Desktop startups rise in popularity as technology, capability progress. (Special Report: Printing & Graphic Arts)

Computers can make everyone a publisher -- or can they?

For anyone scouting ideas for a business venture, desktop publishing has to rank high in attractiveness. After all, the startup costs are relatively low, overhead can be kept to a minimum, and anyone with some computer skills should be able to turn out a nice-looking product with the help of a good software package.

And there are some indications that more than a few entrepreneurs see desktop publishing as an easy way to get into business.

"There are more and more coming up," said Tom Riley, president of TMR Print Group, a printing broker that handles work for a number of desktop publishers. "It's hard to get a handle on them, because they're popping up all over."

And the current economic downturn, with legions of white-collar workers getting pink slips, has produced a lot of computer-literate workers on the street.

"I'm told by computer vendors that in some respects, 1991 was a good year because a lot of people got laid off and, instead of getting other jobs, they bought computers and started their own businesses," said David Young, owner of Newsmaker Publishing Services, a one-man desktop publishing business.

Then again, a lot of things look easy when done well by skilled professionals, and desktop …