DTP Desktop Publishing Tools Adobe InDesign

InDesign (tm), released by Adobe, is an innovative typeset design software that is primarily aimed at the company’s new platform for professional publishing solutions.

InDesign software is based on a new open object-oriented architecture that allows for high scalability, thus greatly optimizing the development cycle and enabling Adobe to quickly launch the platform. The open system establishes a core that third-party developers and system integrators can provide custom magazines, advertising designs, catalogs, retailer design studios, and newspaper publishing programs. In fact, through communication with InDesign, some third-party manufacturers and services have published some important plug-ins that can extend Indesign's capabilities. These extensions include FR-MZ PS for InDesign from ShadeTree, PowrTable from PowrTools, and Sonar Bookends(R) InDex(tm) from Virginia Systems.

New publishing and graphics features

Adobe InDesign is a brand new, mostly typographic program for image designers, product packers, and prepress specialists. InDesign contains hundreds of new features, which takes it to a new level. It covers features that are not available in many other typesetting softwares such as creativity, precision, and control. For example, optical edge alignment, high-resolution EPS and PDF display, hierarchical main page, multi-level Redo and Undo, scalable multi-page support, scaling from 5% to 4000%.

In addition, InDesign also closely integrates Adobe's other popular products such as Adobe Illustrator(r), Adobe Photoshop(r), Adobe Acrobat(r), and Adobe PressReady(tm). Users familiar with Photoshop or Illustrator will soon learn InDesign because they have common shortcuts. Designers can also use built-in converters to import QuarkXPress(r) and Adobe PageMaker(r) files to convert existing templates and main pages.

The basis of professional publishing

Adobe InDesign integrates several key technologies, including image, font, print, and color management technologies that are now owned by all Adobe professional software. Through these programs Adobe provides the industry's first ability to achieve consistent screen and print capabilities. In addition, Adobe InDesign includes support for Adobe PDF that allows the output of PDF-based digital works.

Source: 5D Multimedia