Before you start buying desktop publishing software, you need to be aware of what programs, hardware and accessories are available to help you do the best job you possibly can. You should also go into it knowing a very important fact: desktop publishing is not the same thing as graphic design.

Desktop Publishing vs. Graphic Design
Desktop publishing, or DTP, is using your computer and software to combine text and graphics on a page that will be printed. Newsletters, brochures, greeting cards and any other number of items that can be printed on a regular printer—not a full press—fall under the banner of desktop publishing.

Unlike desktop publishing, graphic design isn't specific to printed products. It's a thin gray line that often gets blurred, largely because graphic designers use many of the same tools that desktop publishers use. The biggest difference is that graphic design is focused on the process of combining text and graphics to create things like logos, illustrations and other forms of visual communication.

In short, desktop publishing is focused on producing finished pieces, while graphic design is focused on the concepts and ideas for communicating a message. Although the two get lumped together a lot, remembering that you don't have to be a degree-holding member of the graphic design industry takes a lot of stress off of your shoulders.

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