When I was out shopping recently, I was reminded that January is the month where everybody everywhere is selling the idea of self-help or self-improvement. So I thought I'd join in and recommend some self-help books for Photoshoppers.
(And to add a disclaimer, these recommendations are solely my personal opinion, and not necessarily the recommendations of Lorraine Press as a company! But to give my opinion some clout, I have read many Photoshop books.)
Out of the host of how-to books out there on Adobe Photoshop, there are two that I'd recommend to anyone who already owns the software and is comfortable using it and wants to learn more.
For those who own Photoshop CS5 (either on a PC or Mac), I highly recommend Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers: A professional image editor's guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC by Martin Evening. It has 768 pages (in the paperback edition) of helpful advice, plus an accompanying DVD that shows how your new skills can be applied. Haven't upgraded to CS5? Don't worry there's help for you procrastinators: the same book except written for CS4 is available, too. This book is most helpful to people who already are used to the basics in Photoshop and are ready for nitty gritty details.
For those who own Photoshop Elements, don't despair! There's a self-improvement book I am recommending for you, too. I particularly enjoyed Scott Kelby's The Photoshop Elements 9 Book for Digital Photographers (also by Matt Kloskowski). The 456 page book is full of "how-to" tips and effective techniques for getting the results you want. Plus, he tells how to work around several features that are in CS5 but not in Elements 9. I believe he calls them "cheats." It's a practical, "here's how you do this effect" book.
Either one of these books can improve a person's Photoshop skills. And after simply reading through these books, I guarantee you will have learned at least one new trick that will stick with you for years. So, in one area at least, your self-improvement goals can be met early in the year with small physical effort and a tiny outlay of cash!
Happy Reading!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A New Year, A New Way to Organize
New Year's Greetings to All!
Have you made your resolutions yet? If you just can't decide what resolution or goal to set, maybe we can help with some suggestions.
Do you have a way to organize your files, so at any time, you can put your hands on that one specific picture or document? No? Then, why not resolve to learn (and then use) Adobe Bridge? This is a powerful media management tool that can help you browse through, locate, view, and sort many types of files. It is easy to learn to use, and an excellent way to manage your files, which can get out of hand really quickly. Plus, if you have ever bought a version of Creative Suite or any of several standalone Adobe programs, you probably already own it. So there's no extra cost to you at all!
It's has a completely customizable interface so the features you want are the ones most easily viewed, and it works with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat and other program files.
I like the thumbnail preview features myself. The thumbnails are scalable, so if you need to see the details of an image, a sliding view bar allows you to grow the thumbnail until it fills the viewing area. Plus, when a photo or document is selected, various menus can give you all the information, including metadata, that you could possibly want to know about that file. Once selected, a particular file can also be labelled or rated. Then Bridge can sort the files to show only the photos or documents you have labelled or rated a certain way. Very handy when selecting a few photos from a photoshoot of hundreds.
Bridge CS5 can also quickly create PDF presentations. You can configure the final size of the presentation, the resolution quality, headers or footers, whether the file names show or not, page numbers, presentation playback options, and the addition of watermarks to your photos all with this one tool. To do this, select the images to be included in your PDF, or if you want all images in a folder, you don't have to select any. Then click on the Output Menu icon, and then Output to Web or PDF. Click on the PDF option, and configure your settings from there. Click "save" to create your PDF presentation. Easy!
It has many other features I have found useful, including opening RAW photos for editing (without launching Photoshop!), creating vector images with Illustrator's Live Trace, and batch processing groups of images.
Why not start off the new year with a plan to organize all those loose files? It can end up saving you time and money, leaving you free to work on your other new year's resolutions.
Have you made your resolutions yet? If you just can't decide what resolution or goal to set, maybe we can help with some suggestions.
Do you have a way to organize your files, so at any time, you can put your hands on that one specific picture or document? No? Then, why not resolve to learn (and then use) Adobe Bridge? This is a powerful media management tool that can help you browse through, locate, view, and sort many types of files. It is easy to learn to use, and an excellent way to manage your files, which can get out of hand really quickly. Plus, if you have ever bought a version of Creative Suite or any of several standalone Adobe programs, you probably already own it. So there's no extra cost to you at all!
It's has a completely customizable interface so the features you want are the ones most easily viewed, and it works with Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat and other program files.
I like the thumbnail preview features myself. The thumbnails are scalable, so if you need to see the details of an image, a sliding view bar allows you to grow the thumbnail until it fills the viewing area. Plus, when a photo or document is selected, various menus can give you all the information, including metadata, that you could possibly want to know about that file. Once selected, a particular file can also be labelled or rated. Then Bridge can sort the files to show only the photos or documents you have labelled or rated a certain way. Very handy when selecting a few photos from a photoshoot of hundreds.
Bridge CS5 can also quickly create PDF presentations. You can configure the final size of the presentation, the resolution quality, headers or footers, whether the file names show or not, page numbers, presentation playback options, and the addition of watermarks to your photos all with this one tool. To do this, select the images to be included in your PDF, or if you want all images in a folder, you don't have to select any. Then click on the Output Menu icon, and then Output to Web or PDF. Click on the PDF option, and configure your settings from there. Click "save" to create your PDF presentation. Easy!
It has many other features I have found useful, including opening RAW photos for editing (without launching Photoshop!), creating vector images with Illustrator's Live Trace, and batch processing groups of images.
Why not start off the new year with a plan to organize all those loose files? It can end up saving you time and money, leaving you free to work on your other new year's resolutions.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Economical fonts
Searching for a way to cut costs next year? How about switching the default font for your company? By choosing an "economical" font, a company could end up saving money on the amount of ink or toner used by business printing needs or by those business associates who just have to print out their emails.
Which fonts are economical? Glad you asked.
Printer.com has compared fonts with ink or toner use. By switching only the font, Printer.com asserts you could save money. The standard font measured against was the ubiquitous Arial, and it was compared to nine other fonts. Century Gothic came in as the winner with a 31% savings of ink. Here is Printer.com's results chart:
The private cost is based on 25 printed pages a week, and business cost is based on 250 printed pages per week on specific printers. For more information on the study, go to Printer.com's blog post.
For a more visual approach on how much ink a font uses, check out Matthew Robinson's Measuring Type project. Here are the results of his measurements with Garamond using the least amount of ink:
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay switched its default email font from Arial to Century Gothic as part of their plan to go "green." According to the university spokesperson, ink accounts for about 60% of the cost of a printed page, and the university can accumulate savings each time an email is printed. News story source
However, if Century Gothic doesn't appeal to your aesthetic sensibilities, another approach is available. Ecofont has created software that can put holes in any font's letters at 11 point or below. By doing this, less ink is used when printing. Ecofont claims a 25% savings overall, no matter what font you choose. There is even a free sample font, Eco Vera Sans. (Click here for the free download of the sample Ecofont.) Here is an 11 point sample scanned in and enlarged to show texture:
Whichever fonts you end up using in your project, just remember to include them with your file or embed them in your pdf when submitting the project to a print shop! Doing these two things correctly will definitely help save money and time.
Which fonts are economical? Glad you asked.
Printer.com has compared fonts with ink or toner use. By switching only the font, Printer.com asserts you could save money. The standard font measured against was the ubiquitous Arial, and it was compared to nine other fonts. Century Gothic came in as the winner with a 31% savings of ink. Here is Printer.com's results chart:
The private cost is based on 25 printed pages a week, and business cost is based on 250 printed pages per week on specific printers. For more information on the study, go to Printer.com's blog post.
For a more visual approach on how much ink a font uses, check out Matthew Robinson's Measuring Type project. Here are the results of his measurements with Garamond using the least amount of ink:
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay switched its default email font from Arial to Century Gothic as part of their plan to go "green." According to the university spokesperson, ink accounts for about 60% of the cost of a printed page, and the university can accumulate savings each time an email is printed. News story source
However, if Century Gothic doesn't appeal to your aesthetic sensibilities, another approach is available. Ecofont has created software that can put holes in any font's letters at 11 point or below. By doing this, less ink is used when printing. Ecofont claims a 25% savings overall, no matter what font you choose. There is even a free sample font, Eco Vera Sans. (Click here for the free download of the sample Ecofont.) Here is an 11 point sample scanned in and enlarged to show texture:
Whichever fonts you end up using in your project, just remember to include them with your file or embed them in your pdf when submitting the project to a print shop! Doing these two things correctly will definitely help save money and time.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Keeping Your Message Out of the Trash
Right next to my neighborhood's mailboxes stands a trash can. It never stands empty for long. I see neighbors pull out the mail from their box, sort through it right then, and then toss most of it into the trash can. That's understandable if their mail is like mine: mostly ads from car dealerships, cable companies, and financial services such as credit card companies. (Although a big difference between those neighbors and me is that I tend to take my mail home, and shred it before tossing it.)
This behavior raised a question in my mind: What will entice people to open an envelope to see the creative and inspiring message you've spent weeks creating, and then spent money on printing and mailing?
In answer to that question, I found a recent study published in the Journal of Marketing Communications, which looks at what factors increase the recipient's intent to open a direct mail envelope. The study looked at what the direct mail envelope message communicated and if it influenced the recipient's intention of opening the envelope.
Out of six types of messages, only three had any significant impact on increasing the intention to open the envelope. These were messages that created a feeling of importance, gratitude (we appreciate your business, thank you), or an anticipation of a non-price incentive.
The other three messages: creating a feeling of urgency (offer expires soon), exclusiveness (special offer), or anticipation of a price incentive (don't pay too much), did not significantly affect the consumers' intent.
The study showed that direct marketers should design marketing pieces as tools "for building relationships with the recipients" instead of transactional oriented factors. Piquing the curiosity of what is inside by using a non-price incentive also increases the chances.
So, when designing a direct mail piece, pay attention not just to the piece, but also to what the envelope is saying to your intended audience. With the right type of envelope message, your piece could make it past the neighborhood mailbox trash can and into my neighbors' homes.
Source: For the report of this study, click here
This behavior raised a question in my mind: What will entice people to open an envelope to see the creative and inspiring message you've spent weeks creating, and then spent money on printing and mailing?
In answer to that question, I found a recent study published in the Journal of Marketing Communications, which looks at what factors increase the recipient's intent to open a direct mail envelope. The study looked at what the direct mail envelope message communicated and if it influenced the recipient's intention of opening the envelope.
Out of six types of messages, only three had any significant impact on increasing the intention to open the envelope. These were messages that created a feeling of importance, gratitude (we appreciate your business, thank you), or an anticipation of a non-price incentive.
The other three messages: creating a feeling of urgency (offer expires soon), exclusiveness (special offer), or anticipation of a price incentive (don't pay too much), did not significantly affect the consumers' intent.
The study showed that direct marketers should design marketing pieces as tools "for building relationships with the recipients" instead of transactional oriented factors. Piquing the curiosity of what is inside by using a non-price incentive also increases the chances.
So, when designing a direct mail piece, pay attention not just to the piece, but also to what the envelope is saying to your intended audience. With the right type of envelope message, your piece could make it past the neighborhood mailbox trash can and into my neighbors' homes.
Source: For the report of this study, click here
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Saving on Postage
Did you know that over the course of one month an average of 20% of your mailing list becomes outdated? People are moving all the time, and if you want your mailer to reach them, your mailing list will need to be updated and double checked frequently.
Lorraine Press can help! We can run your list through software that compares your addresses with the U.S. Postal Service's master list of mailing addresses, new forwarding addresses, and Zip+4 information. This software can update and correct addresses and add on the ZIP+4 to your list. It also can format the addresses to conform with USPS standards, fix most spelling errors, and find duplicates on your list.
A clean mailing list, organized by U.S. Postal standards will control your returned mail costs, and in most instances, depending on the list itself, will result in substantial postage savings.
This is only one part of the full-service mailing abilities we have here at Lorraine Press. If you have a question about your mailing list, how it should be formatted, or how you can have it updated, email us at info@lorrainepress.com, and we'll be glad to help you save on your next mailing project.
Lorraine Press can help! We can run your list through software that compares your addresses with the U.S. Postal Service's master list of mailing addresses, new forwarding addresses, and Zip+4 information. This software can update and correct addresses and add on the ZIP+4 to your list. It also can format the addresses to conform with USPS standards, fix most spelling errors, and find duplicates on your list.
A clean mailing list, organized by U.S. Postal standards will control your returned mail costs, and in most instances, depending on the list itself, will result in substantial postage savings.
This is only one part of the full-service mailing abilities we have here at Lorraine Press. If you have a question about your mailing list, how it should be formatted, or how you can have it updated, email us at info@lorrainepress.com, and we'll be glad to help you save on your next mailing project.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, December 3, 2010
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.
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.
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