Newspaper Software Education and Training

Get newspaper software education and training to make the most of a new program

By Nikki Wheeler

Having the best newspaper software will directly impact the ease of putting out a quality newspaper. Up-to-date software will have many features that aid in the layout, editing, word processing and the mapping of advertisements and make publication much more time-efficient. Having advertisement software and using it to its full potential will keep advertisers happy and the money flowing in.

Newspaper software is only as efficient as the employees that use it. To ensure they use newspaper software to its fullest potential, it is essential that they get the best newspaper software education and training. To find the best training to fit your newspaper's needs, you should first:

1. Consider the complexity of the newspaper software; if it is relatively simple and user-friendly, than minimal training will be required, but if it is complex with many applications and features, than intensive training might be required.

2. Decide whether the newspaper software training will be a one-time session for only a few employees or whether you will need to be repeat it for all new hires.

3. Plan for the training in your newspaper publishing software budget; the amount of money accessible for this might dictate which type of training is best.

Find video tutorials for newspaper software

Online video tutorials to learn your way around different applications, like newspaper ad software and newspaper accounting software, have various benefits; they are inexpensive, convenient with a flexible schedule and can be repeated as many times as possible.
Try: Search for an online video tutorial for your chosen software at the Virtual Training Company, which has thousands of training sessions for software including page layout and graphics programs such as Microsoft Publisher and Adobe Pagemaker Advanced. Some are free and some can be accessed for a small monthly fee, but you can first try a free demo. Video-tutes.com offers an in-depth series of free tutorial videos on using Quark Express, one of the most popular page layout software packages.

Attend classes and seminars for newspaper software education and training

Try to find available classes or seminars to learn the ins and outs of newspaper production software. Hands-on learning with an instructor is probably the best way to learn since you can get feedback and get questions answered immediately.
Try: Search for available classes and training seminars on basic software used for newspaper publishing like Quark Express and WordPro at Training-Classes.com. Search ComputerTrainingSchools.com for certificate and degree programs for training in Corel word processing and publishing applications and circulation newspaper software.

Buy newspaper software that includes training

This may be the only option if the purchased newspaper software is brand new, or not widely used. Most software will have customer service that can be reached to answer questions, instructional booklets and CD-rom tutorials.
Try: Pre1.com's SmartPublisher has various training options, and award-winning customer support that offers free phone training on software upgrades. Eclipse Services' AdPro news publishing software is also a great accounting software for newspapers, is extremely user-friendly and comes with training materials and excellent customer support resources.

Hit the newspaper software trade shows

Trade shows are a great place to learn directly from newspaper software vendors and newspaper industry technology experts.
Try: In the U.S., the main newspaper software show is the Newspaper Association of America's mediaXchange. In Europe, Asia and Africa, the big newspaper software shows are hosted by IFRA.

Get trained by the major newsroom software vendors

Atex, CCI and other major providers of newspaper publishing software offer extensive training and support.
Try: Atex crafts courses for its users of its newsroom systems based on job function. Find all the system training manuals for CCI products on the company's site.

Save on training costs by putting one employee through intensive newspaper software training so they can become resident guru and train everyone else.
Having great newspaper advertising software and using it to its fullest potential will keep advertisers happy and the money flowing in.
There are various free newspaper software options, which may be great for a new publication, but training opportunities will be minimal.