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With the advanced use of computer and the Internet, new areas of works have entered into the business life. Graphic designing can be basically related to instinctual designs that come into one’s mind while designing, but now anyone who gets proper training can be successful at designing. There are some things that should be taken into consideration before starting the graphic designing work to reap great results.
A good graphic design provides traffic to your business. The first look of your business and the graphic design for it leaves an impression on the viewers, so if it looks attractive and, at the same time, genuine too, your business will definitely flourish. The cost of the design depends upon your project and the designer, because lots of areas need an artistic approach. Graphic designers usually work on projects or specific clients and so they cost according to the project (price per project or hourly) or the client. If you employ a graphic designer for your business, it might cost you a little more than if you get the work done by some service provider company. These companies provide good quality designs at an affordable rate.
What is the most important point that you look for when you are in search of a graphic designer for your business? Experience and quality are the most obvious criteria. Ask to go through their design portfolio and request a client referral list to determine their clients’ satisfaction. In addition, the designer might give you some prepared designs as to what your design will be or similar ones for you to choose from.
Check out ProjectCenter’s services at www.makepapereasy.com.
There are very good reasons why limiting the use of Flash is important:
1. Information embedded in Flash is often invisible to search engines
Most Internet navigators begin a web session with a search engine. Information hidden in graphics formats, such as Flash, is difficult, if not impossible, to find and process. While search engines such as Google try their best to extract links and textual content buried in Flash objects, the process is far from perfect. Sites constructed completely in Flash often offer very little textual information – consequently what information a search engine does find ranks poorly. Even sites partially constructed using Flash often “hide” their internal site links using Flash based site navigation.
2. Website reporting on Flash navigation is problematic and cumbersome
Web analytics systems help marketing professionals evaluate website visitor behavior in and around a website, providing actionable information valuable in improving a website’s business performance.
Web analytics tagging is often an after thought. Flash Action Script coding adds extra implementation cost and complexity. Flash designer(s) are often unfamiliar with web analytics requirements and thus don’t consider Flash events tagging requirements during site design. Implemented tag verification is a tedious process as it requires waiting for data to appear in the reporting system – hours or days later. Flash does not provide referrer information, making it very difficult to track navigation paths.
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As mentioned in the previous article, one of the key things to note when working for any print project is the resolution of the image. The other factor to note is color mode – specifically for all print projects, your ultimate destination would be CMYK. Why not RGB? This is because printers create colors differently on a printing press as opposed to colors on a computer screen. In Photoshop, a good way to gauge how a printed work would look like on paper is to turn on Proof Colors. If anything looks wrong or not what was intended, make the appropriate adjustments. Seek to foster a good relationship with local printers, as they will be invaluable when it comes to getting advice and ensuring a job well-printed.
Check out ProjectCenter’s services at www.makepapereasy.com.
When working in Photoshop, one of the things to note before a new canvas is started would be resolution. Resolution here refers to the number of dots used in an image, per inch or what is often termed as ‘dpi’. For an image to print in good quality on paper, it needs to have at least 300 dpi. Generally, this is set as the standard and would bring about a good finish for say, a magazine. For newspapers, the dpi can be brought down an acceptable level of 200 or even 150 dpi for the same image. That’s because the quality of the print also depends on the quality of the paper being used, and the better the paper, the lesser the spread of the ink across the paper during the printing process. So generally, it is good to take note of resolution when preparing work – source images from any stock library, or the settings on the camera and the canvas in Photoshop. The finished image can always be resized downwards for lower quality prints or even screen, but it will be a headache if it needs to be enlarged.
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‘Print-ready’ refers to a graphic design file being formatted to a printer’s needs, so that the printer can make their adjustments in order to print the file appropriately. Although all printers have a pre-press department that can fine-tune files and batch up jobs to a printer, and broker/client must make sure certain actions are taken before it goes to a pre-press department.
The first action is to include “bleed” in the artwork (previously described in post http://projectcenter.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/what-is-full-bleed/), which is about 1/4″ of extra border on the background of the artwork, so that the printer can then print and cut down to size, resulting in a page where the color goes to the edge of the printed piece.
If a PDF is not being sent, but rather an EPS file, Illustrator file (AI), InDesign file (INDD) or PhotoShop file (PSD), then it is recommended that the artwork be outlined (Select > All, then Type > Create Outlines). Outlining is a function that embeds the fonts in the artwork, so that a receiver of the file does not need the incorporated fonts in order to open the file.
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As mention in a past posting (http://projectcenter.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/web-design-flash/), Flash is an animated component that is usually used as intro to a website, but can be implemented within web pages as well.
Keep in mind that entire websites can be created from the Flash software, but there are big issues with that approach. First, it means that your site will probably need more bandwidth over the internet for a viewer to load the website. Second, once the Flash website is created, it is cumbersome to make any changes at a later time. Third, if a client needs to change designers (i.e. the designer goes out of business or does not provide good customer service), the client needs to have and give access to the Flash source file. Without the source file, Flash needs to be recreated rather than revised, which increases the cost of the project.
As a suggestion, it might be a good idea to ask a prospective designer what softwares they will use to create a client website.
Check out ProjectCenter’s services at www.makepapereasy.com.
Flash is a wonderful tool to make a website more attractive, but clients need to be aware that there is a cost associated to such a feature. Flash is an animated component that is usually used as intro to a website, but can be implemented within web pages as well. Here is an example of a website with Flash: http://www.cavancommercial.com/.
It is hard to say how much more Flash can cost, but it can add anywhere from 10% to 30%, depending on how much is being created.
Check out ProjectCenter’s website at www.makepapereasy.com.
If you are new to Design and the print industry, you may already know how frustrating it is to find the right software to keep up with the industry standards and know what each program is designed for since definitions tend to be very vague.
Adobe has long been the industry standard and become synonymous with print. While there are many programs available that offer similar features, sticking with Adobe products will ensure consistency with most print shops. That being said, knowing the differences between the programs and what they are designed for can save a lot of wasted time in preparing artwork. Below is a list of the 3 most commonly used Adobe programs as well as a brief description of each.
Adobe Illustrator:
Adobe Illustrator is a vector based program meaning it is designed to create line art graphics and drawings. It is great for creating logos, graphs, and intricate artwork with higher precision and execution than other programs. As long as the artwork was created in Illustrator (as opposed to being imported) it can be reduced/enlarged to any size without quality loss and the file will remain small. While it has some of the features that other programs have, it does not support them as well . For instance, it has effects and filters but they are much harder to manage and tend to make the file much larger than necessary. It also has type features but doesn’t support multiple pages so it is more complicated to create layouts.
Adobe Photoshop:
Adobe Photoshop is a raster based program. It is designed to apply effects and filters to existing artwork and photography. It is a very powerful program for creating realistic textures, artwork and effects and is equally as good for creating web graphics. Like Illustrator, it combines some of the features that the other programs have, but also like Illustrator, it does not support them as well. In order to achieve the quality and resolution of a vector image, the file could end up being 20x the size of a vector file, so it essential to know what the file will be used for before creating (ie; print or web). Once it has been created at a certain size, it cannot be enlarged without the quality suffering. It also does not support multiple page documents, simply because of the file size constraints.
Adobe InDesign:
Adobe InDesign is a desktop publishing program which basically compiles and links artwork, graphics and text into one file. It is designed to layout single and multiple page documents for print. It has a preflight feature which diagnoses any issues you might have before sending to a printer. It also has a collect for output feature which collect all linked artwork and photos along with the file itself and fonts used into one folder. It supports style sheets, rules, page numbering, etc. As with the others, it has several outside features but does not support them as well.
In a nutshell, each program has similar features to the other programs, but is individually designed with one core function that works in tandem with the other programs. If used to their full potential, they will compliment each other rather than compete.
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For those clients looking for that gold, copper or other metallic color, there is a solution. Albeit, a solution that will cost a little more and needs guidance.
MetalFX Technology (www.metal-fx.com) manufacturers a “special” ink that results in a metallic shiny look. Printers have to be licensed by MFX in order to print with their inks. Designers need to get with the licensed printer, to get the software they need to create the artwork appropriately. MFX offers samples through online request. Check them out, and ask your broker to help guide you through this process.
Note that MFX is not the only company out there providing this kind of ink. Metallics Unlimited is another brand that apparently achieves a metallic look by simply adding a silver spot color to existing inks, which may be more of a cost-effective route. The brand that is used is usually dependant on what the printers are offering.
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www.IHeartPrint.com just made mention (http://www.iheartprint.com/2008/01/03/lang_en-my-5-print-related-thoughts-for-2008-lang_en/) of ProjectCenter’s blog (projectcenter.wordpress.com), saying that that companies like ProjectCenter “are proving that it’s worth [it] to share knowledge and engage conversations”.
ProjectCenter would like to thank www.IHeartPrint.com for this compliment.
We would also like to thank others (i.e. www.unioncopy.com) that have been sharing our posts to the public. We really appreciate your help.
As always, we greatly welcome your comments on our blog, and hope you will take the time to do so.
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Learning how to use color correctly and accurately is paramount in the print and design industry. What you see on screen does not always represent what will be produced on a print press. A lot of time and resources can be waisted when color is not done properly. Below is a quick guideline for preparing color correctly and accurately for print:
The first step is to calibrate your monitor to ensure the closest representation to the printed color. While calibration tools can be expensive, there are many online techniques to achieving an accurate monitor calibration, a good starting point would be Adobe Gamma which comes with Adobe Photoshop, if you do not have access to Adobe Photoshop, try using an online monitor calibrator.
Once you have successfully calibrated your monitor, the next step would be to determine a color scheme that will work for your project. There are several publications that can assist in determining the right color for your needs. The most popular of which are part of the Pantone Color Resources series titled COLOR: messages and meanings. There are also online color generators that will aid in the choosing of a color scheme, (this is not a swatch color picker, it is simply a basic tool for getting started in determining a color scheme).
Finally, you would need to determine how many colors will be used. If you are working with line art/vector graphics (consists of solid shapes and colors), typically choosing a Pantone color swatch saves money and ensures color accuracy, you can purchase a swatch book from Pantone or request samples from your printer, keep in mind the number of colors used will determine the number of plates used on the press so for cost reduction you would want to keep your colors limited. If you are working with projects that include photographs or images with continuous tones, the most cost effective setup would be CMYK. CMYK is a color process/model involving 4 plates; Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Since your monitor produces RGB values most programs will default to this color model, so when preparing artwork for print, you should always create or convert your artwork accordingly.
This is a very quick and basic guide for preparing color correctly. It’s always best to consult with your Project Center representative first before submitting any artwork.
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In the digital printing process, there is no bleed charge per side. Generally speaking, this is due to the fact that there isn’t as much manual labor involved with digital printing, as opposed to offset printing.
Once in awhile, a client will create artwork that incorporates a color they call copper. Unfortunately, copper is simply not a color and it cannot even come close to resembling the real thing, which is a material.
When an art piece is printed with copper, clients will often be disappointed in the end result- the copper color looking more like a brown color. The only true way of accomplishing a copper color on a printed piece is to incorporate foiling services. Foil is just as one would imagine- a foil material that is pressed on to a printed piece of work.
The likelihood that someone would use foil for something like a newsletter is very slim, because it can be an expensive service. Foiling is usually used for business cards, since they are smaller in size and foil sticks better to cardstock.
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If you want to move an anchor point on an object, in Illustrator, and have the lines follow without creating curves, here are the steps:
1) Create your object if you have not created one already.
2) Select the Direct Selection Tool, which the white-filled arrow from your tools palette.
3) Choose a space outside the artwork and click once. This will deselect the object.
4) Move arrow over the anchor point you want to move. A tiny square will show up indicating that you have the arrow in the right place.
5) Click and hold, and you should see the tiny square and the tail of the arrow disappear.
6) Drag anchor point where you wish to place it and release the mouse button.
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A comment was made about the “print feature that allows me to create one business card and print it 12 up wihtout having to make more then one” in Microsoft Publisher.
The commenter is absolutely right, but it is important to understand the appropriate audiences when comparing any Microsoft (i.e. Publisher, PowerPoint, etc.) and Adobe (i.e. PhotoShop, Illustrator, InDesign) graphic products.
Microsoft products are specifically geared towards the consumer sector of business, allowing people who have little to no experience in graphic design a chance to create materials for themselves. They are incredibly simple to use and output.
Adobe products are geared specifically to the business community, where limitations are few as long as you know and understand how to utilize the program. There is a larger learning curve in understanding these products, and sometimes education or training is needed.
These different sectors don’t necessarily work well together, and that is the reason for the last posting. In other words, it is often that a consumer with an MS creation will expect the same results when delivering that creation to a business with Adobe. Although it can be done, it is a challenge to overcome, because the programs don’t talk to each other well. It is very common to have to completely recreate a graphic project in order to take a job to print.
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