Looking Good in Print



Author: Deborah Petranek

Date: February, 1994

Keywords: Book review Roger Parker Ventana Press graphic design

Text:
Roger C. Parker, author of Looking Good in Print, says he had to resist
the temptation to hire professional graphics designers to publish his
book in order to prove that with a Macintosh, software and a scanner,
anyone can produce attractive designs in print. This book does look
pretty good. Every page is laid out to be pleasing to the eye (unlike
some manuals that tire the eye) and main ideas are emphasized with
Illustrations, and sidebars.
     This how-to-publish handbook can be  read as an introduction or as
a quickie reference guide to the print media. A professional editor
called this, ''a good basic book . . . a supplement to your software
manuals.''
     The first section is an overview of basic layout and design. These
chapters define terminology such as logo, gutter, kerning, proofs,
columns, and bullet lists. The same terms you would find in your
PageMaker or Microsoft Word manuals, but good illustrations and simple
definitions.  Typefaces - that's fonts to the rest of us - are even
discussed. Use of illustration, photographs, cropping and layout, color
are all described, Then Parker jumps into the different forms of print:
magazines, coupons, resumes, newsletters, letterheads, business cards,
flyers, menus, and much more. 
     I think the nicest features of the book are its checklists found
at the end of chapters in sections two and three, ''Twenty-Five Common
Design Pitfalls,'' pages 183-205, its useable index, and descriptive
table of contents. 
     But, for a $24.95 handbook, I wish it had a sturdier cover.
     Looking Good in Print, A Guide to Basic Design for Desktop
Publishing, (Third Edition, 1993, Roger C. Parker, 423 pages, $24.95.
ISBN 1-56604-047-7) is available from:
     The Ventana Press
     POBox 2468
     Chapel Hill, NC 27515
     

Copyright © february, 1994 by Deborah Petranek