object recognition.
