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Glite Dictionary
desktop publishing

desktop publishing

3 3.7
Making printed items like brochures and newsletters on a computer with special software
  • noun
  • /ˈdɛskˌtɑp ˈpʌblɪʃɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : autoedición
  • With desktop publishing, anyone can create professional-quality print materials from their home computer.
  • desktop publishing system
  • use of desktop publishing
  • computers and desktop publishing

Examples

  • The school offers a course in desktop publishing to help students design their own newsletters.

  • The Guide was last updated in 1980 when desktop publishing, let alone the internet, did not exist.

    Blog text (30)

  • Scribus is a free software desktop publishing program.

    Blog text (7)

  • Howie works at home, designing publications on his desktop publishing system.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Desktop publishing software was used by 34.5% of the respondents at least weekly.

    Academic text (1999)

  • I was a big user of PageMaker for professional desktop publishing, but Adobe killed it when they created InDesign.

    Blog text (23)

  • Today, computers and desktop publishing techniques have been added to the mix, and many bulletin editors now produce very professional newsletters.

    Academic text (2003)

  • All can be produced in-house with easy-to-use desktop publishing software and inexpensive office printers.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Many small businesses are using desktop publishing software to produce marketing materials quickly and affordably.

How Complex

printing
70 2.0
desktop publishing
  • Specialized
3 3.7

Surface Forms

desktop publishing singular
desktop publishings plural

Morphology

desktop + publishing

The noun is a straightforward compound: 'desktop' (computer/screen area) qualifying 'publishing' (preparing printed materials), so the sense 'publishing done using a desktop computer' is directly inferable from the parts. This follows a regular compounding pattern in English and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to understand the meaning.

Etymology

The term desktop publishing comes from the idea of doing publishing work on a small desktop computer on your desk instead of in a big print shop. So it now means making printed materials like flyers, brochures, or newsletters using your computer and special software.