Re: "Standard" software for four-color, glossy magazine layout?
Can anyone tell me what a fairly "standard" set of software tools would be for laying out a glossy, newsstand, four-color magazine. I use Framemaker for technical writing, but I'm not sure if that would be a first choice for producing a magazine. Also, in addition to the main desktop publishing program for the overall magazine design, what software is typically used for photo editing?
Standard setup would be:
- QuarkXPress or InDesign for layout. (If there are no compelling reasons for you to choose one over the other, I'd recommend going with InDesign. It has a much better interface and XPress appears to be losing ground in a big way especially in magazine production.)
- Photoshop for editing images.
- Illustrator or FreeHand for line art.
Besides those two tools -- a main program for laying out the publication, and something for photo editing -- are there any other types of packages required for producing a magazine?
That very much depends on what you want to do. There are no 'required' tools, but a lot that might be helpful, depending on the circumstances:
- OPI server, such as Helios
- Fileserver (lots of choices)
- Image database such as Cumulus
- Publishing system for workflow support, such as QPS (XPress, soon to be dropped) or K4 (InDesign)
- Makro utility for small-scale and ad-hoc automation, such as QuicKeys or AppleScript
- Computer management software such as netOctopus
- Font management utility such as Suitcase
- Support software for the ad sales people (there are integrated solutions and applications for individual aspects like contact managers)
- Color correction tool (standalone or Photoshop plug-ins)*
- Color calibration tool (for each inout or output device)*
- Preflighting utility for checking the documents for common problems (missing images, missing fonts etc.) before final output
- Special effects tools (usually Photoshop plug.ins)
- Etc. etc.
* These tools require color management expertise, which is not trivial to acquire.
Without knowing what you want to do, it is very hard to give you anything more than this laundry list.
Regards
Jan Henning
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Jan Henning
ROSEMANN & LAURIDSEN GMBH
Am Schlossberg 14, D-82547 Eurasburg, Germany
Phone: +49 700 0200 0700, Fax: +49 8179 9307-12
E-Mail: henning -at- r-l -dot- de, Web: www.r-l.de
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