A Favorite Photoshop Trick - Straightening Things Out

When I discovered this Photoshop trick, I was in the middle of scanning in a variety of odd-sized photographs. I was placing them loose on a flatbed scanner, and discovered that getting them exactly straight was a challenge. I didn't want to crop out the crooked edges and lose some of the image, or straighten the photos manually with the Rotate tool. And no, being extra careful when closing the scanner lid wasn't going to solve my problem either.

That's where this cool Photoshop trick came in handy. Behind the Eyedropper tool, in Photoshop CS 3, 4, or 5 (on a Mac or PC), there is a Ruler tool. (Click on the Eyedropper tool and hold down the mouse button, a list of other tools comes up, select the Ruler tool.) Previously, I had disdained this tool, because I could see no use for such an imprecise measuring method. But no longer! And besides, in this trick we are not measuring with it anyway.

Click on the Ruler tool (which lives behind the Eyedropper tool), and your mouse will turn into a crosshair. Position your crosshairs over the start of an edge of the photo, or a horizon in the photo, or any line or edge in the photo you want to be exactly horizontal. Click and hold down the mouse button and drag the mouse along the part of the photo you want to be horizontal. This creates a line. Let go of the mouse button when you reach the end of the photo's line or edge.

Then click on Image (next to File, and Edit), go down to Image Rotation, and then over and down to Arbitrary. A window pops up with a number already filled into the box. Just click "Okay," and in an blink of an eye, your photo has been straightened more quickly and accurately than any manual tweaking could have done it.

Photoshop rotates the photo according to the number in the Arbitrary Rotation box. Photoshop got that number from the ruler tool's measuring the angle between the start and finish points on the line. (This also works for tweaking photos vertically, just drag the Ruler tool down a vertical edge or line.)

See, it's easy and quick, my favorite type of Photoshop trick.

Finding That Special Character

Ever spent time looking for an É, ©, ❏, or ™symbol? Well, here's a short list of where you can find these special characters, and others just like them.

If you are using InDesign (CS 3, 4, or 5, either Mac or PC), you are in luck. The Glyphs palette can save you from fruitlessly searching for an operating system character map. Click Type, then go down to Glyphs. A palette will pop up that shows you all the special characters for your font. It can even sort the characters by category to narrow your search so you can find what you need quickly and easily.

Of course, on a Mac, if you can remember your keyboard shortcuts, (Option +g = ©) you don't have to use a palette at all. But there are a lot of special characters out there, and I know that I don't want to spend my time memorizing all available keystrokes. However, a quick Internet search has always revealed a needed keystroke of a character that is going to be used multiple times in a document. The PC has keyboard strokes for characters. I don't think that they can be called shortcuts, but they are available. (see the PC info below)

Both Mac and PC operating systems also have solutions to finding that esoteric character.

On a Mac, in Finder, click on Edit then go down to Special Characters. A window will open that has characters by categories, and a search feature. Plus, by double clicking the desired character, it will appear where ever you left your cursor.

On a PC, click Start, go to Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, then Character Map. (If you plan on using the Character Map frequently, you should think about putting a shortcut on your desktop!) A window comes up with your characters ready to be copied and pasted into your text. At the bottom of the window, there's a line of type that shows what the keyboard strokes are for a highlighted character, but I prefer the copy-and-paste option.

Options abound! (Especially in the Mac keyboard shortcuts!) So now you can wow all your friends and acquaintances with how quickly you can type even the most tricky or foreign characters no matter which operating system you are on.

Print: A Trusted Source for Information

Recently, several polls have shown that 66% of the coveted 18–34 demographic trust offline print media more than online information, especially in areas such as financial information, catalogs, and household or health products. In contrast, only 8% found Facebook a trustworthy source for general product information. The only category where online information was preferred was travel, and then only by a 42% to 35% margin.

Direct mail and other offline options still need to be included in marketing plans. Mail as a trusted source of information has been growing in all age brackets. In 2010, 36% of US respondents, up from 29% in 2008, said information is more private sent through the mail. And 20% said they trust information received by mail more than online, up from 12% in 2008.

So, when wondering how to engage your customers, even those in the 18–34 age bracket, don't exclude direct mail and print advertising methods. Trust is a major factor in driving consumers to these relevant and powerful marketing channels.

By all means diversify your marketing efforts, but don't forget to include offline and direct mail printed pieces.

Sources:
http://www.epsilon.com/News%20&%20Events/Press%20Releases%202010/Young_Adults_Strongly_Prefer_Offline_to_Online_Sources_for_Marketing_Offers_Research_Reveals/p893-l3
http://marketingpowersactivate.com/2010/08/young-consumers-like-offline-channels-for-marketing-offers/

Free Planning Calendar for 2011

From now until December 31, 2010, Lorraine Press is offering to send you our annual 2011 wall calendar for free!

It's poster-sized at 38 inches by 24 inches, and shows the year at a glance. The calendar's background photo, a summer sunrise, was taken from right outside our back door by Kent Brinker. To receive your 2011 calendar, please send an email to info@lorrainepress.com which includes "Calendar Offer" in the subject line, and has your name and mailing address in the body of the email. One calendar per email address will be sent.

Need to find a logo?

There is a fun website called Brands of the World that has "the largest library of freely downloadable vector logos." If you are looking for a vector version of a company's logo, this website just might have it. The larger and more well-known a company is, the more likely its logo is there. To download a logo, you just have to sign up, and the best part is that it's free. It even lets you search for a logo to see if it's there before you have to log in.

Also, being a large repository of logos, this website is great for just browsing and seeing what logo designs are out there.

So replace all those low-resolution, fuzzy logos people supply you with and get the proper vector art at Brands of the World.

It's easy, just click to upload your files.

Are your files too large to email, and you are out of writable CDs and DVDs, and you just don't have the time to get out of your comfy chair to get them to Lorraine Press? Never fear, we've taken care of it for you.

Without moving from in front of your computer, you can send your large files to us. Just go to our website, and on the far right of the logo is a green button that says "file upload." Click there.

It brings up a three-step form where you put in your name and who at Lorraine Press you've been working with, then you browse to select your files from your computer, and then click the "Upload" button. That's it. Once your files are done uploading, we are alerted that your files are waiting.

That's all for sending the files to us, but here are some hints to help your files sail smoothly through the murky waters of the Internet.

When sending your files, it's easiest for us to find all your pieces if you put them into one folder. (InDesign makes that easy with their "Package" feature.) Even better, compress that folder so you are sure that nothing gets lost. Here's how: On a Mac, right click on your file or folder and go down the menu to "Compress...". On a PC, right click on your file or folder and go down to "Send to...", and then choose "compressed (zipped) file." You end up with one neat and tidy package all ready for uploading.

Another reason for compressing your files, particularly if you are using a Mac is your fonts. Many Mac fonts won't survive the voyage unless they are safely inside a water-tight container. (Meaning, they don't reach us in a usable format unless they are compressed first.) That's why a pdf with embedded fonts works so well. You don't have to send us the fonts if they are already included!

One more tip is having the latest version of Flash. Your computer will interact with our file upload site much better with newer versions of Flash. Also, when compressing your files, keeping "illegal" characters (for example: *, &, ?, /, ') out of your file names helps ensure that we, on the other end, will be able to decompress your files without trouble.

And there you have it. "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night" will stay your files from reaching us. It's that easy.

Don't forget about your holiday printing needs!

Lorraine Press can save you time this busy holiday season. It may seem early to be thinking about holiday greeting cards, but if you order now, you can check this off your list.

Not only can we print your holiday cards, but we can personalize the inside message and then mail them out for you, too. You can order them now, and then choose which day in December you would like them mailed out. The more on your list, the merrier we'll be to help you out! And you can relax, knowing that your holiday greeting cards will look fantastic and will be done on time.

Contact us today to fulfill your holiday card needs!