Raster Images and Vector Graphics

                When you look at a computer screen, you see images crisp and clear just as your printed photographs that are tangible objects. What make up these images that we see are pixels.  Vectors are illustrations with unlimited resolution.

                Bitmap, however, like pixels, only contain black and white pixels with no shades of grey.

Cropping and rotating images are just some of the few things we do to enhance our images. Cropping cuts away unnecessary parts we choose in our photos. Almost any transformation, whether resizing or rotating, will require pixel information.

                There are certain files that can print and others that can’t.  RGB color mode for example, shouldn’t be printed; it’s only intended for computer screen use. Switching it to CMYK color mode accounts for better accuracy as that mode is the color of your ink cartridges. As well as GIFs and JPEGs, GIFs are meant for only web because of low resolution. JPEGs are better suited for prints, though not recommended.

                Embedded fonts are very useful when you want to transfer your advertisement to work in other programs or transferring other computers. Outlining texts are similar to embedded fonts. But only highlights a certain text you want, and turns it into a graphic.

                When drawing on programs such as Illustrator, simplify your path, do not litter your graphic with too many points. Cut it down and result with smoother lining and a happier you.

                Popular drawing programs offer a complex list of file types that are called vector file formats. Vector graphics are pixel free and are not subject to scaling restrictions, in other words, unlimited resolution.

                JPEG is a compressed photo format. RAW files however, are subject to minimal or no compression of a photo. They’re very flexible and powerful files even though they take up a lot of memory space.

                Ppi; pixels per inch resolution can vary on the internet. Usually you want your image to be 300 ppi for printing.

                Illustrator, InDesign, and QuarkXPress accept Photoshop native files being brought into their programs. However, there are some settings in Photoshop such as drop shadows that cannot transfer or are not the correct settings in the other programs. This has been a Transparency tip.

I used Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications : Chapters 4-5 as my source for this blog.

Self-Promotional note pad

My purpose for this project is to show my skill sets to describe what I want for a job.  I’m appealing to potential employers and clients who require my services.

                My call to action is to create a design suitable and formal for any occasion. And that it relates to me in some way.

 Thumbnails

Rough

Final

                     My trim size on this document is 5” X 7” inches. I have no bleed and my margins are .25 inches. It’s set in greyscale color mode.
                     It has 50 sheets on chip board and costs $3.39 a piece. whereas if I ordered in bulk; about 100, my price each will go down. However, it still would cost me $118.47 at my local print shop. Though it looks differet from the roughs to make it more suitable for a notepad. I included my signature and a small graphic by 'Illustration' that looks somewhat like a rose. I used Photoshop and Illustrator elements to put it all into InDesign and packaged it.

Printing

Do you ever wonder how a particular paper product is made? How posters are so vivid? How a book’s pages stay consistently even?

                There is a lot of work going into a product you can buy, wear, and experience.

                Getting an image on a poster or other media requires RIPing it; Raster Image Processor. RIP interprets a post script or PDF file information and converts it to a bitmap image; it then instructs many things that output the image.

                Dpi, which stands for dots per inch, it describes the resolution of a printer. Lpi stands for lines per inch, which is the frequency of halftone dots. Ppi stands for pixels per inch, describing image resolution. These things measure how crisp your image is before printing.

                Two-color printing just means that only two colors are being used for printing, such as black and white.

                CMYK coloring is an effective and widely used for printing. There is a wide range of colors produced by CMYK, making for easy and accurate print jobs. However, there are limitations to the range of color CMYK can produce. Spot color covers the rest of the range of color the human eye can see. However, it wouldn’t be completely accurate when printed.

                Registration is important because inks are applied in a certain order. Registration aligns each color up, making for an overall accurate color job, which is crucial.

                Picas are a unit of measurement related to inches. Whereas points are smaller than picas, they are also related to inches.

                Variable data printing; VDP for short personalizes products by entering a recipient’s name and address.  Image setters are digitally driven devices for imaging film.

                Die cutting makes a complicated cutting job easy as it uses pressure and shaped metal to cut a printed piece into interesting and complex shapes.

                Folding dummies consist of a blank sheet of paper folded in a certain configuration; like a sample used in finishing a job.

                Finishing; the final process a printed product goes through before selling. It’s the manufacturing processes when a job leaves the printing press.

This information was used from Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications; chapters: one, two, and three.  free image from shutterstock.com.

QR Codes

Quick Response codes; QR for short, they’re essential to product information, price, location, videos, and images on the go. QR codes make accessible to taking a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in your mobile device. Cell phones are the most common.

QR codes are on many things we see every day such as magazine ads, billboards, webpages, even someone’s t-shirt.  Once in a cell phone, it gives you details about the business the media affiliates towards.

Generating a QR code uses sites such as Google, and Kaywa.com. Also, use Open Source code. Tracking, maps trends from many metrics and presents them to you in a way that you can easily compare what works and what doesn’t.

QR codes are very helpful in today’s consumer society and digital, fast pace lifestyle.

Check out
http://searchengineland.com/what-is-a-qr-code-and-why-do-you-need-one-27588  and http://www.mobilozophy.com/mobile-tools/qr-codes.   for more information on QR codes. This blog was brought to you by these sources.  Image from mobilozophy.com

Pre-Flight Printing

Pre-flight reduces the likelihood of errors and problems when producing printed products.

The pre-flight process checks for many errors before outputting a product or advertisement. It must meet the production requirements such as fonts not being corrupt. Fonts that are in a compatible format and image files that are of formats the application can process, are just some of the many steps to check before outputting.

Image files must have the correct color format, and have to be the correct resolution. Color profiles must be included as well as image files must not be corrupt. Conformation of document size, margins, bleeds, marks, and page information fit within the requirements of outputting devices as well as adhering to your client’s specifications. Lastly, the correct ink plates are being output.  

Pre-flight offers many jobs. It’s manufacturing and producing products usually in bulk. It includes layout, prepress, post press, printing, binding operations, and output.  The salary of pre-flight specialists varies from the specific job sets. However, the average salary is $ 48,000 per year.

Pre-flight is very important for outputting products as everything from magazines to posters and brochures and many other things that enter into our everyday lives.

Check out http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-print+preflight  for more information as it’s where I get all of this information.