Paul Brainerd revisited
This article appeared in the July/August 1990 issue of Electric Word.
Three years ago, a magazine called Language Technology and a program called PageMaker saw the light of day at approximately the same time. Issue number one of the former featured a profile on Paul Brainerd (“Mr. DTP”), who as CEO of the Seattle-based Aldus Corp was the mastermind behind PageMaker. After a name change, Language Technology went on to be- come the least boring computer magazine in the world, while Brainerd went on to become head of a $100 million dollar company.
We had a chance to catch up with Brainerd recently, and he was eager to talk about the future of the industry he created, desktop publishing, as well as networking and the PostScript-True Type battle. “Typesetting capabilities on PCs are now equal to that of most mini-based systems. We’re getting very close to the standards of traditional commercial typesetters. We still haven’t gone quiteas far as the Berthold system in terms of things like hung punctuation, but in terms of quality of composition, the differences are getting to be very, very small.
“Another area of technical development is clearly in the network and workgroup publication area. PCs have become thoroughly accepted in business, but it’s very seldom that one person does the work. It’s almost always a group activity, particularly in publishing.
“Typically, there’s a writer, a graphic artist or designer, a layout person — it’s a group process. And you have to keep track of all the elements in a publication. Who has done what, and whether something has been through the proofreading cycle. This has not been well done on most PC systems up to now.
“But we’re finally getting the operating system software like OS/2 and PM, as well as networking software like Novell Netware and LAN Manager, that will give us the capability for very robust workgroup publishing projects. Aldus has customers in some countries with 100 to 150 users on a network producing publications with the PC.
”“At Aldus, we probably have 500 Macs. We’ve had to go through a lot of network configurations. We now have numerous AppleShare volumes, an Ethernet backbone, various bridges, plus PCs. When you move beyond that workgroup size, then you do need a more industrial strength network software like Netware 336 or LAN Manager.” FAST LINKS
“If you’ve seen PageMaker 4.0, you’ve seen we now have a link facility. This link can be over a network — even over a telecommunications line. A given text or graphic could reside in other locations. At Aldus, our network locations now include Seattle headquarters, Dallas, where we have a development site, San Diego (Silicon Beach), and sales offices in San Francisco, New York City and Chicago.
“And we have high-speed links to our offices in Edinburgh, Hamburg, Stockholm, and Paris. So, literally from my computer in my office in Seattle, I can have realtime interaction with our general manager in Paris by means of a X.25 packet-switching link — all possible because the cost of these links has come down by an order of magnitude.
“It’s these kinds of things which are really changing the dynamics of communication as we know it. They make possible new kinds of services and new ways of doing business which weren’t possible before.
“How will this effect the publishing business? I would expect some new printing capabilities, particularlyin regard to printing technical documentation on demand. Your technical publications would be stored in the computer, and if you need 25 copies, these are printed and bound in one operation. Your customer would have them in a matter of minutes. And it’s current, up-to-date information.
“Some companies don’t want paper copies of manuals allover the place. Take aerospace, for example. One of their biggest concerns is maintenance people using an old version of a manual. In fact, they number every manual that goes into an airline maintenance area and have to account for getting each one back, because the liability is so high if the wrong procedure is used. They use paper now; but they’re increasingly looking to technology like CD-ROMs as an alternate means of distribution.
“New forms of media — such as overhead projection — will become more and more common. This is imperative because the amount of new information we’re generating with all these new electronic means is overwhelming everyone. When I go home after being away for two weeks, there’ll be a stack of trade publica- made a major investment in PostScript, range of what they call Emerald controltions this high and maybe 300 e-mail and many of them are concerned with lers — high-cost but fast, RISC-based messages, and I won’t be able to get developments that would lessen Post- printer controllers — there are supposed through it all. Script’s position as a standard. performance gains of three to seven times.
“We have to come up with ways of bringing form and order to the barrage of information. The computer is going to be part of that. Not just text and graphics but sound and animation and video if properly applied will give people the ability to comprehend information more quickly than they can today with just print medium.” POST POSTSCRIPT
“Microsoft and Apple’s challenge to Adobe’s Postscript — well, our customers sure aren’t happy, to put it mildly. They’ve made a major investment in PostScript and many of them are concernted with developmetns that would lessen PostScript s position as a standard.
“Nonetheless, it is a done deal. Clearly competition is changing Adobe — we’re seeing that in our relation with them. They’re becoming a lot more open and cooperative now. They’re working harder at their business and that’s positive. The competition will undoubtedly make more fonts available, and perhaps at a better price, than would otherwise have been the case.
“Technically, it is too early to tell which solution will be better. It depends on the implementation of TrueType. Obviously, PostScript has proven itself on the market, and it’s getting better. With the lastest range of what they call Emerald controllers — high-cost but fast, RISC-based printer controllers — there are supposed performance gains of three to seven times. “Outline fonts work at the system bringing form and order to this barrage competition is changing Adobe — we’re software level, so theoretically there is no of information. The computer is going to seeing that in our relation with them. difference to the applications. But in be part of that. Not just text and graphics They’re becoming a lot more open and reality, because our applications use type but sound and animation and video if cooperative now. They’re working harder in such a full- mannered fashion, we have properly applied will give people the abil- at their business and that’s positive. The to work with TrueType vendors such as ity to comprehend information more competition will undoubtedly make more IBM, Apple and Microsoft, to make sure quickly than they can today with just fonts available. and perhaps at a better that it does work transparently. print medium.” price, than would otherwise be the case.
“For example, character width can cause a lot of confusion. With they’ve rationalized their font width value. But Adobe offers four or five hundred fonts. Not all of those are going to have the same names in TrueType, because of trademark restrictions. Nor will they necessarily all have the same character width values either.
“ Think about what impact that will have when you’ve created your document with Apple's fonts and your service bureau is using Adobe's fonts. Suddenly neither the names nor the character widths match. Line lengths will change. What used to be a tightly cut headline which just barely fit might now run long and wrap becuae the Adoble font has a slightly difference character width. “These kinds of problems concern me. We’re trying to make this simpler, not more difficult for our customers.” By forgetting to use en-dashes, EW’s software editor Colin Brace continues to transgress the laws of typography and plague EW’s designers.
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