To publish is to make publicly known, and in reference to text and images, it can mean distributing paper copies to the public, or putting the content on a website.

The word publication means the act of publishing, and it also means any writing of which copies are published, and any website. Among publications are books, and periodicals, the latter including magazines, scholarly journals, and newspapers.

In Taxonomy the publicon of the description of a taxon has to comply with some rules.

• It must be published in Latin.
• It must be published on paper.
• The publication must be generally available.
• The date of publication is the date the published material became generally available.

Computers and the internet have changed the face of publishing, lowering the cost, and allowing more people to publish, through both desktop publishing and internet publishing.