DTP Principles

Welcome to DTP Principles, a special guide that tries to help DTP users improve the impact of documents by making informed design decisions.

Many special magazine features on DTP, as well as full handbooks on the subject, tend to concentrate on using the ‘DTP package of the moment’, or make a point of using one computer operating system at the expense of another. They generally concentrate on showing you how to produce fancy graphical layouts and eye-catching designs by using the latest and most advanced features that are available in the newest DTP software.

DTP Principles is different. You’ll find
nothing in this guide about individual DTP
packages. You’ll find nothing whatsoever about the choice of computer or operating system. You’ll even find precious little about using the graphical features available in your choice of DTP package. What you will find, though, is plenty of information about how to make sensible decisions concerning the more fundamental aspects of your design, and how to treat your document’s text with respect, so that your pages read impressively as well as looking good.

Flashy graphics and colourful layouts are all very well, but they’re of little benefit if your text presentation lacks appropriate care and attention. This guide therefore discusses such matters as how to handle punctuation correctly, how to decide on line length and spacing, how to choose appropriate fonts for different situations, and lots of other text related choices. The final section, on the Golden Ratio, presents some valuable information which is relevant to all aspects of design. There’s lots to read, and I hope that even experienced DTP practitioners will find something of value here.