Site Mission: Learn as much as I can with Adobe Creative Suite 5, and have fun in the process. So far, my comfort level is extremely high with InDesign, Acrobat, Illustrator, and Photoshop. It is on a medium level with Dreamweaver, Flash and Fireworks. I want to learn more about Premiere, After Effects, Soundbooth, and the rest of the production tools for video and audio.
My skills with the software are awesome. On the job, I deal with print production. Most of the time, that means fixing other peoples files. I am constantly amazed that people choose to work harder than they have to.
For example:
•It's very true that InDesign has the vector tools need to draw art with. But how do you open an InDesign file with a vector art program like Illustrator or Corel Draw?
•It's very true that layouts can be set up in Illustrator, but there's a lot more work associated with setthing up blond proof paragraph and character styles.
•It's also very true that the line between InDesign and Illustrator has become somewhat blurred with the advent of CS4 and CS5.
•I know that you, as a designer, will do things the way you want to. That is your right. Just remember that if you do not provide the file in the manner requested by the print shop, it's out of your control. I've seen it happen. It's even more likely to happen if you do not have time to look at a proof, especially when you have been invited to drop by and look at one before the job is committed to the press.
Layout and design is about being smart these days. Templates are easily set up. Add in paragraph and character styles, add in object styles, that's a lot of tools available to streamline the process. With the software, you can place an object in the file with a ten thousanth of a point accuracy. Here we must remember... the computer is the most accurate part of the process.
Once the file leaves the computer, it is subject to a mechanical process for production. Even if it goes to an ink jet or laser printer, the process is mechanical and there can be slight variations in the final piece. Cutting, position, anything that is mechanical in production can be shifted by a hair. But what about forms and documents that get scanned with a laser, and a printed element has to be in a certain place? The laser has to allow for some tollerence. For the most part, presses will hit within .25-.5 point for repeatability. Even with the different resolutions on monitors, the web page can be different from computer to computer.
On the other side of the coin, web design can be exacting and precise, until the page is printed.
Updated July 25, 2010
