QUESTION 1

Briefly describe the purpose of desktop publishing software.

Desktop Publishing Software:

Desktop publishing software is a tool for graphic designers and non-designers to

create visual communications such as brochures, business cards, greeting cards, web
pages, posters, and more for professional or desktop printing as well as for online or
on-screen electronic publishing.

Purpose of desktop publishing software

1. Graphic Design. This is the number one use for desktop publishing and can
be held accountable for why the term has changed so much over the years.
Professional graphic designers use DTP programs such as QuarkXPress, Adobe
PageMaker, and Adobe Photoshop to create webpages, the front pages of
newspapers, and a variety of other visual documentation. Thanks to DTP, graphic
design has become more than just pencil and paper. The introduction of desktop
publishing has taken graphic design to greater heights. Without desktop publishing,
there is no graphic design, and vice versa.

2. Career Assistance. Word processing also has also played its part in the DTP
world. Microsoft Word and Open Office are used faithfully by numerous job seekers
everyday as they work to put together the perfect resume, cover letter, or portfolio.
Many create documents from scratch, while others take advantage of the oh-so-
convenient templates.

3. Education. In the education field, teachers and students use a variety of DTP
programs to complete assignments and projects. Whether it’s an Intro to Desktop
Publishing course and the program of choice is QuarkXPress, or a Technical Writing
Course that takes an in-depth look at Microsoft Word, the use of DTP in educational
institutions is very prevalent.

4. Business. Today, desktop publishing is pretty much used to handle all of the
“paperwork” of a business. Although it’s possible to run a business without the help of
DTP, it isn’t the smartest business decision. From sole-proprietorships to Fortune 500
companies, DTP software is a lifesaver and money saver. Examples of DTP use in
businesses are business cards, legal documentation, and advertising materials.

5. Crafts and Personal Projects. Desktop publishing is the crafter’s dream come
true. Across homes all over the world, parents are looking for easy, cheap, and fun
crafts to create with their children, teachers need ideas for students, and the interior
decorator could use an origami template. Those who use DTP software for personal
use normally stay away from the more advanced DTP software and stick with the more
user-friendly programs. Examples of desktop publishing projects for personal use are
greeting cards, postcards, and invitations.

QUESTION 2

List three examples of desktop publishing software.

Examples of Desktop Publishing Software

1. Adobe InDesign

2. Microsoft Publisher

3. QuarkXPress

4. Serif PagePlus
QUESTION 3

List two disadvantages of using desktop publishing software, as opposed to

producing documents in Microsoft Word.

1. Expense: additional software and hardware may need to be bought.

2. Training: staff will need to be trained to develop new skills if they are to use
the new hardware and software effectively.

QUESTION 4

List three ways that you can help to save energy in the office.

1. Switch off artificial lights and use natural light

Artificial lights consume power – natural light is free. So, limit the use of artificial
lighting to the dark areas in the workplace that are out of the sun’s reach.

Everything else should make use of the natural light instead.

If not in use, switch off the lights at meeting rooms, pantry, reception, corridors, or
stairs. If there’s nobody in the room for more than a couple of seconds – kill the lights!

2. Choose energy efficient light bulbs

Less energy spent means less money wasted on electricity bills. If your workplace
does not get enough natural light during the daytime, you can opt for low wattage
lights.

You can also replace existing bulbs with CFL or LED lights. They consume less power
and last for longer periods of time.
3. Choose laptops over desktops

Laptops typically consume less energy compared to desktops, so keep this in mind
when buying your workplace equipment. Opt for laptops whenever possible.

The monitor size also contributes to the amount of energy consumed. While graphic
designers and people from similar lines of work cannot work on small screens, there
are a lot of other employees in your company whose work doesn’t depend on the
huge monitors.

Make the right selection and keep the screen size at a reasonable level when it
comes to monitor choice. Smaller monitors spend less.

QUESTION 5

List three ways that you can reduce waste in the office.

1. Go (nearly) paperless

While recycling is helpful, the biggest impact comes from using less paper in the
first place. With programs like Google Docs that allows you to write, edit, and
collaborate for free online, and Dropbox, a free service that makes it easy to sync
and share files, it’s easier than ever to eliminate the amount of paper you use in the
workplace. Consider adding a “think before you print” message to the bottom of your
emails as a friendly reminder to coworkers.

2. Print smarter
Sometimes printing is necessary. Save up to 50 percent on paper costs by having
employees set their defaults to print double-sided, and ask employees to use the
“Print Selection” function, which encourages them to only print what they need and
reduces wasted sheets of paper.

3. Provide filtered water

Install a filtered water tap or keep a large Brita pitcher in the fridge so employees
can pour a glass of water instead of grabbing a disposable plastic water bottle.
Your company will save money on bottled water, and landfills will be spared of
more plastic.

QUESTION 6

List three key reasons for using styles.

1. Uniform headings and subheadings

Using Styles to format your thesis ensures consistency. You don’t have to memorize
how each heading level is formatted. Should you change your mind about how you
want the headings to look, all you have to do is modify the style and all the headings
set to that style will change at once.

2. Efficient formatting

When formatting your thesis, all you have to do is create a style, and then apply it to
any section. You don’t have to format each part individually. And, as mentioned above,
if you want to change how a particular portion is formatted, you will only have to update
the style, and everything set to that style will be modified at once.

3. Smaller file size

Microsoft Word is a styles-based program. It reads the components of underlying

styles first, before working on others. Therefore, a lengthy manually formatted
document is more sluggish (and bigger) than one in which styles have been applied,
because Word has to work harder to run it.
QUESTION 7

List two style types in word and their use.

1. Character Style:

Character Style can apply to any group of letters or words in a paragraph. For example,
a style called ‘Names’ can ensure that all names in a document are consistently
formatted say, in bold or italic, upper case etc.

2. Table Style

All the Table design settings can be grouped into a Table Style. The in-built Table
Styles are on the Table | Design tab in the Table Styles gallery.

QUESTION 8

Describe two types of formatting that could be used to improve the

appearance/readability of a document.

1. Portrait or Landscape

Choice of portrait or landscape page format comes first. The landscape format allows
for two comfortably sized columns with or without a text box for notes, but gets
cumbersome if the article fills more than one double-sided sheet. Because readers
learn to turn pages horizontally, they are less comfortable turning landscape pages
over the top. The more customary portrait format handles two columns without notes,
or a single column plus a text box for notes.

2. Formatting Paragraphs

Marking paragraphs with tabs and extra space identifies a group of sentences as
belonging together. It reduces confusion when the last line of the preceding paragraph
happens to come close to the end of the line. The standard half-inch tab is
unnecessarily wide for a four-inch column. A .2- or .25-inch tab suffices. Similarly,
skipping a whole line between paragraphs is too much; about 6 points of space looks
better. Now the reader readily sees which sentences connect into a single paragraph.

QUESTION 9

What is the purpose of a rest break?

Breaks increase productivity and creativity. Without breaks leads to stress and
exhaustion. Taking breaks refreshes the mind, replenishes your mental resources,
and helps you become more creative.
The aim of this period is to allow workers to recover from the mental and physical
strain of work and to provide time away from the workplace.

QUESTION 10

List a benefit of exercising during breaks and the recommended exercise

during the break?

Reduces stress

Exercise is a proven way to reduce stress – so taking a break in the middle of the day
to work up a sweat is a great way to deal with looming deadlines and difficult co-
workers. When we exercise, our brains produce more serotonin, a chemical which acts
as a mood stabilizer that helps to relieve depression and reduce stress. A much better
solution than crying in the employee restroom. Experts recommends yoga to reduce
stress during breaks.

QUESTION 11

What is a style guide?

A style guide or manual of style is a set of standards for the writing, formatting and
design of documents. The standards can be applied either for general use, or be
required usage for an individual publication, a particular organization, or a specific
field. A style guide establishes standard style requirements to
improve communication by ensuring consistency both within a document, and across
multiple documents. Because practices vary, a style guide may set out standards to
be used in areas such as punctuation, capitalization, citing sources, formatting of
numbers and dates, table appearance and other areas.
For academic and technical documents, a guide may also enforce the best practice
in ethics (such as authorship, research ethics, and disclosure), pedagogy (such
as exposition and clarity), and compliance (technical and regulatory). Style guides are
specialized in a variety of ways, from the general use of a broad public audience, to a
wide variety of specialized uses, such as for students and scholars of
various academic disciplines, medicine, journalism, the law, government, business in
general, and specific industries.

QUESTION 12

Describe a benefit for an organisation of having a style guide?

A style guide creates and defines the standards for internal and external corporate
documents. It serves as a reference source and training tool for anyone who reads or
writes documentation, which is to say, everyone. A style guide will provide many
benefits to your company:

Time Savings. A style guide saves time by providing quick answers to questions that
may arise while writing documentation. "What information should be included in a
specification?" or "How should I format the address on this letter?" A style guide
streamlines the process of composition, thus significantly reducing the time required
to create new documents. It also provides for shorter review cycles.

Cost Savings. Employees with access to their company's style guide spend fewer
hours writing, reviewing, and correcting documentation. A style guide reduces the
expense of repetitive training and prevents costly mistakes that result when an
operator, for instance, is forced to read inconsistent or poorly written operating
instructions.

Consistency. A style guide promotes consistency among documents throughout the

company. This leads to fewer arguments over questions of style and format and to
less duplicated effort, resulting in savings of both time and money.

Professionalism. In helping to write and maintain a style guide, employees have an

opportunity to share their expertise and knowledge internally. Externally, your
company enhances its image by developing and using an effective time- and money-
management tool and by consistently producing quality documentation.
QUESTION 13

Give two examples of information included in a style guide.

1. Define company brand ethos

It helps to start company style guide by summing up the big picture of your brand with
a motto or short statement. This is particularly useful for larger, public brands.
2. Determine proper logo size and placement
Logos are the centerpiece of a brand’s visual identity and are often the single most
recognizable piece of your brand. As such, it’s important to keep the look and feel of
them consistent from one piece to another. Your style guide should clearly lay out the
rules for how your logo should be sized, positioned and colored.
Logo variations: Do you have different versions of your logo for different
applications? Show examples of each and describe when and where each one should
be used.
Color variations: It’s important to determine when your logo should be used in full
color, 2-color or 1-color. If you use pantone colors be sure to include those, along with
when it’s appropriate to use your logo reversed out or in black and white.
Size restrictions: Most companies put limits on how large or small a logo should
appear.
Margins: To help emphasize your logo and ensure it doesn’t get lost among other
elements on the page, you’ll likely want to leave some space around it. Describe how
much breathing room your logo should have.