Star Micronics 4 manual 2’HintsDesktoppublishingandpage design

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to getto itspossiblevalues,press[> ]to scanthroughthem,andfinallypress [ v ] to slap in the valueyou want.

The proceduresfor selectinga fontfrom a computerprogramis a bit mom complicated,and dependson whichemulationmodeyou are using.These font selectionmethodsare detailedin the next two chaptem.

3.4.2’Hints:Desktoppublishingandpage design

●Desktoppublishingsystemshelp you automateyour specificationsfor margins,coverdesign,typefaces,font sizes,placementof graphicsand regular features. You build the specificationsyou want in templates, standardpagedesignsyoulater simplycallupon your screenand fill in with text.

●Somedesktoppublishingsystems,suchasAldus’sPageMaker,arepage- oriented:you put each page togetherindividually.These are great for shorteFdocuments, such as newsletters,brochures and letters. Other systems, such as Xerox’s VenturaPubZisher,a~ document-oriented. Thatmakesthembettersuitedto technicalmanualsandlongproposalsor reportsthat go throughmany drafts.

Otherways in whichsuchsystemsdifferincludewhethertheyshowon yourscreenwhatyouwillgetonpaper(code-basedprogramsdon’t),how well theyhandlepictures,andhow hardtheyareto learn.Thinkabout yourneedsbeforechoosinga desktoppublishingsystem.

●A few of today’scomputerprogramslet you see severaldifferentfont sizesandtypefaceson yourcomputerscreen.Thatcapabilityisnecessary if you wantto see on-screenexactlywhatwillprint on yourStar Laser- Printer 4. Desktoppublishemcall this capabilityWYSIWYG—“what you see is what you get”.

●Whenyou designyourpages,don’tvary fontsizejustto fit text intothe spaceavailable.Go with a size that’seasy to read and be consistent.

Neverbetemptedto usealluppercaseletters.Whenyouwanttohighlight text, switchto a bold font or draw a box aroundit.

●Don’tbe afraidto use whitespace.Whitespacerelieveseye fatigueand looksmore attractive.

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