desktop publishing

Word family

• publish
  verbB1
• publisher
  nounB1
• publication
  nounB2
• desktop
  nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four relate to preparing text for the page, but they differ in scope. Word processing means writing and editing words in a document; it cares about the content, not how the finished page looks. Typesetting is the older trade of arranging type and spacing for a professional printing press, traditionally done by a specialist. Page layout is the single act of placing text and pictures on a page. Desktop publishing is the broadest of the four: it brings layout, fonts, and images together on one ordinary computer so that almost anyone can produce print-ready material at home or in a small office. For example, you might write a report in a word processor, then move it into a desktop publishing program to add columns, photos, and a cover.

Common collocations

Etymology

A compound of 'desktop' and 'publishing'. 'Desktop' first meant the flat top of a desk, then came to describe a computer small enough to sit on one. 'Publishing' is the work of making written or printed material available to the public. The joined term appeared in the mid-1980s, when affordable personal computers, page-design software such as PageMaker, and laser printers first let people lay out and print professional-looking pages without a commercial print house.