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Subject:Re: Need DTP recommendations From:Tim Altom <taltom -at- IQUEST -dot- NET> Date:Sat, 3 Feb 1996 08:08:00 EST
>Hello all
>A colleague is looking for a desktop publishing package to do some
>fairly simple stuff. His publications will probably be less than 100
>pages, graphics will be line art or photos from a digital camera. He
>wants to do all text inputting from within the DTP, so it's important
>that it have a decent word processor. It will be running on a PC.
>What would you recommend for this type of work, or do you know
>a web source to find some unbiased reviews (yes, I've looked, but
>I can't find much).
A few other factors spring to mind, such as the number of graphics, their
file type, the presence of cross-references and cross-platform
compatibility. Assuming that none of those things are barriers, I'd look
into using Word. It's a world standard (uh, sort of), it's easy to use, most
people are familiar with it, it'll be easy to update, and you may already
have it. It's cheaper than many true DTP packages and it will do many of the
same things on a small scale. There are many downsides to using it, but none
of them seem pertinent to your colleague's case. Just don't let him get a
swelled head thinking "Hey, this tech doc and DTP stuff isn't nearly as
tough as it looks!" In his case, it won't be very tough.