[ubuntu-in] DTP on Ubuntu

[Linux Lingam]

i work professionally with scribus, inkscape, and gimp,
in print-production workflows.

for a short while, also worked extensively with cinepaint.

things work, once you know your way around.

oo.o has its advantages, too.
the typography engine of oo.i is great, perhaps inspired by TeX to a
great extent,
however, it cannot handle all cases of professional PDF workflow, it's
not yet designed to do this.

i don't quite like scribus' typography engine, but it's improved
significantly over the last four years i've been using it.
inkscape is a lovely piece of software, better than its proprietary
counterparts in several ways.

do not forget some essential and useful software:

LProf, LittleCMS, and a favourite for anyone dabbling with design: Agave.

what sucks most under FOSS-based graphic-design:
the availability of of high-quality and press-quality fonts which are
copyleft or similar.
you might find at best 30 to 40 professional-quality fonts,
but any good designer would need about 2,000 fonts from across the
breadth of ATypI classifications.
i'd prefer OpenTypePro fonts, but that's a pipe dream.

so, compensate for the limitations of FOSS tools and workflows with
inspired design-hacks: manual, analog, digital, whatever.

hope this helps.

regards
niyam


-- 
niyam bhushan