THE DESIGNERS DESKTOP MANUAL

A RotoVision Book Published and distributed by RotoVision SA Route Suisse 9 CH-1295 Mies Switzerland RotoVision SA Sales and Editorial Office Sheridan House, 114 Western Road Hove BN3 1DD, UK Tel: +44 (0)1273 72 72 68 Fax: +44 (0)1273 72 72 69 www.rotovision.com Copyright RotoVision SA 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission of the copyright holder. While every effort has been made to contact owners of copyright material produced in this book, we have not always been successful. In the event of a copyright query, please contact the Publisher. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: 978-2-940361-76-2 Design: Fineline Printed in China by Midas Printing International Ltd.

THE DESIGNERS DESKTOP MANUALJASON SIMMONS

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

CONTENTSOperating Systems and Applications A Mac users guide to PCs A PC users guide to Macs How computers display an image Bitmaps and vectors The InDesign workspace The QuarkXPress workspace The Illustrator workspace The Photoshop workspace The DreamWeaver workspace The Bridge workspace The Acrobat workspace Keyboard shortcuts Setting application defaults Utilities 007 008 010 012 014 016 018 020 022 024 026 028 030 034 036 Type The anatomy of type Choosing a typeface Font formats Managing type on a Mac Managing type on a PC Manipulating type Creating neat body text Glyphs and hidden characters Using non-Roman alphabets Proofreading marks Using style sheets Type and color Custom typefaces Using fonts for print Using fonts on a website Getting started with CSS style sheets 039 040 042 046 048 050 052 056 058 060 062 064 066 068 070 072 074 Color RGB vs CMYK Achieving accurate color Screen angle, dot shape, and dot gain Trapping and choking Manipulating color Creating a smooth gradient Color-matching systems Spot colors and special finishes Color proofing on-screen Inkjet color proofs Professional color proofing Choosing color for screen use 077 078 080 084 086 088 094 096 098 100 102 104 106 Images Sourcing images Building a graphics library Commissioning an illustrator Working with photographers Using desktop scanners Using a digital camera as a scanner Taking screen grabs Opening awkward files Scaling images Creative cropping Image retouching Layers, paths, and channels Blending modes Creating cutouts Creating a photomontage Pixels to vectors Vectors to pixels Creative image techniques 109 110 114 116 118 120 122 124 126 128 130 Layout Working with page objects Placing images Placing text How many columns? Setting up a grid Setting up master pages Setting up a library Proportion and consistency Designing tables Barcodes and document readers Web-design basics Designing your first web page Developing your website Publishing a website 177 178 180 182 184 186 188 190 194 196 198 202 204 206 208 Glossary Index 26 2 134 140 144 148 150 152 154 156 Black-and-white conversion Preparing an image for print Setting up a CMYK profile Understanding color profiles Converting an RGB image to CMYK Image-proofing marks Image file formats for print Preparing images for the web Image file formats for the Internet 158 160 162 164 166 168 170 172 174 Production Setting up a studio printer Preflight procedures InDesigns transparency flattener Exporting PDFs Preparing for output Files transfer Choosing paper Paper sizes Folds and bindings Imposition Print finishing Solving common print problems Dealing with printers Repurposing a magazine for the web Archiving 211 212 216 218 220 224 226 228 230 232 234 236 238 240 242 244

Brightness, contrast, hue, and saturation 132

Operating Systems and ApplicationsWhether youre a die-hard Mac fan, love the flexibility of Unix, or prefer the universal acceptance of Windows, operating systems are an essential element of all computers. Often they are merely conduits to your applications, but many hours of frustration can result from not being able to find a particular function or option. The following pages provide you with a beginners guide to the main operating systems. If you are used to Windows, well show you how to get started with a Mac, and vice versa. The tools designers use are their software applications. And while many of you will be familiar with, or even expert in, a few applications, its unusual for designers to have much knowledge of software outside their core area of skills. However, todays designers need to have more flexibility, as its not unusual to find yourself in a situation where you need to get a quick job done in an application youve never used before. To get you started, an overview of the primary design applications is given with annotated guides to the interface and tips to get the job done.

OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS A Mac users guide to PCs

OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS A Mac users guide to PCs

A MAC USerS GUIde TO PCsMany Mac users would rather go back to alcohol markers and Letraset than use a PCbut such narrow-mindedness is illadvised. The problems that beset PCs in the pastviruses, stability problems, compatibility issues, poor build quality have largely been addressed thanks to a mixture of the maturing of the operating system and its attendant ecosystem, and a recognition on the part of top- and mid-tier manufacturers that they had to improve the user experience. Consider too that while the desktoppublishing revolution began on the Mac, all the major print and online publishing packages are now also available for Windows. A modern PC, therefore, is as valid a choice for design work as a Mac, with two caveats. First, type rendering on older systems using nondesign applications tended to be less sophisticated than that with Mac OS X. Obviously, one wouldnt necessarily expect precise typographic rendering and control when not using specific dTP applications such as QuarkXPress or Indesign, but things have improved. For example, text rendering in Word 2007 is particularly impressive. The second proviso relates to color. Thanks in part to Windows more businessfocused heritage, colors appear punchier; for this reason you need to make consistent use of gamma correction and color profiles to ensure accurate color throughout the workflow, just as you would on a Mac. CONTROL KEYS Control/Ctrl On a PC, Ctrl does the equivalent job of Macs Command/Cmd in most circumstances, issuing keyboard shortcuts to active applications. Common shortcuts such as X, C, V, and P (for cut, copy, paste, and print, respectively) work as expected. Alt Look across the menus of most Windows applications and youll notice that one letter in each is underlined. Tap Alt to access any menu, then press the relevant key to initiate whatever menu item youve chosen. You can access almost any menu item or select almost all onscreen options directly from the keyboard using Windows or Vista. This facility is particularly popular with power users who need to work fast with the minimum number of mouse clicks. WINDOWS The main use of the key marked with the Windows symbol is to pop up the Start menu, from which you can navigate, using arrow keys, to any option within the Start menu. Its also used a lot for shortcuts, such as Win+e for a new explorer window, or Win+r which opens the Run dialog box. FILE STRUCTURE By default, Windows creates three visible folders in the root of your main hard disk: Documents and Settings (which holds your user data, as with Users under Mac OS X); Program Files (analogous to Macs Applications) and WINDOWS, which holds your system and its settings. INSTALL/UNINSTALL Unlike the Mac, Windows has a native uninstaller utility. Add or Remove Programs is part of the Control Panel. BASIC TROUBLESHOOTING AND HOUSEKEEPING Windows PCs hard disks do need to be defragmented every so often. right-click on your hard disk, and go to Properties > Tools, and select Defragment Now. A PC will usually run a disk health check automatically on startup if it detects a problem, but you can force this. From the Tools window, select Check Now. If youve picked your startup disk, youll be prompted to restart so that the check can take place. If youre having major problems, restart in Safe Mode. Switch your PC on, gently but repeatedly tapping F8 until the Options menu appears. Force quit Tap Control-Alt-Delete and the Task Manager appears. From here you can inspect running processes, and click End Process to force Windows to quit it. Always exercise caution however, and dont shut down any processes unless youre sure theyve actually crashed.

OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS A PC users guide to Macs

OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS A PC users guide to Macs

A PC USerS GUIde TO MACSTheres a misconception that an Apple Mac is so different from a Windows-powered PC that anyone familiar with the latter would find it almost impossible to use a Mac. This is wrong on many levels. Not only is the hardware itself now identicalin 2005, Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel chipsthe user experience is also very similar. Like Windows, Macs employ a graphic user interfacewindows, icons, menus, and pointerssometimes shortened to WIMP. In both platforms, documents are stored in folders, work is created using applications, and settings are made using Preferences. There are, however, some differences between the two platforms. Here are some examples. CONTROL KEYS Command This is the main command modifier on the Mac, and in many circumstances takes the place of Control under Windows. Common shortcuts such as X, C, V, and Pfor cut, copy, paste, and print, respectively work as expected. Command-Tab on the Mac provides the same functionality as Alt-Tab under Windows. Control (ctrl) Often used simply as an additional modifier for keyboard shortcuts, one of Controls most essential roles comes into play if you only have a one-button mouse or trackpad. Hold Control when you click to emulate a rightclick in order to bring up contextual menus. Alt (alt) or Option (opt) One of Alts main roles is to help type accented characters (see Glyphs and hidden characters, pages 567); Windows use of Alt to navigate menus has no Mac equivalent. FILE STRUCTURE The root level of a Macs hard disk contains four folders: Applicationswhere installed software and utilities reside Librarywhich contains configuration and support files Systemin which the operating system (OS) and associated files are found Userswhich contains all the files you create Try to get into the habit of respecting Users basic file structuredocuments, Pictures, and so onwhich is imposed by the system. THE DOCK Similar to, though not the same as Windows Taskbar, the dock allows you to launch applications, minimize windows, and store links to folders and documents; simply drag items in and out. INSTALL/UNINSTALL Applications should be copied to your Applications folder before being used. An installer will often do this for you, but in some cases youll have to drag programs from mounted virtual disks (.dmg files). QUITTING APPLICATIONS Unlike Windows, closing an applications last active document does not exit the application. You need to quit manually from the application menu to quit the software. DEFRAG Macs usually dont need to be defragmentedthe file system handles it automatically, although this does require that you keep your Mac on 24 hours a day. Alternatively, there are a number of shareware applications that will let you run a variety of maintenance operations manually. BASIC TROUBLESHOOTING If your Mac is misbehaving, first try repairing permissions (open disk Utility, click on your hard disk, then click repair disk Permissions), then restart from your install Cd/dVd, holding down the C key. Pick disk Utility from the Utilities menu and then repair your hard disk. CONTROL-ALT-DELETE Pressing Command-Control-escape on the Mac brings up a window that allows you to force quit troublesome applications.

Mac OS X structure overview

Mac OS X installation, troubleshooting, and force quit

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OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS How computers display an image

OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS How computers display an image

HOW COMPUTerS dISPLAY AN IMAGeLook closely at any screenno matter whether its a flat-panel screen, a boxy CrT monitor, or a televisionand youll see small blocks of color, known as pixels (short for picture elements). Look closer still, and youll see that these colors are made up of even smaller blocks of pure red, green, and blue lightall at differing intensities. displays use this systemknown as the additive color systemof mixing together red, green, and blue light to create the gamut, or range, of colors we see on-screen. Such a system relies on our minds ability to perceive adjacent blocks of pure color either as different hues, shades, or tints (see pages 789). The practical upshot of this is that while you might think the photograph you see onscreen uses continuous tones of color, in fact its just a trick that exploits our eyesights relatively poor ability to resolve fine detail. The image is really made up of a fine matrix of blocks of color, a little like a 21st-century equivalent of a roman mosaic. COLOR PERCEPTION Todays computer monitors are sufficiently sophisticated to display more colors than our eyes are able to distinguish, but that doesnt mean the colors you see on-screen are necessarily accurateits all a question of perception. Lets think of a printed page for a moment. In simple terms, the colors in this book were created by mixing different intensities of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks. This is known as the subtractive, CMYK model. And while color-matching systems such as Pantone help ensure color consistency from screen to page, additive and subtractive systems construct colors in different ways, with each displaying a different gamut of colors. For example, its quite usual for print designers previewing CMYK colors onscreen (using simulation systems such as those in Photoshop) to be disappointed by how dull the colors appear (see pages 789). To make the matter more complicated, PCs and Macs display slightly different color gamuts, with images appearing darker on a PC than on a Mac. Consistent and sensible use of color profiles can help to reduce this effect (see pages 803). ANTI-ALIASING Computer displays are still only capable of displaying relatively coarse detail compared with the printed page, so anti-aliasinga system of reducing the jagged appearance of edgesis used. This is particularly apparent in text rendering. In addition, modern systems can use sub-pixel rendering (antialiasing with colored blocks) to exploit the inherent misregistration of flat-panel screens and increase the resolution of a display.CRT and TFT The two most common monitor types are Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) and Thin Film Transistors (TFT). CRTs are the traditional television-style monitor, and while the technology is old by computer standards, CRTs are the most reliable for work requiring accurate color matching. TFTs, more commonly known as flat-panel displays, are very thin and have a small desk footprint. However, the colors a TFT displays may shift slightly if not viewed directly from the front.

PC display A screen up close On-screen images are made up of thousands of points of red, blue, and green light. These combine to produce an image with millions of colors, hues, and shades, but the illusion breaks down as it is magnified. The example shown here is a flat screen rather than a CRT. The importance of calibration Macs and PCs have slightly different approaches to displaying colors, and because of this, the same image will look different when viewed on each system. Proper color calibration can minimize these problems. Mac display Anti-aliasing The illusion of smooth edges is provided using a system called antialiasing. Single pixels of color are tinted to blend between the foreground and background elements, fooling the mind into ignoring the jagged edge that would otherwise be obvious. Anti-alias on

Anti-alias off

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OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS Bitmaps and vectors

OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS Bitmaps and vectors

BITMAPS ANd VeCTOrSAs discussed earlier, all computer monitors display images by using a grid of colored dots called pixels. At a basic level, we can create patterns, text, and even images simply by switching some of these pixels on (white) or off (black), as we could do with a sheet of graph paper, a black pen, and infinite patience. exchange the black pen for a big box of crayons in thousands of different colors, and you have the ability, in theory at least, to create images that, when viewed from a sufficient distance, look like continuous-tone photographs. BITMAP IMAGES Bitmap images, such as those created by a digital camera for example, are created using finite grids of colored pixelsand unsurprisingly the fewer pixels that make up the image, the less detail. You can reduce detail by removing pixels from an image, but you cant add detail thats not already there simply by adding new pixels. The best you can do is use a process called interpolation, which calculates pixel values between existing pixels during an image enlargement and fills in the gaps. There are various toolsBitmaps Bitmap, or raster images, are created using colored blocks or pixels. Subtle shifts in tone, color, and detail are possible, which makes them perfect for photographs.

that can interpolate images, including Photoshops Resample Image, found in the Image Size dialog window (see pages 1289), but such tools can only approximate missing detail, and results will vary depending on the content of the image. This, then, is the main drawback of bitmap imagesthere is a finite level of detail available. Their use of fine grids ensures that they can show very subtle changes in color, texture, and detail, but scale an image up too far and pixellationblocks of color replacing the smooth gradationswill occur.

VECTOR IMAGES Contrast this with vector images which are constructed from a series of connected points defined by mathematical coordinates. rather than slavishly drawing a number of lined-up black pixels to create a line, as for a bitmap image, a vector representation of the same line is described simply as two points, the beginning and the end, joined by a line. This system has two advantages: vector file sizes are much smaller than bitmap files (think of just two data points rather than

many thousands of individual pixels), and vectors are resolution-independent. This latter characteristic means that you can scale vector images up or down with no loss in quality, which is not the case with bitmap images. The drawback is that you cant create complex, photo-real images using vectors. They are best suited to simple shapes and flat colors as found in type, company logos, and certain types of artwork. remember, however, that since computer displays use a bitmap system, you never truly see vectorDetail The more detail you require in a vector graphic, the more points it will require. This can increase the file size enormously, to the point where it may be beneficial to convert the vector image to a bitmap.

images. Instead, you see a rasterizedor preview version of the vectorcreated inside the computer. The vector data remain pure as far as scaling, storage, and manipulation are concerned, but are rasterizedconverted to a series of lit pixels or droplets of ink during display or output, usually at the maximum resolution of the display or printer concerned.

Resolution A bitmap image at a low resolution will have little fine detail. Attempting to scale-up such a graphic often leads to poor results, although there are workarounds that can help to a certain degree.

Vectors Vector graphics use a series of points and lines to describe an image that is resolution-independent, so the graphic can be scaled up or down with no loss of quality. This makes vector graphics perfect for type, logos, and bold illustration work.

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OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS The Indesign workspace

OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS The Indesign workspace

THe INdeSIGN WOrKSPACeThe first thing users will notice when working with Adobes third version of Creative Suite (CS3) is that Adobe have adopted a new standardized interface for all the individual applications. As CS3, however, is not so different in terms of functionality seasoned users will adapt quickly. CS3 has collectively picked up on some of the better features found in all components from version 4 (CS2), and there are important advancements in the feature set tooso heres a rundown of some of those additions. THE EFFECTS PALETTE Indesigns Effects palette is new and contains a range of effects including drop shadow, inner and outer glow, bevel and emboss, satin, plus several feathering effects. All the effects have their own set of fully editable options, which will be familiar to Photoshop users, and a global light source option is also included. Transparency is now also controlled from the new Effects palette rather than from its own dedicated palette. Previously an applied transparency affected all the elements of an object, but now fill, stroke, and text can be edited independently of one another via this palette. Blending modes such as multiply, screen, overlay, and so on can also be adjusted. FRAME FITTING Indesign can now assign fitting options to a picture box before an image is imported. Boxes can be assigned an instruction to fit content to frame, fit proportional, or scale proportional, as well as other options such as crop. The options can be built into object styles, which is particularly useful when creating multiple picture boxes in a layout. THE PAGES PALETTE The Pages palette has been improved with the addition of thumbnail previews, allowing easier navigation through longer documents by way of the visual guide. THE ALIGN PALETTE The Align palette has been improved by the addition of a drop-down menu that aligns selected items against the margins, page, or spread. Previously, alignment was restricted to selected objects only.Multiple placements Another added function of the latest version of InDesign is that you can now select and place multiple items, including text and graphics, all at once without having to go through the import process every time. If you select more than one item to place in a layout from a list, a small thumbnail preview is displayed next to the cursor. You can cycle through these with the arrow keys until you find the one you require, and place each in turn by clicking into the document at either the appropriate position to create a new frame or by clicking on an existing frame. Once all the selections have been placed the cursor returns to its normal state. If you place an item in error you can undo the action and it will return to its place in the queue formed on the cursor.

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OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS The QuarkXPress workspace

OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS The QuarkXPress workspace

THe QUArKXPreSS WOrKSPACeThe interface of the latest incarnation of QuarkXPress, version 7, isnt that different from QuarkXPress 6. The familiar tools and palettes are all recognizable and accessed from more or less the same places. However, there are several key advances in the feature set of QuarkXPress 7, and in addition the Measurements palette has undergone a major overhaul. Here are a few of those new and updated features. TRANSPARENCY, DROP SHADOWS, AND ALPHA MASKING QuarkXPress can now set the opacity of items such as text, images, and rules in 0.1% increments. Opacity controls are now color based, so transparency can be set from either the Modify dialog box, or the Measurements and Colors palettes. Frames can be given a different opacity to their contents if required, and blends can fade from solid to a transparent background. Feathered drop shadows can be created easily for text, boxes, and rules, and full overprinting control allows shadows to be created over colored backgrounds. As QuarkXPress can now support alpha channels, custom masks created in other applications can be used to blend objects and backgrounds. Channels can be selected in either the Modify box or from the Measurements palette. PICTURE EFFECTS The QuarkVista Xtension, which has come free with QuarkXPress since version 6.5, allows image editing to be carried out within QuarkXPress itselfso now theres no need to exit to Photoshop to perform most common image-editing tasks. Adjustments can be made to Levels, Curves, Brightness/ Contrast, Color balance, and Hue/Saturation plus several other options. There are also several filters available, such as Unsharp Mask and Gaussian Blur, all of which stack up in the Picture Effects palette. The applied adjustments and effects can be switched off or deleted altogether, and the stacking order can be changed if required. SYNCHRONIZATION QuarkXPress 7 allows you to synchronize the content of both text and picture boxes, including all attributes, between different layouts in one particular project. To achieve this, access the Shared Item Properties palette where the synchronization can be customized to include item and content attributes, or content only. All synchronized items used in a project will be automatically updated when any one of the items is amended. QuarkXPress 7 also includes multiuser page composition, support for OpenType, multiple layout views, improved color management, and a host of other feature enhancements. In particular, it now includes support for Job Jackets, which are files that describe complete specifications for projects. They can be created at the beginning of a workflow, and are able to automatically maintain specifications for colors, style sheets, and preferences, as well as many other stylistic consistencies, such as required rule weights. They can even dictate the number of pages to appear in a document.

Picture Effects and Shared Item Properties palettes

QuarkXPress workspace

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OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS The Illustrator workspace

OPERATING SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS The Illustrator workspace

THe ILLUSTrATOr WOrKSPACeAdobe Illustrator has long been seen as the sister product to Photoshop, using vectors rather than pixels (see pages 1415) for creating graphics. Although the differences between Illustrator, Photoshop, and Indesign have become blurred over the years, Illustrator is still the leading tool for creating complex vector-based images, with its only rival, Freehand, being bought by Adobe in 2005, and subsequently discontinued. Illustrators interface has in the past contained some small quirks that didnt crop up in Photoshop or Indesign, although functionality in cross-over areas was, of course, similar. The new CS3 release addresses those issues, and adds some interesting new features. USING ILLUSTRATOR Illustrator graphics are created using polygon shapes and the Pen tool. each shape or path can be manipulated and colored in much the same way as in Photoshop or Indesign. There are many similarities to other CS applications. Most tools, palettes, and commands, for example, are identical to their CS counterparts. Vector graphics are usually used for razorsharp line workimages that need to stay crisp no matter how much they are enlarged. But the distinction between Illustrators vector files and Photoshops bitmaps becomes indistinct once you start feathering vector graphics or stylizing them with filters that were, until recently, strictly off limits for vector graphics. even when feathered, distorted, warped, sketched, and extruded, the original image remains completely editable and scaleable. TRACING IMAGES Previously sold as a separate application, Adobes image-tracing tool, Streamline, has made its way into the Illustrator package. The Live Trace tool can be used to transform a photograph or other bitmap image into a vector graphic. The Live Trace options allow you to specify the numbers of colors, detail, and accuracy of the resulting artwork. The quality of the original image, and the conversion settings greatly affect the finished result, but with practice it is possible to start with a washed-out and grainy bitmap image and achieve an exciting graphic masterpiece.

3D GRAPHICS Another Adobe application that has made the journey to Illustrator is dimensions. Using the 3d effects it is possible to add depth and perspective to flat graphics. The controls will never match those in a dedicated 3d-rendering application such as Cinema 4d, and the surface rendering is crude, but when a graphic designer requires a basic 3d effect for a print project there is now no need to leave the Creative Suite. Effect > 3D > Extrude and Bevel is the primary 3d tool, allowing a flat shape to be stretched into an object that can be rotated around the X, Y, and Z axis. Its perfect for making 3d type or adding perspective.

SAVING AND EXPORTING The main formats for Illustrator files are the proprietary .AI or vector ePS. Printers will accept Illustrator files as final artwork, usually for packaging designs when the complex meshes are packed full of rich graphics, but little type. Illustrator files can be imported or placed into Photoshop or Indesign, but the simplest and quickest way to transfer graphics is to simply cut and paste between the applications. Its integration with Flash has also improved considerably, making even Illustrator more appealing for web designers.

Building shapes By merging, knocking-out, or splitting simple polygons, its possible to construct more complex shapes. The Pen tool can be used to add, remove, or alter the points of the polygon, or draw in more detail.

Blending The Blend tool transforms separate shapes and colors into a seamless blend. Specify the number of steps in the blend, or the distances between each stage. The effect is live, so altering the target shapes will update the blend.

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