[comp.text.desktop] DTP novice questions

kep@ablnc.ATT.COM (Karl Parks) (08/03/88)

I am in the process of buying a 286 based machine for a church.  Its
basic usage will be the usual church stuff like membership database,
accoounting, and word processing.  We also would like to get into
desktop publishing (newsletters, bulletins, etc) but we must keep cost at
a minimum.  Although we will use some graphics, I can't see needing 
a large grpahics monitor.  I also do not believe we would need the
added expense of color, since the output would be a laser or ink-jet
printer.  I have done very little on the way of DTP.  My only experience
is with NEWSMASTER PLUS by UNISON printing on an OKIDATA 192+ printer.
The results are far from satisfactory.

Please suggest some software/hardware that I should get when I order the
usual 286 clone that would create an acceptable DTP system.

Some questions are:
	Should I upgrade to color? If so, VGA or EGA?

	Suggestions on graphics cards and monitors? 
	Is just a Herc mono clone and amber or white monitor
   	  delivered with most clones good enough?

	Since the bulk of our DTP is actual word processing with some
	   graphics, is WordPerfect 5.0 truely the best all round word 
	   processor for DTP?
	   (Any experience with Sprint yet?)

	Can you suggest a rather inexpensive graphics program which
	   creates files that can be used by a DTP word processor?
	   (For ex., WordPerfect 5.0 claims importibiltiy with
	   PC Paintbrush, PC Paint Plus, GEM Paint and Dr. Halo II)

	Any other laser printer or ink jet that compares well with
	   HP's line?   How much memory should I get?  What cartriges
	   do I need?

Thanks very much.

Karl Parks
AT&T IMS
ihnp4!ablnc!kep
1(407)660-6214 


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john@jetson.UUCP (John Owens) (08/03/88)

> I am in the process of buying a 286 based machine for a church.
Sounds good!  I hope you get a lot of use out of it.

> Please suggest some software/hardware that I should get when I order the
> usual 286 clone that would create an acceptable DTP system.
Get a high-speed processor (12MHz); redrawing graphics can be CPU
intensive.  Definitely get a hard disk, though it doesn't need to be
very big (20MB is plenty).  Get as much memory as your software can
use; if it can use EMS or protected mode memory, get a megabyte.
(I'd recommend the Intel Above Board 286; it can be software
configured for conventional, expanded (EMS), and extended (protected
mode) memory in any combination at any address.)

> 	Should I upgrade to color? If so, VGA or EGA?
Nah - like you said, you're not doing color output, so color displays
are an unnecessary expense.

> 	Suggestions on graphics cards and monitors? 
> 	Is just a Herc mono clone and amber or white monitor
>    	  delivered with most clones good enough?
Sure, just make sure that the display is CRISP and STABLE since you'll
be staring at high-resolution graphics quite a bit.  This is a
function of the monitor, the video card, and the connecting cable(s).

> 	Since the bulk of our DTP is actual word processing with some
> 	   graphics, is WordPerfect 5.0 truely the best all round word 
> 	   processor for DTP?
We just got WP 5.0, and I haven't used it yet, so I can't really say.
I'd strongly suggest getting Aldus Pagemaker or Ventura Publisher
(probably the first for bulletins and newsletters, the second for long
documents), and using your word processor (or plain text editor) to
prepare input for it.

> 	Any other laser printer or ink jet that compares well with
> 	   HP's line?   How much memory should I get?  What cartriges
> 	   do I need?
If you can possibly afford it, GET A POSTSCRIPT PRINTER!  The NEC
LC-890 is a good deal, since it comes with 4MB and all of the
following font families, each in four styles (except the two Zapf fonts):

	Times, Helvetica, Courier, Avant-Garde, Bookman, New Century
	Schoolbook, Palatino, Helvetica Narrow,
	ZapfChancery-MediumItalic, and ZapfDingbats.

The biggest practical advantages of PostScript over an HP printer are

	- All the fonts above are built into the printer ROM.  No
	  cartridges!

	- Fonts can be printed in any size (15.25 point - ok.  100
	  point - ok.) and at any rotation and x-y scaling (including
	  mirror image, stretching, etc.).

	- Fonts can easily be rendered in outline, with any line
	  thickness.

	- And, of course, PostScript is a complete programming and
	  page description language, with lots more flexibility than
	  anything like HP's output codes, which operate on
	  essentially the same principle as terminal control codes.

Oh, you might want to go ahead and look at some of the large, flat,
desktop publishing monitors and graphics cards that can clearly
display an entire page at a time, but they are likely to be expensive.
We're doing Ventura Publisher here with Hercules monochrome, and it
seems to be a little cramped, but workable.

	Good luck!
-- 
John Owens		john@jetson.UPMA.MD.US
SMART HOUSE L.P.	uunet!jetson!john		(old uucp)
+1 301 249 6000		john%jetson.uucp@uunet.uu.net	(old internet)


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"Scott_C._Kopper.ESM1"@Xerox.COM (08/04/88)

Word Perfect 5.0 works great for desktop publishing  like you want if
you use an HP Laserjet II (it's cheap and reliable and good quality).
Dr.Halo DPG (not II) is probably the best graphics package for
integation with Word Perfect.  DPG is Desktop Publisher Graphics -
exactly what you need to make graphics for WordPerfect.  It supports
many scanners also.  WordPerfect can translate most graphics formats
(except PC Paint Plus, I think) and has tremendous font and laser
handling capabilities in 5.0.

Of course, the higher the resolution, the better off you are.  If you
don't want to spend money, though, the Hercules comatible graphics card
and mono monitor is fine.

Prices by mail-order:  Dr. Halo DPG is about $99 -$129 (you can buy a
mouse that includes Dr.Halo II and then upgrade for about $40 to DPG if
you need a mouse) LaserJet II is about $1700  (I wouldn't get a clone
unless you want some specific features a clone has - and WP probably
doesn't support - Clones cost about the same or more than the HP
Laser.  HP is the standard, so I like to stick with proven quality and
support.)

Memory:  you don't need any extra memory to start with.  If you do end
up needing it (you do if you want to use soft fonts), 1 meg expansion
has always been enough for me (1.5 meg total).

Cartridges:  You don't really need any -they're expensive.  The F
cartridge is kind of standard though.  You can get a clone cartridge
that has almost all of HP's cartridges combined into one for about $300
(A-Z with a few exceptions).

The soft fonts really work fine though.  If you get Word Perfect 5.0,
you can get about $300 worth of free Bitstream fonts and software which
is probably all you'll ever need.  Then get a soft font modifier (for
about $199) and you can vary those fonts to be any size, shape, etc.

For starters, though, I'd stick with the built in HP fonts and the free
soft fonts.

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