DTP and Firoda N.S.
Our project at the CESI Student Computer Fair was entitled Desktop Publishing. It consisted of samples of printed material produced by our pupils since we became involved in computers some three years ago. These samples were supported with demonstrations of how they were produced, and discussions on the work involved. The samples included school newsletters, magazines, calendars, and concert tickets.

We are particularly interested in Desktop Publishing for a number of reasons:

¥ it allows all pupils (including poor writers) to present work in an acceptable manner, and has possibilities for people in all walks of life

¥ we began with simple notes sent home to parents. The fact that parents were impressed motivated pupils and teachers alike; we were becoming proessional, and we liked it

¥ as time went on, we began to look at publications with a questionning attitude: how was this effect achieved? Could we produce something of this quality? etc.

This led eventually to our first 12-page school magazine. The exercise gave us an insight into the world of reporting planning, editing, advertising, copy deadlines, and marketing. It was hard work but we met our deadlines, sold advertisements, and made a tidy profit. And the educational benefits were considerable.

Addictive
We have found our project (which is ongoing) addictive. We have long since met our original objectives, but we keep striving to do better. We know we canÕt equal the quality of the printing press, but we aim to come close. And, with increasing ales of our magazine we will havefunds to buy betterh ardware/software and hopefully come very close to the quality of professional publications.

From Stylus to Desktop Folio
Our initial efforts were simple notes produced using Stylus - which even the Infants can use. Illustrations were stuck in place (going around the edges with Tippex). Next, we bought ELDeP Folio which offered up to 3 columns of text and several font (typeface) options. Lines were draw in with a ruler, and once again, illustrations were stuck in where appropriate. The arrival of a good photocopier with enlarging/reducing facilities added a new dimension of flexibility, but our best move yet was to buy Desktop Folio for the
A 3000. This allows us to put text and graphics anywhere on the screen without the need for any cutting and pasting. We can also print in A4 or A5 size. The Christmas supplement to the disc Ôallowed us to produce Christmas cards and calendars without difficulty.

Current situation
At present, we are using a one-megabyte A3000 computer together with a Star LC-10 colour printer. To improve illustrations, our options are:

¥ to improve our skills with the drawing program
¥ to stick with manual cutting and pasting (which can cause problems with size and/or quality)

¥ to buy a scanner which will enable us to photograph any picture and incorporate it directly into our layouts

In cases where photocopying to generate multiple copies would have been costly, we have sent some of our printouts to a printer for bulk reproduction. The resulting quality has been fine, but would be so much better if we could get our hands on a laser printer...
Upgrade
We hope to upgrade to (at least) another megabyte of RAM memory to speed up the work, and also to buy a 50-megabyte hard disc, which would eliminate the need to switch between discs while working on a document. It would be nice to have colour in our publications, but colour is expensive, and we do not have a colour photocopier. We have toyed with the idea of a coloured cover for our magazine, but if we produce the artwork on ourLC-loprinterand pass this on to printing works, the quality of the end-product might not justify the outlay involved. (and of course would not be entirely our own work).

Insight
However, being able to do a page layout for a poster/ flysheet/letterhead/ match programme etc. on our computer gives us great satisfaction, and at the same time, an insight into the fascinating world of printing and graphic design.