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The $2,499 MidWest Micro Elite Dual-Scan Color SoundBook stands out from other notebook computers due to its expansion options, display capabilities and built-in sound card. Toshiba American Information Systems' $2,009 Toshiba Satellite T1910CS is a good, inexpensive travel notebook.

Color printers can cost less than some monochrome laser printers. Although they are usually slower and more expensive to run than monochrome printers, color printers can greatly enhance documents that include graphics. Eight color printers are evaluated.

The $3,299 MidWest Micro System is the best bargain among the seven pentium-based microcomputer systems evaluated, although the $4,127 Gateway 2000 offers better speed and graphics. Each computer is evaluated on features and performance.

Lotus Ami Pro 3.01, Microsoft Word 6.0 for Windows and WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows each cost about $495. Features of each are evaluated including disk space requirements, ease-of-learning, interface quality, and editing and formatting features.

Ten draw programs for Microsoft Windows are evaluated. Full-featured applications, economy packages and specialized illustration packages are evaluated. Features such as layering, typesetting options and automatic drawing features are compared. Prices range from $129 to $695.

Ten 300-dpi laser printers are evaluated. Each printer sells for less than $1,000. Each printer's performance on Microsoft Word for Windows, Aldus PageMaker, CorelDRAW! and Adobe Photoshop was tested. Features of each printer are specified.

A computer needs a display adapter and a monitor to display text or graphics. Advice to help consumers select an adapter and a monitor that are appropriate for their needs is provided. Terms such as resolution, refresh rate and dot pitch are explained.

Computer users can help Windows run more quickly by installing additional RAM, a RAM drive, a graphics accelerator, a data-compression utility or a macro utility.

Five DOS paint programs and five Windows paint programs are rated on the basis of features such as special effects and image control. The prices range from $129.95 for DeluxePaint II Enhanced to $795 for Aldus PhotoStyler 1.1.

The first step that computer users should take in selecting a clip art package is to determine which graphics file formats their software supports. The clip art should have smooth lines, smooth shading and realistic colors.

Computers equipped with the proper software can serve as typesetters. Typeface refers to the style of type, while font refers to the size and weight of the typeface.

Computer users can improve the performance of their PCs through add-ons for their printers. Dot-matrix printers can benefit from type managers, ink-jet printers can benefit from bitmapped font cartridges and laser printers can benefit from scalable soft fonts.

Seven paint and draw programs are rated on the basis of such features as number of fonts and clip-art pieces, script capability and drawing tools. The prices range from $149.95 for Windows Draw! 3.0 to $795 for the CD-ROM version of CorelDRAW! 2.01.

Users of word processors can save time by creating macros, which are a group of programmed keystrokes and commands that are executed by the word processor. Ten useful macros are discussed.

Graphics software can color, shade, crop and size clip art. The basic types of computer graphics formats are bitmapped and vector. Several clip-art software packages are available.

The first step in selecting a font package is to determine whether a Type 1 or TrueType font is required. Businesslike typefaces include Helvetica and Times, while more elegant typefaces include Avant Garde and Garamond.

Compaq's $2,338 Contura 4/25C is a color notebook computer that is powerful and dependable, yet relatively inexpensive. The computer does not support PCMCIA expansion and the keyboard arrangement is somewhat unusual. Its small, built-in trackball is easy to use.

Serif's $59.95 PagePlus 2.0 is the leading economy desktop publishing (DTP) software package on the market. It includes features such as spot color separation and full incremental text rotation that are normally found only in high-end DTP applications.

The LaserJet 4 is the best LaserJet produced and the best value ever offered by Hewlett-Packard. Although the $1,759 LaserJet 4 costs $200 less than the LaserJet III, the LaserJet 4 provides four times the resolution, 37 more fonts, twice the speed and vastly better print quality.

Micrografx's Graphics Works, based on the Windows Draw vector draw program, includes applications such as PhotoMagic, SlideShow, WinChart and Windows OrgChart. The features are appropriate for small businesses and home-based businesses. The cost is $295.

IntelliDraw 1.0 is a powerful program, and users may have to take some time to become familiar with all of the features of the program. A well-designed training video describes most of the key features. The cost is $299.

The main types of font formats include bitmapped fonts, Type 1 PostScript fonts, Type 3 PostScript fonts, Intellifont fonts, Nimbus Q and TrueType fonts.

Both Ares' FontMonger and Atech Software's AllType are able to convert fonts from one format to another format. Both products are easy to use and produce good results.

The options in converting graphics from one format to another format include using Windows Clipboard, using Windows' Object Linking and Embedding and using a paint or draw program.

Pixie is appropriate for computer users who make occasional presentations. The program is easy to use and fairly inexpensive. Users can create several types of charts, but the method of importing graphics could be better. The suggested price is $295.

Ambra Computer's 486DX2-50 is a reasonably priced, high-speed, color notebook computer with very good expansion capabilities. It includes a 200MB hard drive and a 256-color dual-scan passive-matrix monitor. The trackball and power button are poorly positioned. Other design flaws are noted.

Printers capable of 600 dots per inch (dpi) are superior in many ways to 300-pdi printers. For example, their resolution is four times higher than that of 300-dpi printers, and 600 dpi-printers print faster than 300-dpi printers.

Users will find that ACECAD's AceCat graphics tablet is much easier to use than a mouse or a trackball when drawing. The tablet is smaller than other tablets, and it offers precision placement. The cost is $129.

WordPerfect for Windows is compatible with WordPerfect for DOS. The program provides users with WYSIWYG, control over the display and good file-handling capabilities. The cost is $495.