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Adobe Exchanges 2007-03-21 17:02:53 Way back when, there used to be a little company called “Macromedia”. Some of you older heads might remember them. For a long time they were the big name in web development- until they were bought out by Adobe
.
Macromedia had a great section on their website called the “Exchanges”. These were essentially forums where users could post scripts, plug-ins, actions etc. for every Macromedia product.
When Adobe took over Macromedia, they not only kept the Exchanges, but expanded them to cover many of Adobe’s products as well. If you have never been on the Exchanges, I would highly recommend it.
The Illustrator exchange has custom brush libraries, and all kinds of templates, as well a some useful plug-ins. The InDesign exchange has some really cool stuff, including scripts that will create editable calendars in InDesign.
Picking Colors for your Design 2007-03-20 19:56:10
Sometimes the hardest part of getting started on a design is choosing the color palette you are going to use. Well, fear more! The ever helpful internets have come through again with website that will give you a hand in picking those colors.
One such website is run by Adobe Labs. Kuler is a great site- it lets you choose up to 5 colors in your palette, and you can input in a wide variety of color models. CMYK, RGB, HSV, LAB and HEX are all supported. You can even register with the site and save and publish your palettes. The publishing is in “.ase’ files. You can open these in any of the Adobe apps as swatch libraries.
The second site is ColorBlender.com. ColorBlender isn’t as robust as Kuler, but if you get confused by all of the options on Kuler, this might be the best spot for you. The controls are simple, either RGB or HSV input. The best part of this site is the ability to export the color tables as either Photoshop ACT color tables or Illustrator EPS files- so Read more:Picking
, Colors
Mark Jewell Graphic Designer 2007-03-20 18:04:22 Originally from NJ, I started getting serious about “commercial” art in High School, selling a few of my paintings and sculptures. I also made quite a name for myself in school by being banned from the HS art show. They say the content was a bit racy, I preferred to call it artsy.
Then came the big party, I mean college, the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic
Art. After my first year of school, I was sucked into an ad agency, doing some illustration work but mostly paste-ups and mechanicals, I sure do miss the smell of rubber cement and a waxer (ask your parents about that kids!). Working in NJ agencies I built a nice portfolio, and set my sights on North Carolina where I could afford a house on the artist’s salary.
In NC I landed a job with a FireFly Balloons, a hot air balloon manufacturer, managing their graphics department. We would design and build balloons for corporations tired of the same old advertising media. Working that gig for about 4 years exposed me to workin Read more:Jewell
, Designer
, Graphic Designer
PC or MAC? 2007-03-20 14:04:53 Quite frequently we get customers who ask “which is better” for graphic design? Now it’s our turn to ask you… what do you use? Have you used both and can you give an objective opinion? Post and share your comments with others.
Pantone Selects Chili Pepper 19-1557 as the Color of the Year for 2007 2007-03-21 23:31:15 Pantone, Inc., the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, selects PANTONE 19-1557 ChiliPepper
, a deep, spicy red, as the color of the year for 2007. This engaging, resonant hue strikes a high note for fashion and personal expression as its boldness is appealingly eye-catching, sophisticated and enticing. In a time when personality is reflected in everything from a cell phone to a Web page on a social networking site, Chili Pepper connotes an outgoing, confident, design-savvy attitude.
“Whether expressing danger, celebration, love or passion, red will not be ignored,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color
Institute®. “In 2007, there is an awareness of the melding of diverse cultural influences, and Chili Pepper is a reflection of exotic tastes both on the tongue and to the eye. Nothing reflects the spirit of adventure more than the color red. At the same time, Chili Pepper speaks to a certain Read more:Selects
Case Study: Digital Images Before and After 2007-03-23 13:42:11
A lot of files go through our pre-press department on a daily basis and we have a lot of experience and stories to share in order to assist you to get your images prepared correctly to maximize the print quality. Here is an example of a recent customer. With their consent, we share some before and after shots of their files, and how a few tips helped their designer prepare files that resulted in a top quality mailing piece.
The Anonymous Showroom is a multi-line fashion showroom in New York. As their business grows so does their need for top quality images that reflect the fashion lines they represent. The showroom receives daily shipments and sends our direct mail pieces to their clients around the country on a weekly basis. Digital
photography is their only choice when it comes to a fast paced environment like Fashion. (more…) Read more:Study
, Images
What’s your time worth? Putting a value on your design skills 2007-03-23 03:38:40
You’ve decided to go for it. You’ve got the talent and determination. You know your skills are marketable. So what do you charge for your services? Even more important – what will a client pay?
For most Creatives it would be easier to figure out the national debt. Not surprisingly a lot of design
ers have no clue what they’re worth in the current advertising marketplace. That’s why they’re not accountants.
But if you’re going to be profitable, being compensated fairly and adequately can make all the difference to your success. Or lack of it.
Factor in all the variables
There are a lot of things to consider when you’re setting up a fee schedule: your location, the economy, your competition, your experience, your length of time in business and of course the client. All of these should influence your decision.
No one can tell you what to charge, but here are some basic guidelines on how to present yourself and your value to potential clients:
Read more:Putting
2007 WebAwards 2007-03-26 16:21:26 2007 WebAward Call for Entries The Web Marketing Association is now accepting entries into its 11th annual international WebAward Competition. The WebAwards is the standards-defining competition that sets industry benchmarks that the Internet Standards Assessment report is based upon. The food industry represents an important category in the WebAward competition, and the Web Marketing Association will again be honoring the Best Food Web site of 2007. The deadline for entry is May 31, 2007 and the WebAward Web site is located at www.07webaward.org.
About the WebAwards
Now in its 11th year, the annual international WebAwards competition sets the standard of excellence in 96 industry categories by evaluating Web sites and defining benchmarks based on the seven essential criteria of successful Web site development. The goal of the Web Marketing Association, sponsor of the WebAwards, is to provide a forum to recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most
Best Design Website Trends Detailed in New Report from the Web Marketing Association 2007-03-27 14:49:56
Web Marketing
Association, host of leading website awards competition WebAwards, released the Internet Standards Assessment Report (ISAR) to help the design industry create more effective and engaging websites.
“As the standard of excellence for websites continues to increase, consumers (and WebAward judges) are increasingly picky about what they consider to be an effective website,” said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association, Inc. “Design websites tend to push the envelope when it comes to innovation and adapting new concepts for display on their websites.”
(more…) Read more:Trends
One little checkbox… 2007-03-28 21:44:31 It’s the little
things that make a difference- and nowhere is that more true than in prepress. Prepress is a world where one little checkbox makes the difference between ‘easy’ files and ‘hard’ files.
Here’s a good example: “Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities”. Un-checking this one little box can make my life very difficult.
So what exactly does this box do? When you save a PDF from Illustrator, Illustrator will write the entire original AI file inside the PDF. This makes the file larger, but makes later editing of the PDF much simpler.
If this box is not checked, when you read a file back into Illustrator many bad things happen. Every line of text is it’s own box- there are no more paragraphs. Gradients are usually converted to shadings. Basically, editing of the file becomes extremely difficult.
Normally editing a PDF is the last thing your friendly neighborhood prepress person wants to do. Unfortunately, just because we re Read more:hellip
Over 40 Workshops for Seasoned & Novice Photographers 2007-03-28 15:51:30 Seasoned and novice photographers searching for inspiration and solid hands-on training need look no further. Santa Fe Workshops
recently announced its Summer/Fall 2007 schedule with a full-color 88-page catalog. The Summer/Fall season, which begins June 10, 2007, offers 48 photography workshops, including more than 20 workshops in the state-of-the-art digital facility, a variety of On-the-Road workshops, and 15 weeklong workshops in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
There are some scholarships available from Kodak, Nikon and others. (more…) Read more:Seasoned
, Novice
, Photographers
Don’t forget the die! 2007-03-30 20:24:19 So I had the interesting experience today of teaching our intern how to create a die-line. He had no idea what a die-line even was! Interns, gotta love em :P.
This brought up a long conversation between several of us about the technical knowledge that many designers seems to lack. While there are tons of classes out there that claim to teach someone how to be a designer, often times they miss some of the most critical (technical) aspects of designing for print.
A case in point would be pocket folders. To the left is a pocket folder die. A pocket folder is printed on a larger sheet, and then a blade (die) in the shape you see is used to cut the out the folder. Once cut, it is then folded and glued.
Now, in looking at this die, what do you see? The basic shape of a folder, right? Now think about how it will fold… The bottom flaps (with tabs on the outsides) will fold up! So any copy that is going to be on those tabs needs to be “upside down” relative to the rest of th
Helvetica… The film 2007-03-29 15:34:31 2007 celebrates Helvetica’s 50th birthday. To celebrate it’s birthday, director Gary Hustwit filmed a documentary shot all around the world focusing on the use and history of the Helvetica typeface. - http://helveticafilm.com. Helvetica is one of the most commonly used typefaces in the design world. From want ads to billboards, Helvetica is everywhere.
About the font: Helvetica was created by Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann at the Haas’sche Schriftgießerei (Haas type foundry) of Münchenstein, Switzerland. Practitioners of what would be known as the International Typographic Style (also called the Swiss Style) such as Josef Muller-Brockmann had popularized the use of sans-serif fonts like Akzidenz Grotesk which was created more than 50 years earlier in 1896 and marketed by the German type foundry Berthold. Haas set out to design a new sans-serif typeface that could compete with Akzidenz in the Swiss market. Originally called Neue Haas Grotesk, the typeface’s name w Read more:hellip
It’s not April Fools’ Day posting 2007-04-01 22:14:11 I was contacted by a few people who thought that the Rap contest YouTube posting was an April
fools’ joke. It’s not, so go out there and vote until 4/8/07. Read more:Fools
YouTube - Turbo Tax Contests 2007-04-01 22:05:03 We assist hundreds of clients here at BargainPrinting.com every week, and have to deal with a lot of questions you would not call conventional. But since we have promised Fanatical Customer Service for everybody, we try to attend to the needs of all of our clients whether it’s printing related… or not.
So, when a client have contacted us to vote for their song entry to the YouTube
/Turbo
Tax contest, we gathered our team and did so, and we are also asking the rest of our customers through this blog to do just that.
The songes are SOOOOO FUNNY!!!!!! you HAVE TO listen to them and of course, VOTE! for them.
The TurboTax Rap: http://youtube.com/contests_layout?name=TheTaxRap&v=hIenReo-NzU&goto=109
and
Death and Taxes: http://youtube.com/contests_layout?name=TheTaxRap&v=_J4LNVNOwsc&goto=113
The videos with the most votes get put into the finals, which are then reviewed by a panel of judges. In case you don’t know, TurboTax is automated software to do Read more:Contests
Adobe Unveils Preview of Acrobat 3D Version 8 2007-04-03 13:18:28 Adobe announced a public preview of Adobe® Acrobat
® 3D Version 8 software, a major upgrade to the desktop application for driving PDF document-based 3D design collaboration and computer-aided design (CAD) data interoperability capabilities to virtually anyone across the extended enterprise. Starting immediately, users worldwide can download a beta version of the product free from Adobe Labs, and experience the new and enhanced capabilities it will deliver for professionals in the manufacturing and architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries. The preview can be downloaded at labs.adobe.com/technologies/acrobat3d_version8/ . Read more:Adobe
, Preview
Folding! 2007-04-06 20:05:20 A common question at Bargain Printing is, “What type of fold should I choose?”
Here is a rundown on the common types of folds:
Bi Fold - Commonly referred to as a short or long fold. It is just one fold made to the paper in either direction.
A short fold, would be a fold across the shortest dimension of the paper. For example, a short folded 8.5″ x 11″ sheet would fold down once to 8.5″ x 5.5″
A long fold, would be a fold across the longest dimension of the paper. For example, a long folded 8.5″ x 11″ sheet would fold to 11″ x 4.25″
Tri-Fold - A fold where a three panel piece has both side sections folded inward, one on top of the other Each section is approximately 1/3 the length of the piece. Also known as a C-fold or letter-fold.
Z-Fold - A paper fold represented by back and forth folds into three panels.
That pretty much covers the typical fold types when printing a brochure. Another good term to know is scoring. Sco Read more:Folding
Quark Upgrades and Free Xtensions 2007-04-05 22:01:08 Quark has some new items available for download.
A free upgrade to Xpress 7.0.2 is now out. There are several new features and several bug fixes as well. This is a free upgrade, so if I was you, I would download it.
Also, there are a set of Xtensions called Xpert Tools Pro available for free as well. I have downloaded these Xtensions and love them. There are a bunch of productivity enhancing features in here. Read more:Quark
COLOURlovers.com Nominated for Best Community Website and Official Honoree for Best Social/Network in the 11th Annual Webby Awards 2007-04-13 14:11:04
The WebbyAwards
, the leading international honor for the Web, today nominated COLOURlovers for the Best Community Website of 2007 and an Official
Honoree for Best Social
/Network Website. COLOURlovers was created and is run by Darius A Monsef of Portland, OR. Of the more than 8,000 entries submitted from over 60 countries and all 50 states, fewer than 15% were distinguished as an Official Honoree and an even smaller number received the accolade of being an Official Nominee.
View the nominated site: http://www.colourlovers.com/
Vote for the site: http://pv.webbyawards.com/account/login
(more…) Read more:Annual
Electronic Recyclers Help Turn Technology Green 2007-04-17 20:02:03 With an estimated 500 million pounds of electronics collecting dust in California’s closets, garages and attics, finding ways to reuse those metals, plastics and chemicals is critical. That’s where John Shegerian’s company, Electronic
Recyclers, comes in. The Futures Channel takes viewers inside the largest electronic recycling plant in California in its new online micro-documentary, “Recycling Computers.” Watch the movie: http://www.thefutureschannel.com/dockets/hands-on_math/recycling_computers/ Read more:Technology
, Green
Apple just unveiled Final Cut Studio 2 2007-04-16 14:07:27 Apple
just unveiledFinal
Cut Studio 2, a significant upgrade to the industry’s leading video production suite that delivers new creative tools designed expressly for editors.Final Cut Studio 2 includes:- Final Cut Pro 6, which introduces Apple’s ProRes 422 format for uncompressed HD quality at SD file sizes and support for mixed video formats and frame rates in a single Timeline- Motion 3 featuring an intuitive 3D environment, paint and new behaviors- Soundtrack Pro 2 with dozens of innovative tools for multi-track editing, surround mixing and conforming sound to picture
- Compressor 3 delivering powerful batch encoding for multiple formats with a single click
- DVD Studio Pro 4.2 for SD and HD DVD authoring.
Final Cut Studio 2 also introduces “Color,” a professional color grading and finishing application for ensuring consistent color and creating signature looks.
Apple today also introduced Final Cut Server, a powerful new server application that works seaml
April Discounts - OVER SOON! 2007-04-22 15:58:03 WE are running a few specials on Business cards and postcards that will be over by 4/30. So if you want to take advantage of really inexpensive cards, place your orders by then.
Read more:April
, Discounts
Inaugural Spark Award Entries Reflect Energy of Great Designs 2007-04-22 15:53:03 Why do we need another design competition? Before the design magazines have their say, before the market votes yea or nay with its dollar votes, design competitions are a way to shine a light on great design.
The Spark Award
s, launched this year, incorporates dozens of possible design niches organized under three umbrellas: general, mobility and public sector. Entries are coming in from as far as Sweden and as near as Mexico.
• The registration deadline is May 15, with late registrations accepted until May 30. Entries must arrive at the jury site between May 21 and May 31
• The Spark Awards Ceremony, HotSpark Night and SparkLive Exhibition will take place June 9 at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena
• Winners will be exhibited at Art Center South Campus through June 29
• The Online Exhibition will be available from June 2007 until May 2008
The sponsors of Spark Awards are as wide-ranging as the scope of the contest itself. They include Hewlett Pack Read more:Energy
, Great
, Designs
Photoshop CS3- New Tools for Black and White Conversion 2007-04-26 18:24:23 For the serious photographer or designer, one of the most frustrating things can be converting your images from color to black and white. Often times, people will just click Image->Mode->Grayscale, then either leave the image as is, or use curves to adjust.
There are several better ways to do this in Photoshop
- methods that give you much more control over the contrast range of your images as you convert them to black and white. I am going to show you some of the better ways to do this, including the new tools. First, let’s start with a nice, colorful image to convert.
(more…) Read more:Tools
, Black
, White
, Conversion
Digital Film Tools Releases Adobe CS3 and Avid Intel Mac Compatible Plug-ins 2007-04-25 15:18:38 Digital Film Tools
releases new versions of 55mm, Digital Film Lab, EZ Mask, Light, Ozone, Snap and zMatte for Adobe
Photoshop versions 7 through CS3 and Photoshop Elements as well as new Intel
Mac compatible versions of 55mm, Digital Film Lab, Composite Suite, and zMatte for Avid Editing Systems–specifically Avid Media Composer 2.5.1 and higher and Avid Xpress Pro 5.5.1 and higher.
Digital Film Tools software is available for download or purchase at: WWW.DIGITALFILMTOOLS.COM Upgrade pricing is available for existing customers. Read more:Digital
Unrelated to Printing… but nevertheless FUN! 2007-05-03 16:13:01
Although this post is not related to printing, you might find it fun. Most of you will have to buy a mother’s day gift this week, and we have found this great idea we’d love to share with you. Get Mom or Wife or anyone else eligible, a PERSONALIZED iPods!!! How cool is that? Above all personalization is free but you have to order by tomorrow 5/4!
Need it by Mother’s Day? Shop the Apple Store Read more:hellip
, Unrelated
, Printing
It is TRADE SHOW season… 2007-05-02 17:45:35 Study Reveals How Attendees Would Redesign the Convention Experience
Two years of attendee focus groups reveal top five trends.
Impact Unlimited, a leading provider of brand communications for events, meetings and exhibits worldwide, presented the results of its two-year focus group on attendees’ perceptions of exhibits and conferences at the recent Mid-Winter Health Care Exhibitor Association in Baltimore.
Impact Unlimited commissioned several on-line focus groups to study attendees’ experiences with and perceptions of tradeshow exhibits and healthcare events. The study comprised 60 attendees that had attended medical conferences within the past two years and analyzed their thoughts on how exhibitors could help them improve their show experience. In addition, Impact Unlimited highlighted strategies for exhibiting pharmaceutical, equipment, and device companies designed to help them align their convention strategies with the results from the focus group. As a result Impact Read more:hellip
BargainPrinting.com Live @ Virginia 2007-05-07 21:14:29
We are very selective when it come to trade shows and we are not participating to that many throughout the year, nevertheless it was lot’s of fun to be part of the annual Abrakadoodle conference in VA this past weekend.
It is always great to meet face to face with clients and hear first hand their feedback. Read more:Virginia
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