As part of an effort to broaden its graphics software portfolio, and bring computer aided publishing and graphic design out of the realm of the expert, Newbury-based Digital Research UK has enhanced its desktop publishing and graphic design products. GEM Desktop Publisher 2 and GEM Artline feature icon-based interfaces and drop-down menus to reduce the training necessary to use the system. The UKP495 GEM Artline, for any MS-DOS or PS/2 box, runs alongside the likes of Ventura Publisher and Aldus Pagemaker, and is claimed to improve manipulation of artwork and tracing of scanned images. Desktop Publisher 2’s new features include kerning and tracking, direct access to other applications and automatic scaling and optional cropping of graphics. At UKP345, it is claimed to bring the functionality of Apple Macintosh II packages to the Intel iAPX-86-based microcomputer world.
