One of the most significant changes to have taken place since the first printing of the Publishing Basics is the file format most requested by book printers, Adobe PDF. Adobe PDF appears to have won the race when it comes to preferred text format. It works with virtually all imagesetters, platesetters and digital output devices. Unlike postscript, which can only be viewed on a postscript viewer (which most people do not have), PDF can be read on any PDF reader. PDF readers are free either at the Adobe website, the BooksJustBooks.com website, or through half the websites on the Internet.
*For a reasonable fee, you can also hire a book layout professional who will lay out your book in the proper format for you — since computers save thousands of dollars on typesetting costs, you should be able to afford several hundred dollars for the services of someone who specializes in making sure our books make it from PC to press smoothly and efficiently.
