Topic 78

Word Processing vs Page layout by Nitish Gautam

Word processing is correctly defined as the creation, input, editing, and production of words in documents and texts by means of a computer system. Word processing is done through the use of a word processor, an example of which is Microsoft word. A word processor is a computer application used for production, composition, editing, etc. of printable material. A word processor may also include a typewriter.

Desktop publishing, on the other hand, combines a computer and page layout software such as Abobe Pagemaker, to create advanced documents with text, graphics,animations, etc. Both these techniques have advantages and disadvantages. I will talk about this now. An advantage of word processing is that minute errors can be corrected easily. In desktop publishing, we have to rearrange many items if something goes off paragraph, or something similar. It is used for advanced publishing.

Another advantage of word processing is that the tools provided are beneficial for word processing -> spell check, FONT, etc. They are present in desktop publishing software, but not that much. We need to go deeper into desktop publishing to know about all the tools, and how to use them easily. A typical newbie cannot learn the full aspects of a page layout software in days. Or even use it for the moment. Current age word processors are generally easier to use. Now, I will talk about the histories of the two mentioned above.

Desktop publishing started with Macintosh and its PageMaker. It used to crash often, which led to many developments in its software and so on. Abode Systems then came up with advanced systems. Their LaserWriter was very popular in its time. Time went on and in the 2000’s, Adobe came up with Adobe InDesign. It had powerful controls and could be used with other Adobe products. This was the new generation of page layout software, and desktop publishing.

Word processing, too, has a long history.

The term word processing was invented by IBM in the 1960’s. It started out with dictating machines, and so on. Then manual typewriters came up and then it started to develop even further. In the 1970’s, word processing meant to use hardware to produce material (to sum it up).

Then came the WANG. This had a CRT display system and was one of its kind. Then, moving on to 1980’s, word processing took on a new path. WYSIWYG came into play. Laser printers made this possible in a way. Then, Windows came in and Microsoft made a fortune with its easy to use MS-WORD. This made Microsoft a monopoly in the area of word processing.