Choosing the right publisher.

You don't have to be a publisher to find desktop publishing software useful for your small business. With it, you can produce brochures, newsletters, business cards, press releases and fliers with the flair of a Madison Avenue ad agency, all from your computer.

Of course, you could create many of these documents with high-end word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word o r WordPerfect. But desktop publishing software (DTP) creates documents and designs layouts and graphics with far more options than word processing programs. A variety of DTP tools such as movable on-screen rulers for precise placement of text and graphics, background grids, pagination and clip art can dramatically improve the quality of your documents. Today, many DTP users see these programs as an inexpensive investment toward marketing their businesses.

"One of the biggest reasons small businesses fail is from lack of marketing," says Andrew Lindsay, senior editor of the National Association of Desktop Publishers journal. "Desktop publishing gives you the ability to do some marketing at a very low cost." Depending on your company's needs and your proficiency with the programs, you can cut costs. But be careful. Desktop publishing software will not necessarily eliminate your need for a graphic artist or public relations firm.

"Desktop publishing has been incorporated into every aspect of my business," says Metaj, Mereday, resident & CEO of black-owned Emmae, a media and marketing company. "I don't know how I ever got along without it." Mereday uses Microsoft Publisher ($99), a low-end desktop publishing program that offers users easy tools to create flashy brochures, newsletters, business cards, labels, invoices, calendars and much more. She says Publisher was easy to learn and has increased her productivity by 40% since she started using it. What's more, she says she now has time to cultivate other ideas for her business.

Publisher, the most popular DTP, "is great for the person who doesn't know anything about creating documents. it literally walks them through many publishing features," says Lindsay. In fact, Publisher's "Page Wizards" only ask that you fill in the blanks while you watch the program create your document. Publisher's Windows 95 Deluxe CD version, due to be released this fall, will include more templates, improved Page Wizards and a design gallery.

Although Serifs PagePlus 3.0 ($99.95) is priced in the low-end DTP market, it includes powerful tools that rival more advanced programs. PagePlus can handle more complex publishing needs, such as color manipulation and graphics. It also has more than 100 templates and 500 clip art images.

If you go by price, PagePlus is a bargain top-level desktop publishing program. It has animated demos to assist users, but they're not as simple as Publisher's Page Wizards. PagePlus is for the person who feels confident with layout skills, but doesn't want to bust the budget for software.

If you are a professional publisher or your business involves creating newsletters or magazines that are 10 or more pages, you'll probably want to step up to high-end software such as Adobe PageMaker ($599), Corel Ventura 5 ($495) or QuarkXpress ($895). These programs' street prices are substantially lower, but they are not recommended for the DTP novice.

Once the ruler of the desktop publishing world, Ventura suffered a setback when its transition from DOS to Windows flopped. But now it's teamed up with Corel, which renamed the package Corel Ventura. Corel's redesigned Windows interface includes drag and drop editing features and dialog boxes. Corel Ventura includes PhotoPaint 5, a photo and graphic editor's dream. It also has three methods of masking. Its CD-ROM version includes 17,000 clip art images, including a surprising selection of African Americans, such as Louis Farrakhan, Mike Tyson, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Halle Berry, Whitney Houston, Carol Moseley Braun and William Gray.

PageMaker (available for Windows or Mac), offers everything a layout editor desires. Its text wrap-around features help produce documents that sing. Other features, such as its built-in word processor, Story Editor and Build Booklet (which allows you to see what the final version of a document will look like without altering the original publication), separate it from other high-end programs.

QuarkXPress, the heaviest of the heavyweights, is the preferred program of top-level publishers. Available on Windows and Mac, QuarkXPress offers the most comprehensive desktop publishing tools. However, its price and complexity put it out of reach for most small business owners.

Some things to remember when selecting desktop publishing software: Try software a friend or colleague is using first. That way you can decide if the program suits your needs before you purchase. Most programs come with similar tools, but each has distinctive features that some users may find more comfortable than others.

Make sure the program is compatible with your computer. Some programs, such as QuarkXPress or Pagemaker, say they have a minimum requirement of four to eight megabytes of RAM but run best with 16 MB. Use the "recommended amount" of RAM rather than the minimum requirement, or else your software will run at a very slow pace.

Don't overspend. High-end programs offer many tempting features, but if you plan to put out only a few brochures and a four-page newsletter, don't waste your money. And when cutting costs, don't cut too much. Some DTPs that cost less than $50 only offer outdated graphics with cartoonish results.

Overall, desktop publishing software allows even the creatively impaired to move ideas from conception to published works. For more information about desktop publishing, contact the National Association of Desktop Publishers at 508-887-7900.