Print Design
Need a flip book? Use InDesign!
You’ve seen digital flip books. You see them online. You can click the pages and they do this neat page curl and you can make your mouse “flip” the pages. Traditionally (which is funny, since tradition doesn’t go back THAT far in our digital world), these created with Flash. Later we have learned to do …
Read MoreIs this picture big enough for my brochure?
I get this question a lot from clients when working on a printed piece. Resolution for printed pieces is totally different than for websites. Website (or screen) resolution is only 72dpi. This means your images look like they do on your monitor. But, when you use them for high quality printing, the resolution must be…
Read MoreAdobe Illustrator pressure sensitive brushes don’t work with my Wacom Tablet anymore!
Question I recently had to update my drivers for my old Wacom tablet due to a system upgrade. I was very disappointed to find out that my pressure sensitive brushes don’t work any more in Adobe Illustrator CS5. I can draw with them, but they aren’t pressure sensitive. Is there any way to fix this? Answer I…
Read MoreCute Girl Art: Illustration
I got a new client recently. They were searching the internet and found my existing illustrations I had done for Girl Scouts and wanted something similar. I sketched it first, then refined. Then I digitally inked her in Illustrator and colored her in Photoshop. This way all her lines are vector – so if the…
Read MoreAdobe Illustrator: How can I create item that won’t print?
Question I often have projects where I create the graphics in Illustrator and then I convert my fonts to outline for the press. So, I was thinking I would just put the name of the font on my file in the pasteboard area so I can see it and remember what font I used. But,…
Read MoreWhat is bleed? My printer asked for it.
Question What is bleed? My printer asked for it when I gave them my brochure file. Answer When you send your brochure to the printer, they print it on much larger pieces of paper than the finished size of your brochure. They do this for a variety of reasons: Printing several brochures at the same…
Read MoreSo You Want to be a Graphic Designer?
This week I had the pleasure of being interviewed by a student from a high school in Illinois, who was doing a research paper on jobs they might want after graduation. What kinds of things do you design? I design things related to the internet (Web sites, banners, eblasts, etc.), and just about anything on…
Read MoreWhere can I find an online design course?
Question I have a quick question that I hope you can answer, or at least provide me some direction. I would like to take an online course that could teach me some design basics. Not necessarily software, but just tips like how to balance elements on a page, what size fonts to use in relation…
Read MoreOld Indesign File Won't Package Without Missing Plugins
Question I’m trying to package a file in Indesign, and get this message: “This document cannot be installed due to missing plugins. Please install or activate these plugins.” I don’t have the plugin asked for. The original file is really old and I don’t have a way to get those plugins. What can I do? Answer…
Read MoreInDesign Style Syncing
Question Hi Lena, I need help with paragraph styles in InDesign. I know how to create them, but not how to use them in multiple documents. I’d like to have related documents sync their styles, but I’d also like to know how to import some styles from one document to another. Answer Import InDesign Styles To…
Read MoreHow do I sample colors from my computer screen?
Question I have a sample from a client that has this color they want to use on their website and their brochure. How can I figure out what color it is? And, how would I figure out the corresponding Pantone color? Answer There are several ways you can approach this. Since you are needing the…
Read MoreAsk Lena: What happened to InBooklet for InDesign
Question I used to have an InDesign plugin called InBooklet. It was great for putting documents in spreads for the press. Now I can’t find it. What happened to it? Answer InBooklet was a plugin created by a company called ALAP (A Lowly Apprentice Production). They did a fantastic job. They did such a good…
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