Everyday Inspiration

Wherever you go, you can find design inspiration. Something can catch your eye while you're shopping, cruising the internet, or even just driving through town. Here are a few things that got my attention just while I was out shopping around at Walmart, Bath and Body Works, Hibbett, Academy and JC Penney.

One of the first things I saw when I walked into JC Penney was this "Donut Shop" coffee in the kitchen appliances section.

I think what first caught my eye was the color combination. I really like the mint green color (it's the color I've been into lately) along with the red orange and light blue. I thought they all worked well together for the retro-looking theme the package seems to be going for. I also liked the fonts they used, and that they curved the lines the letters sit on a bit. The logo really looks like something you would see in an old fashioned coffee shop.
I think the target audience for this would be anyone who enjoys coffee, but the package I think would attract more women, or people who like the "retro" feel. The production process would include designing the piece and sending it to a printer would could print on the special thick paper for the box. The printer would also need a die cut so that the box could be folded properly. The call to action is to buy this coffee to enjoy, preferably with your donuts/breakfast.

My boyfriend and I left JC Penney and walked into Hibbett to look around. It one poster that seemed the most interesting to me in the whole store was this one:

I liked that the person in the picture was a dark silhouette against a bright yellow background, along with the orange and green pattern strip above the line of trees. I'm not really sure why, but I don't really like that "OUT" is larger than all the other text. I feel like "BLACK" should have just as much emphasis at "OUT" and they should be considered one. Other than that, I really like the design of this poster. I like the "COLDBLACK" logo at the top next to the Under Armour symbol. I think that's a really unique font and it fits well with the poster.
The target audience would be men/boys for this particular product, because they were men's t-shirts, and it would be for the men who are into sports or exercising. The production process would include the designer putting together the image with the text and creating the pattern on the poster, and then sending it off to print on poster board. The call to action is for you to buy this shirt and feel the benefits of its new design.

When we left Hibbett, we went into Bath and Body Works, where I was really tempted to buy a bunch of new stuff. My boyfriend doesn't help much when he keeps telling me to go ahead and just get something! Here I saw a lot of color combinations that I would really like to use when the time comes.

A lot of Bath and Body Works' designs are simple, and that may also be why I like them.

I like that they used different shades of the same color. My eyes were really drawn to the blue container. It's simple but still really pretty to me. I also thought the little designs on the coral containers were interesting and I liked that they were a little abstract. The logo is simple, all lowercase, and that is something else that I like. It also contrasts well with the dark blue.

I think these products target audience would include mainly women/girls. The pretty designs and colors are girly and would attract any girl that is interested in spending a little more on their bathroom essentials. The production process would include the designer designing the label, and they would need to include a bleed for these images, and then having the designs printed on a sticky label and places on the plastic containers. The call to action is to buy this to help relieve stress and feel more calm.

I had to make a trip to Walmart after we left the mall, so when we got there we decided to look around. We went to the electronics accessories area and I saw this iPod case that I really did not like.

I've never liked "glam" designs like this. I think it looks really tacky. The lips, stars and butterflies do not appeal to me. I think that some girls would really like this though, and I would imagine the target audience being mainly younger girls, such as preteens, and maybe some teenagers. The production process for this piece would include coming up with the design, creating it in Illustrator and having it printed directly onto the plastic. If you feel the case you can tell that there is not sticker on the case and that the ink is slightly raised. The call to action would be for you to buy a protective case for your iPod.


All information in this post is my own knowledge, and all of the pictures were taken by me.

Magazine Ad Project

Our fourth project for Digital File Prep is a combination of a magazine ad and billboard ad. I decided to create an advertisement for Elle magazine, and I was able to find their ad specifications online. They offer a PDF download of all the requirements for advertising in their magazine. My ad with advertise Vera Wang's fragrance called Princess, and I will be using the photos I took of my own bottle of the perfume last semester in Studio Product Photography. I'm excited to see how this will all turn out! I'm also excited to use something I previously did in another class and apply it somewhere else.

My target audience will be females would enjoy girly things and are looking for a perfume that portrays that. This target audience will also enjoy reading about and finding new fashion, since that is what Elle magazine is focused on. The magazine ad will tell the audience to go to their nearest Kohl's, Macy's or other department store to find the fragrance. The magazine ad will also include a Microsoft tag, and I plan on having that tag redirect the person to a page online that advertises Princess.

Elle magazine requires a minimum of .125 bleed and .25 margins on a full page ad. The ad must be submitted to Elle in PDF/X-1aformat and CMYK color mode. The final ad size will be 8 by 10.875 inches. Live area size will be 7.5 by 10.375 inches. The price to have an ad in Elle magazine is $148,270. At first I thought that had to be a typo! I had to email the Group Production Manager from the Hearst magazine company to find out the price, because it is not included in their downloadable PDF of magazine specs.

Here are my thumbnails:

And my rough drafts:

And here is my final image!

Adobe Software Tutorial

 In this tutorial provided by Photoble I learned how to add a retro color effect to an image. Here is the Before image I used:

 

Here is my After image:

 

To achieve this look:

1. Open the image you wish to edit and duplicate the Background layer. You will now have a layer called Background and a layer called Background copy. 
2. Make sure you still have the copied layer selected and using the rectangle marquee tool, drag the tool across the left half of the image. 
3. Press "ctrl+backspace" to delete the image, and fill that space with a red color.
4. Now Choose Select>Inverse to select the other half of the image.
5. Repeat step 3, except fill the empty selection with a green color.
6. Choose Image>Adjustments>Match Color
7. Change the source to the original Background layer you started with, and choose the Background copy as the Layer option.
8. Now you can adjust the settings of Luminance, Color Intensity and Fade to achieve the look you want. (I mainly adjusted the Fade option.)
9. Now you're done! Save your work and have fun doing these effects to other images you'd like.

Tutorial link:
hhttp://www.photoble.com/photoshop-tutorials/retro-color-effect-photoshop-tutorial

Adobe Creative Suite Tutorial

I completed an Adobe Photoshop tutorial on how to mask layers with clipping masks. A clipping mask allows you to cover a layer with the one above it, but only show certain parts that you've drawn out to allow the image to show through.

Here is my Before image:

I will then add this picture with a clipping mask to make it look as though it is on one of the screens:

To create this clipping mask, first I had to cut out the screen that I wanted the flowers image to cover and paste in onto its own layer. To cut the image, I used the rectangle marquee tool, drew it around the single screen, cut the screen, created a new layer, and pasted the screen in place. So, the layers from top to bottom include: flowers image, the single screen (cut and pasted), and then the rest of the computers that the single screen was cut from.

You have to make sure that the image you want to show through is on top of the one you want to cover. To get your clipping mask to do this, simply press Option (Mac) or Command (Windows) and click the dividing black like that lies between the two layers in the Layers panel. You have now completed a clipping mask!

Here is the final image:

To use this image, save it as a flattened TIFF or EPS file and import it into InDesign. Make sure any image you import has a resolution of 300!

I completed this tutorial with this link.
All images used were obtained as copyright free images from iStock.com.

Newspaper Ad Project

Our third project for Digital File Prep is a newspaper ad for our PSU Collegio. The budget for this ad is $97. An example of how to figure out how much the ad would cost looks something like this:

5 column inches by 3 inches = 15 column inches
15 column inches by $4 per inch = $60

If I used that size of an ad, I would be $37 under budget.

Project specifications include:

• no bleed
• minimum .125 inch margins
• black and white only

It is also suggested that we enhanced the contrast in our black and white photos, and be careful if we choose to use a background image or a watermark. In this project, we are required to use a bitmap image, and that will take care of the bitmap on our Master Image List.

I have decided to do a newspaper advertisement for a made-up coffee shop called Grain de Cafe, which means the Coffee Bean in French. I love coffee, and I know a lot of college students rely heavily on coffee to keep them going.

Here a my five thumbnails I sketched for the project:

 

Here is my rough draft:

Here's my final image!

Master Image List

Something we have to keep track of and include in our projects for Digital File Prep is a Master Image List. This list includes various images that must be used up by the end of our final project. On this list images types such as bitmap, vector art, duotone rasters, 4 color rasters and screen tints are included. As we use these different types of images, we learn how to create them and how they should be used.

Bitmaps only contain black and white pixels to make up an image with no shades of grey. Bitmaps are very compact but can still contain very high resolution. For our projects, our bitmaps are to be saved as EPS, and they must be strictly line art and no shading.

Image source: http://www.clipartlab.com/flowers.php

A reverse is when you create art that allows the color of the paper to show through.

Image source: http://www.showyourlogo.com/custom-tote-bags/Paper-Bags.htm

Vector art is art that is not resolution dependent. You can scale vectors up or down to whatever size you want without affecting the image quality. The file format for vectors are AI files, created in Adobe Illustrator.

A grayscale raster is a raster image in grayscale mode. You can change the mode in Photoshop. It should be saved as a tif or an eps.

A duotone raster can only be saved as an eps. To create a duotone, you must first convert your image to grayscale to get right of all color information. Then under the same Image>Mode menu, select duotone. You will then be prompted to choose two spot colors to create the duotone. Black plus another color are typically used for duotones.

The colors I used are Black and PANTONE 1645 C.


A silhouette raster is a raster image created using a clipping path. It cannot bleed on all four sides, and it can be saved in grayscale, CMYK, or duotone. You must save this file as an EPS. To create a silhouette/COB image, select the pen tool in Photoshop with your image opened. Draw a path around what you want to "cut out" of the image. Making sure that your path is still selected, save the path in the Paths panel. After you had completed that step, select Create Clipping Path in the same panel and save it as an eps.

A full bleed raster is a raster image with a bleed on all four sides. To create it, you would make it in Photoshop and file formats can include EPS or TIFF. You can have a full bleed raster in any color mode, including duotone, grayscale or CMYK.

A four color raster is a raster image that is saved as a flattened TIFF or EPS, with a color mode of CMYK.

A screen tint is a pattern on the screen that consists of dots that are evenly spaced and the same color to create an even tone.

Sources:
http://www.forbesproducts.com/artworkfaq.aspx
https://pittstate.angellearning.com/section/default.asp?id=12SP-TE-GIT-341-02

McCue, Claudia. Real World Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit, 2009. Print.

Graphic Design Logos

I wanted to share my logo from my Graphic Design class. Students were given the option to submit logo project ideas for extra credit. One of the optional projects was for a backpack company called "Embark." We had to come up with several different logo drawings and then have the class vote on which ones they liked best from each person. The top three picked of mine were of a compass with "EMBARK" in the middle of it, a sailboat with "EMBARK" underneath and a logo with a mountain and "embark" written inside.

I decided to go with the logo with the mountain, because it followed the rules for the assignment the best and the people in my group all liked it the best. I was kind of surprised that they voted for it because it wasn't necessarily my favorite.

For the final parts of our project we need a single color logo, a 2 or 3 color logo and a "full color" logo, where we can add gradients, drop shadows or other effects within reason.

Chapters 11 & 12 Summaries

In Chapter 11 we learn about InDesign CS4 production tips and Chapter 12 talks about Acrobat production tips.

When you are wanting to place images in InDesign, it's good to know that the Frame tool and the plain Rectangle tool can both accept images. Any closed shape, for that matter, can accept images as content, as long as the line is closed. You can also place multiple files all at once if by Shift-clicking, or Command-clicking/Control-clicking. Doing this only allows you to place from one folder at a time. You also do not even have to have a frame created to place an image into it. You can simply just File>Place and click and the image will be created inside its own image box.

There are several methods besides File>Place that you can use to put an image into your document. In one method, you can drag directly from a folder. You will still get correct links as though you placed the images. Another method involves Adobe Bridge. Select your files in Bridge from the correct folder and drag them onto your InDesign document.
You should not use drag and drop for everything. Dragging large images into InDesign adds its entire size to the document.

The Links panel in InDesign allows you to see what images are up to date, what images the program can't find and what images are modified. If InDesign contains graphics that have been moved or renamed, and the program can't find them, then a red stop sign symbol will appear next to the link. If a graphic has been modified and resaved with the same name, a yellow triangle will appear. When you try to open a file in InDesign with missing or modified links, an alert will appear that will give the option of updating those links (or to not.) To find a missing graphic when the file is open, select the link in the Links panel, and choose Relink. If you update missing links that have other files that are missing in the program, CS4 knows to update those as well. Updating modified links in CS4 is easy. Simply click Update Link after selecting the link name.

To transform graphics, there are several ways. Those ways include the Selection tool, the Scale tool, or the Free Transform tool. You can select frames with the Selection tool. You can also modify sizes using the X/Y scale fields. You can scale in proportion by Command/Control+Shift and dragging a corner of a graphic.

InDesign and Illustrator are able to create drop shadows that are able to interact correctly with other items in an InDesign file. You may want to create a more custom shadow than what Photoshop is able to do. If you want to create the illusion of the shadow falling on another object or surface, you have to paint the shadow yourself and apply the Multiply mode to the shadow. The problem with applying the blending mode is that it is not accepted in InDesign. To solve this problem, you have to use the Object Layer Options with allows you to still apply realistic effects with shadows. You can apply several layers of the same thing on top of each other with this feature, allowing you to create the look you desire for you file.

Swatches allow you to save colors that you want to use repeatedly. You can save colors from the Colors panel to the Swatches panel. One way is to select the Swatches panel menu, choose Add Unnamed Colors and InDesign finds all of the colors used and adds them to the panel.

The main purpose of the ink manager is to fix any spot-color errors by remapping colors out of place to their correct links. You can launch the Ink Manager by the Separations Preview panel menu, the Swatches panel menu, in the Print dialog under "Output", or in the Export dialogs for both EPS and Adobe PDF. To use the Ink Manager to remap, first select the spot color you want to remap. Then choose the correct Ink Alias, and it's as easy as that. You can also convert all spot colors to process with the click of the All Spots to Process check box. If you are sending native InDesign files to your print service provider, it's a good idea to let them know that you have already rectified the spot-color problems with Ink Manager.

PDFs start out outside of Acrobat, though some PDFs are created from scanning in documents, an existing image or a Web page. Most PDFs come from InDesign or Illustrator. Although Adobe Systems created the PDF concept, anyone can write software that deals with or creates PDFs.

Above is a table of creation settings for PDFs that cover the Adobe Creative Suite. Another thing to note, is that when it comes to PDF/X-1a, image content can be RGB or Lab tagged with color profiles. Unless you and your print provider plan to use color management, you will need to submit PDF/X-3 files.

If you wish to retain layer, live transparency or interactivity, you must export your PDFs rather than use Distiller. Some print providers and publication companies may insist that you use Distiller, but that is not always the way to go. Exporting is much faster and easier than using Distiller. If you are being asked to use Distiller, find out why.

Lastly, Chapter 12 talks about editing PDF files. Editing in Acrobat is limited, on purpose. Your PDFs need to be finished files when they are converted to PDF. If you must edit, Acrobat offers the TouchUp Text tool, the TouchUp Object tool and the TouchUp Reading Order tool. The text tool selects and edits text. The object tool allows you to select and edit objects in their native programs. The Reading Order tool allows you to make your files more accessible to the visually-impaired.

Sources:

McCue, Claudia. Real World Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit, 2009. Print.

The Microsoft Tag

Microsoft Tags are starting to be used everywhere, but what are they exactly? They're similar to QR Codes in that you can generate a Tag online, add it you a printed product, your website, or anywhere else and track it. You should add a Microsoft Tag to anything you want people to explore and find out more about it. The tags can help you direct where you want your audience to go.

If someone sees a Tag and would like to know where it will take them, all they need to do is scan it with their smartphones like you would a QR code and it will take them to wherever the Tag is linked. You can download Microsoft Tag apps onto your smartphone that will help you do this.

To generate a tag, you can go to websites like this to help you get started. It's all free, and they help you track your tag. They even give you suggestions on how to get the best results from your tag. Once your tag is generated, go place it on anything you'd like!

I found all of my information here.

Variable Data Direct Mailer Project

Variable Data printing allows us to mail personalized mail pieces to various people. It can go from one thing changing on the piece, like the person's mailing address, to several items in the design, like pictures, the person's name included in the text and other items.

In my Digital File Prep class, we've moved onto making a direct mail piece that will contain variable data. In the project, we are to decide a target audience, and divide the audience into two different categories.
For my project, I have decided to make a mailer for two different trips offered by one travel agency to go to Colorado. The first category of the mailer will be focused on a trip where you can go mountain biking. I plan on aiming this piece at my male audience. The second category will be focused on a ski trip, and this mailer version will  be directed towards my female audience.
The mailers will make the audience curious about what's being offered, and ask them to call a number to find out more. I plan on offering specials on the mailer and I think that would cause a greater number of customers who would call for more information.
For this project, the mailer is going to be 5x7 inches, or vice versa, and I will include a quarter inch margin, and an 1/8 inch bleed where necessary.

Here are my thumbnails and rough drafts I've created for this project:

The first thumbnail is the front of the mailer and it goes with the second thumbnail, which is the back of the mailer. The third and fourth thumbnails are the front of another design I made and they go with the fifth thumbnail that will make the back. The text on the back of the mailers will change accordingly with the fronts.

Here are my rough drafts:

 

When I went to get the proof of my mailer printed, I found that to print 100 5x7 inch color mailers front and back it would cost $32.42. The unit price is about $0.30.

With this project, I was able to cross off another vector image that's required on my Master Image List. The other images I used did not qualify for anything on the list. All the raster .TIFF images were downloaded for free from iStock. The vector social media icons were made available on ANGEL for free download/use and the ARROW Vacations logo was created by Dustin Engle and used with permission.

The Variable Data class will work on our files once they receive them and will be working on them throughout the semester. Once they have completed our files, we will receive the finished prints with all the variable data changed as we directed. I'm looking forward to seeing them printed!

Chapters 8, 9 and 10 Summary

In Chapter 8, we learn about job submission. First thing that was covered was the customer service representative (CSR) that your job will be handed over to. When you are talking with your CSR, you must bring up any special issues that have to do with your job. Things like unusual stock, special mixed inks, varnishes/other coatings, custom finishing, and unusual content need to be brought up with the CSR. The CSR will answer any questions you may have and see to it that your job is taken care of correctly.
Whenever you are talking with your printer, you also need to obtain a detailed schedule that includes dates for events such as random proofs, page proofs, bluelines and press checks. All this information will help make sure your job is printed on time. Also remind anyone that is working with your job that they need to contact you if they have any questions about your job. Be prepared to receive calls at random times, like in the middle of the night. You may not be expecting it, but your job has to be finished on time, and the night crew printing it may come up with a question for you.
When you are building your files, it's best to start from the ground up. Make sure you check the external document size, that there is adequate bleed, and check your internal panel sizes. Also look over artwork that interacts with folds, perforations, or die cut trims. Your print service can provide some help when it comes to these things. More things to check are that there are a correct number of pages and correct inks.
If you have raster images in your files, make sure to check the resolution of each photo. They should usually be set to 300 ppi. Check the color space of your images. Images usually come in 5 file types for printing: CMYK, RGB, grayscale, monochrome and duotone. Also look over your files and see if any of them need retouching. If they do, and you don't feel comfortable doing it, let your print service know that you would like them to take care of it. Make sure that all of your images are rotated and scaled properly. You will achieve the best results when your scans or digital photographs are created at the proper size and rotation for final use. When you name these files, avoid using periods, asterisks, and other characters.
To check vector images, make sure your use the correct colors, and that the color naming stays consistent throughout all the files. You can embed images into the file, but that increases the file size. Send your images to the print service just in case they need to edit the images you've included. When it comes to fonts, embed them or create outlines. Keep in mind that fonts are not available for editing when you embed them. Spell check all of your content and make sure there are no empty text boxes lying around. Remember to include enough bleed for you images if it is necessary.
Types of proofs include image proofs and page proofs. When you check image proofs, remember to check the:

• size
• crop
• orientation
• angle
• color
• detail
• moire
• the matching of the original artwork

Make sure they are all set for the final use that you want. When checking page proofs, look over the:

• bleed
• that the document is the correct size
• the image area
• that you used the correct fonts
• that there are no overset texts
• the text reflow
• correct images are used and that the cropped images fit their frames

Also check the special effects on the page(s), rules/other strokes, trapping (no misregistration), overprint, rich blacks, moire in screen tints or images, crossover art (correct alignment and color match the artwork) and make sure there are no unnecessary spot colors.
Know the fate of your images when you are working with them in Photoshop. Decide at what scale will the image be used and how it needs to be rotated. Scan images to the size that they need to be in rather than in Photoshop. Know if your image will be used at multiple sizes. If it will be, scan in the largest size and use scaling tools when you need the smaller version of it. When it comes to image resolution, include as much information as you can, so that you achieve the best quality. You can always get rid of extra information if you don't need it. 300 ppi is generally the resolution you want when you're printing at 133-150 line screen. If the line screen will be higher than that, it is best to include a lot of detail in your content.
Although we print in CMYK, sometimes it can be very beneficial to work with images in RGB, especially when it comes to color correcting, retouching and compositing. The wider gamut of RGB allows you more to work with as you make changes to the images. Artistic features and Photoshop effects are not available in CMYK.
Working with layered files in Photoshop can be very helpful. The layers keep individual components of an intricate work from being stuck together permanently. This is useful if you change your mind on one component as your working - it can be easily changed without messing up the rest of your image.
Adding effects such as transparency can add some pizzazz to your images. Effects like these are no longer limited to Photoshop, but if you work outside Photoshop with them, it may be sort of difficult. Illustrator and InDesign don't always handle transparency well, so it can be limiting to use it. Illustrator and InDesign can handle placed Photoshop images, but not Photoshop's blending modes. Transparency is expressed in percentage opacity, so more or less changes the strength of what is showing through. To get around the problems that Illustrator and InDesign can run into, work on your Photoshop images with things like drop shadows in layers, and then flatten them when you want to take them over to one of the other two programs. Another way to fix the problem is to not add the drop shadow in Photoshop at all, but add it later in Illustrator or InDesign.
When you are trying to create a path, the magic wand tool in Photoshop is not the best way to go, because this tool follows the rectangle edges of pixels and make your clipped images look jagged. If you really want the best results. the pen tool is your best bet. Not many people like the pen tool but with it you can create the most natural looking results.
A duotone is an image composed of two colors. These images usually contain spot color components, and because of that, it's important to create them the right way so that they print the right way. In Photoshop, choose Image>Mode>Duotone and a dialog box will appear. "Black" as one of the colors can stay as black, for it is implied that it is the simple process black of CMYK.  Any other colors used need to be chosen from the Pantone colors list.

Adobe Illustrator artboards can be imagined as pieces of drawing paper. In Illustrator, you art can go way past the edges of the artboard. To create an artboard, use the Artboard tool. You can see the width and height of the artboard as you drag its edges. To hide artboards, choose View>Hide Artboads. To modify artboards, you can select them with the Artboard tool, and change the size of the sides. You can also delete an artboard by selecting it and pressing the delete key on your keyboard or by pressing the X that appears next the the board when it is selected. You can also reposition artboards by selecting them and dragging them to a new position.
When creating an Illustrator document, you can specify the amount of bleed you would like. If you already have an existing document, choose File>Document Setup and add a bleed there. Bleeds do not have to be the same size all around the file. How bleeds are applied depends on your settings in the PDF, AI or EPS file.

Even though RIPs can now handle a lot of complexity in files, it is still a good idea to simplify your work.Remove empty points, remove too many points on a pen path, and clean up stray points that you don't need. To clean up these points, simply select Path>Clean Up and Illustrator will do the work for you.
Illustrator offers "live" effects. This means that the effects won't permanently alter your object when the effect is applied. You can edit the appearance of the effects in the Appearance panel. You can also hide or remove effects after they've been applied. Filters are now gone in Illustrator, and pixels aren't generated on the objects you've added effects to until they are printed.
Illustrator effects are added to the interiors and edges of the vector objects, while Photoshop effects are only applied to the interior. They are both even applied to Clipping Masks.
When you want to apply transparency or other blending modes in Illustrator, you may not always get the results you're looking for. Spot colors may not always look the way you want them to when you use these effects. To see how colors will really look, you can turn on the Overprint Preview option and see. Turn off these function when you're done, for this option slows down the program.
Old printers that are still being used have a hard time outputting images with transparency. If you are using a printer with this problem, you must flatten the transparency. The flattening only affects outfut and export and takes placing during export printing. This mimicks the colors of the transparency with opaque objects instead, and allows the printer to print your files. If you must downsave to an earlier AI file type, you must specify a transparency flattener preset. Ask your printer if they have any suggestions on how you should do this.
You can either link or embed raster images in Illustrator. Linking results in a smaller AI file, while embedding does the opposite. When you link images, they are externally stored, and therefore easier to edit. Embedding makes it easier to keep track of files you've added to you AI file, but embedding makes it harder to edit these separate files. When you save files as an EPS file, images and fonts are automatically embedded into the files. You should save the embedded files along with the EPS file just in case, so that you can go in and edit them later if needed. Images still rely on resolution when placed in Illustrator. Scaling up or down after placing an image will still change its quality, like it would in Photoshop. Always place your images at 100%.

Sources:

McCue, Claudia. Real World Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit, 2009. Print.

Chapter 6 and 7 Summary

In Chapter 6 and 7 we learn about fonts and cross platform issues.

The first thing we learn about in chapter 6 is the font format PostScript. In the early days of fonts, Postscript was the main font format used, because early RIPs crashed when they tried to take on TrueType fonts. This is no longer the case. Postscript consists of two files: a bitmap screen font and a printer component that holds instructions on printing the font. You should never delete one or the other off of your computer thinking that you only need one for the font to function.

Truetype consists of a single file. As mentioned earlier, they are now able to be read by RIPs, so there is no need to worry about whether you are using Truetype or Postscript.

Opentype fonts are single-file fonts like Truetype. They do not have separate screen and printer fonts. The plus about Opentype is that it is cross platform, meaing the same font file cam be used on a Mac or PC. Opentype fonts can contain as many as 65,000 glyphs, whereas Postscript can only have up to 256 characters.

A font family is a collection of fonts that all have the same characteristics as the others. Examples of these include Helvetica, Arial, Georgia and Garamond. Each of these families have characters that look similar to the other characters in their family.

Glyphs are any distinct letterform, such asa lowercase b, a number, or an ampersand. This opens up possibilties to a fon designer to be able to include a number of different things in one font. It used to be that separate titling sets had to be saved separately, but not anymore.

dfonts are Macintosh OS X System fonts that are Truetype fonts underneath it all. These fonts are data only. They are hard to distiguish from the Postcript fonts that are named the same. If you want to use Postscript instead of the dfonts that are automatically default, you have to be able to activate or deactivate them yourself. dfonts also don't not work on OS 9 systems because they are not recognized as fonts.

Multiple Master fonts were introduced by Adobe and allow users to apply different effects to them such as multiple weights, widths and angles. It isn't used much today because people don't know much about them, but they are still used today for display and printing when fonts are missing in a PDF. They are also used whem fonts are not available for display in InDesign or Illustrator.

End User Agreements (or EULAs) are attached to fonts that you purchase to use. Most of the agreements attached to fonts allow for the same font file to be used on several workstations and one or two printing devices. If you are wanting to send you files off to be printed by another print provider, both you and the printer have to own the fonts for the font to be printed legally. Converting text to outlines may get rid of the hinting for the fonts, but that doesn't mean you're getting around the EULAs.

When it comes to file naming, do not use punctuation at all. Letters, numerals, spaces, underscores and hyphens are allowed to be used in file naming. If you are naming files for the Web, you should avoid using spaces, because the space will be replaced with "%20." Colons and slashes may be allowed to be used in Mac OS, but avoid using them for they will not be allowed to be copied over to Windows. You should also avoid slashes because when you send files to a print provider, they will most likely copy your files over to a server to store, and you could mess up all of your files if you had not named them safely.

Extensions are not required by all Mac systems, but  you should always use them. They help you identify files quickly. Most file names consist of three letters, such as .tif, .pdf and .eps. Some have longer extensions like .html. A period always separates the name of the file and the extension.

Formats that can cross platforms include Opentype fonts, and graphic format files. These include TIFF, PSD, EPS, AI, and JPEG. You don't have to worry about converting them, and you can use them wherever!

Sources:

McCue, Claudia. Real World Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit, 2009. Print.

Copyright for Designers

Dictionary.com says that a copyright is "the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work..." We all must follow copyright, and if we don't, we are breaking laws. Many people seem to think that if you are able to pull it off the internet, you can use it freely. This is not the case. If you are going to use something off the internet that you did not create, you must make sure that you are able to use it legally. Things like images, fonts, content, multimedia documents and other intellectual property - online and off - are protected under copyright. As digital technology grows, discussions have gone on more and more about translation and adaptation rights. Adapting and transforming images, sounds and content is easier to do in a digital format.
You can find things on the internet that come copyright free, but you have to know where to look. You can find copyright free images and other creative tools on websites such as istock.com, shutterstock.com and wegraphics.net. Owners can abandon their rights of ownership, and post their works on the internet for people to take and use for free. Owners can also restrict the use of their works to only noncommercial use.

There are two types of copyright: economic and moral. Economic rights allow the owner to receive financial rewards for their work, while moral rights allow the creator to take certain actions to keep the link between him and his work.
You can still use some works as long as you give credit to whoever owns the rights. Things that fall under free use include:

• quoting from a protected work while giving a source and the name of the author
• use of illustrations for teaching purposes
• use of works for reporting news

I found this information at Wipo.int

Chapters 4 & 5 Summary

Whenever you are thinking about how you should save your raster images, you need to think about what you will be using them for. Most of the time, you are limited to the file types supported by the software you are exporting the images to. Most commonly us formats have usually been TIFF and EPS.

File formats you should not use for print include PNGs,BMPs, GIFs and JPEGs. All of these are primarily used for onscreen and Web. PNGs have no support for CMYK color space, as with BMPs. GIFs tend to have low resolution and a color palette limited to 256 colors. JPEGs compress image information, which causes pixelated looking images in print.

JPEG vs RAW
JPEGs offer a compress format, and most cameras deliver their images as JPEGs. Now some higher level cameras can deliver images as Camera Raw. RAW has little to no compression, which is greater for the quality of your images, but you also end up with larger file sizes. RAW files can also be color corrected without losing much information in the file.

The word "pixel" is short for "picture element." Pixels are the smallest unit of measurement in a digitized image. Zoom into any image onscreen and you'll see the little squares of color that make up the image.
ppi stands for pixels per inch. Knowing how many pixels there are per inch tells us the resolution of an image. When it comes to Web, the final image resolution is always 72 ppi. Typical resolution for print is said to be at 300 ppi, while some say you should have a little more and others say it's okay to have a little less. It mainly depends on what type of products you're printing and what you think the final product should look like.

Bitmap images are sometimes called "line art images." This is because they only contain black and white pixels with no shades of grey. Bitmap images are very compact, so they can have a very high resolution, but still have small file sizes.

 When it comes to cropping, you can't always anticipate what all you will need to include in an image when saving a digital file or scanning in an image. Sometimes you can guess ahead and go ahead and crop out what you don't need while placing the image into your computer, but if you aren't completely sure you should go ahead and place the whole thing onto the computer. You can always crop it out later.
When you rotate images, the only completely safe way to to so is to rotate in 90 degree increments. If you rotate at any other degree, you will cause the image to lose information and look softened/blurred.

Vector images are pixel free, so this means that you can scale vector images as big or small as you'd like without the images looking pixelated or jagged. Shapes always stay smooth when they're vector. Vector file formats include EPS, which is the most common file type, or the AI format, which is native to Adobe Illustrator. Adobe PDF can also store vector images. If you are planning on placing the vector images in InDesign, it would be a good idea to save the files as AI. InDesign allows you to use transparency and blending modes that are available in Illustrator. Vector formats that are not appropriate for print include WMF, EMF or raster formats.

When you embed fonts in an EPS file or AI file, then that will allow you to be able to see that font information for display and printing. While that is very helpful, it does not allow you to edit embedded fonts. You still have to have that font active on your computer if you need to edit the text.

Outlining texts get rid of the "hints" that font files carry, and some don't like that fact.  But you shouldn't have to worry about outlining fonts if you are printing with a high resolution platesetter or imagesetter. Lower quality printers cause outlined text to look bloated, but you won't have that problem with higher quality printers.

When you are working with vector images, sometimes you draw out your own paths to create shapes. You may think that the more points you include in the paths of your drawing will mean that you have a more details or better drawing, but you can still achieve the same image with less points. And if your images turn out a bit bumpy, Illustrator has tools that help smooth out the paths. The more points you have on the paths you make, the larger the file size, and we all should like to save space where possible.

Self-Promotional Notepad Project

Our first project in Digital File Prep is a notepad that showcases what we do best. It also includes a QR code that links to this blog, so that your audience can see what other work you've done besides the notepad. You can view the information I have found on QR codes here.

My thumbnails:

My rough draft:

The rough draft is drawn to the actual size of what the final product will be. I have chosen to use the 2nd thumbnail shown as my final piece. I'm not quite sure what font I want my name to be in. I guess you'll have to wait to see the finished product! After all the trimming the image (which will be made in Illustrator) will be 3.5 inches by 3 inches and will have a light enough opacity so that whoever is using the notepad will be able to write over the image and see what they've written clearly. The image on the notepad will be a vector Illustrator image.

My target audience is anyone who needs website work or design work done for them, and I with also advertise that I can do some studio product photography. If they take a picture of the QR code with their smartphone, they can see most of the school work I've done, and they can also get information to contact me if they would like to see more.

The requirements for this project include: a 5x7 or 7x5 inch notepad with a 1/8 inch bleed, 50 pages for the notepad, along with padding and a corkboard backing. We will only be printing with black ink for this project and I will be printing on white paper. If I were to get 100 of these printed it would cost $131.43. To print a single notepad it would cost me $3.79.

All vector images (the illustration in the corner and the logo with my name) were created by me in Adobe Illustrator. I created the grayscale raster QR code that links to this blog on Kaywa.com.

Chapters 1, 2 and 3 Review

One thing we learn about in this class is what a folding dummy is. A folding dummy is a handmade replica of what a printed piece should look like. It also shows where the gripper margin is supposed to be, which is something that needs to be taken into account when getting ready to print something.

Finishing processes can include a variety of things such as coating the printed product to protect it or highlight certain areas with a glossy look, die cutting, stringing/hole drilling, eyelets and double mounting. All of these things have to be done after the paper or other substrate is completely done with printing. Other processes include: trimming, folding and mounting. There are many finishing processes you can choose from to add extra pizzazz to your product.

An imagesetter is a high resolution output device that is able to transfer electronic text and graphics directly to photo-sensitice paper, film or plates. It can be thought of as a very high quality expensive printer. Imagesetters use a laser and a dedicated raster image processor.

There are 12 points to a pica. A measurement in picas is usually represented by a lowercase "p". Points are the smallest unit in typography and it is commonly abbreviated as "pt". Points are the usual measurement for font size and leading, while picas usually measure lines of type.

Die cutting is a manufacturing process of cutting out many of the same shape in different substrates. The die shapes are often called "blanks". Cookie cutters can be considered useful for die cutting. Each blank is exactly the same size and shape and can be helpful when you need to produce a lot of the same thing.

Registration in printing is important because when you have your final product, all colors and images need to be lined up correctly. There are many types of registration such as: T-bar, pin-hole, and eye-balling.

The importance of a raster image processor (RIP) is that it converts digital data into something a printer can understand. The term RIP is generally used to describe software applications used to enhance the printing process in different ways.

Variable data printing offers customized, targeted products that can apply to a general group, a specific group of people or an individual person. VDP allows us to customize a product such as a postcard advertisement that can appeal to a single person or a group of people.

A two color print job is best when you are trying to create something such as a logo that has a vibrant color that only Pantone can achieve. You should use a 4 color CMYK printing process when you are printing things such as photographs. A two color print job allows you to get unique colors that wouldn't look quite right if you were using CMYK.

DPI stands for dots per inch and it measures the density of dots in an image, when in turn tells us the resolution of an image. LPI stands for lines per inch. It tells us how close the lines are together. The closer the lines, the greater the resolution. PPI stands for stands for pixels per inch and it is used as a unit of measurement on a computer screening, also telling what the resolution of an image is.

Spot color printing is a type of printing that uses one or more pre-mixed colors. Spot printing uses a color system called Pantone. CMYK printing uses the colors cyan, magenta, yellow and black to print with. The colors are mixed to create various colors on a printed piece.

Sources:
http://www.marketing-playbook.com/glossary/index.php/term/%26%23160%3B,Folding+dummy.xhtml
http://www.talonzippers.com/trim_solutions/print/finishing_process/
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci825229,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_(typography)
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-die-cutting.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_registration
http://www.ppmag.com/web-exclusives/2009/03/raster-image-processors-rips-1-1.html
http://www.dcfb.com/Pages/2-color-designs.html
http://www.visiondesign.com/2010/04/printing-cmyk-vs-spot-color/

Digital File Prep

My Digital File Prep class is a writing to learn class, so I'm going to be using this blog to do writing assignments and show off  the projects we create in this class. Stay tuned!

-Big Sigh of Relief!-

The past two and a half weeks I've been working on a project for Design II and I finally finished it last night! I feel so relieved. We all had to bring a small object in to class and the object I brought was a little glass owl I own. We then had to recreated our objects and make them out of balsa wood. We brought our projects in today and critiqued them in our groups and mine got voted best in the group! This project was so stressful- I had to hardest time getting glue to hold and making sure things didn't break as I was putting the project together. I'm proud of what I've done but I'm so glad it's over! I'll make sure to post pictures when our projects get returned to us later.

Sunset Website

Here's one of the latest sites we were assigned. We could make it about anything we wanted, as long as it contained three pages and they all linked to each other. I have taken a ton of pictures of sunsets, so I decided to use them for this site. I also included information about how sunsets occur using Wikipedia. I had a lot of fun with this project, because I liked the freedom of creating whatever I wanted in Dreamweaver and I liked deciding how everything would look on my own. It's a simple site but I still like it!

Final Project Site Map

 

We're starting to think about our final website projects, and I think I'm going to do another portfolio site. I did one of my first sites in this class as a portfolio one, but this time I'm going to lay everything out myself and go more in depth as to what I have create. This is a screen shot of my proposed site map. I'm excited to get this one started!