Issue #39
November 30, 2006
Welcome to Inside Freelance Design (IFD), your free, bi-weekly e-letter from American Writers & Artists Inc. Every other week, you can receive this special alert with secrets, tips, and insights from AWAI's graphic design pros to help you improve your skills and reach your goal of becoming a professional graphic designer in the fastest time possible.
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Finding the Best Resolution for All Your Images
- Quick Tip: Maneuvering the Commercial Printing Maze Safely
- The IFD Mailbag
- EXTRA! EXTRA! News and Job Opportunities
Finding the Best Resolution for All Your Photos and Images
By Kristen Schwarz
A question that several attendees had during this year's FastTrack to Success Bootcamp had to do with the correct resolution for images. What they learned is that there is no one right answer. Here's the complete scoop:
Before submitting files to the printer or your client, make sure the photos and images you're using are in the correct resolution. The resolution depends on how you are going to use the images.
Print Considerations
If image resolution is unnecessarily high, files will take a long time to display and print. If the resolution is too low, print quality will be poor.
Here are typical examples of various types of print pieces you may create, with guidelines for which resolutions to use. Image resolution is expressed as the number of pixels displayed per unit, usually as pixels per inch (ppi):
- Newspaper ads: 130-170 ppi
- Low-end brochures: 200-250 ppi
- DM packages (sales letters, magalogs): 300 ppi
- Fine art & coffee-table books on high-end glossy stock: 400-600 ppi
It is always best to speak to the professionals who will be printing your job to find out what they need. (And don't forget to save your images in CMYK. That is the color mode printing presses require.)
Sometimes, you may just want to print a few quick samples on your ink jet printer. You can usually obtain good results with images at around 150-200 ppi. You can keep the color mode in RGB.
Slide Show Considerations
If you want to save images for a slide show to show your portfolio to your client or to give a presentation, the resolution depends on your output device.
If you're displaying the slide show on a computer monitor, the optimum dimensions (not resolution) could be 1024 x 768 dpi, 1280 x 1024 dpi, or even 1600 x 1280 dpi, depending on the monitor.
However, if you'll be displaying the slides through a projector, most newer projectors have a native resolution of 1024 x 768 dpi. Some are even 1280 x 1024 dpi. You may want to create a template that matches the native dimensions of your monitor or projector and fit all your images within those dimensions.
Internet Considerations
When saving images for the Internet, any resolution above 72 dpi is overkill because that's the best monitors can display. (That will change with HD monitors in the future.) But don't focus solely on the resolution of the image. Focus instead on the total pixel count. You calculate total pixel count by multiplying horizontal pixel count by vertical pixel count.
You're going to want to limit the image to 740 total pixels, with most images at a much lower count of 200-400 total pixels.
You have to know your audience to know what size image to use. Are they a “captive” audience waiting to sign off on an image? Are they browsing your portfolio? Or do they want to see the full-size image? This will determine their attention span for download times.
It's often a good idea to use small thumbnails to capture a viewer's interest. Thumbnails link to larger images, which can be displayed on demand. The small thumbnails typically range from 50-75 pixels, and the large gallery images range from 300-600 (or larger if your viewer wants or needs to see larger images).
Of course, the tradeoff is between file size and image quality.
Another important factor here isn't just image dimensions, but compression settings. 99% of the images you post to the Web will be in JPEG format. A 740 x 740 pixel JPEG could be 80k or it could be 2 megabytes in size, depending on the amount of compression you specify. With JPEG, the more compression, the smaller the size but the lower the quality.
Once again, you're trading file size for image quality.
Keep the color mode in RGB when making images for the Internet or solely for viewing on monitors or with projectors.
Warning About Saving in JPEG Format
Every time you save an image in JPEG, you decrease the image quality. Rather than simply saving in JPEG, it's best to save the original at the highest resolution possible as a Photoshop, Illustrator, TIF, or PNG image (depending on the source of the image).
Then make a copy of that image for future manipulation (such as reducing its resolution, decreasing its total pixel count, or compressing it as a JPEG).
NOTE: PNG images are similar to JPEGs in the way they compress images, but you don't lose quality when they're compressed or when you do successive saves. However, you cannot be sure the person viewing the image on the Internet has a browser that can handle PNG images, so you should not use them for Web images.
[Ed. Note: To learn about the many design and self-promotional secrets attendees learned at this year's Bootcamp, click here: http://www.awaionline.com/graphicsbootcamp/]
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QUICK TIP:Maneuvering the Commercial Printing Maze Safely
By Mike Klassen
Up until this year's Bootcamp, the commercial side of printing always seemed confusing to me … and more than a bit scary. But having Tom the printer there to answer our printing questions helped relieve the confusion. It also got me excited about this aspect of design.
So on the way home, I stopped by Barnes & Noble and found two new books about printing that I want to share with you.
The first is Real World Print Production. Like most of the Real World books I've seen, this one is thorough. What I especially like is that it has specific chapters for print issues with software like InDesign and Quark.
The other book is The Official Adobe Print Publishing Guide, Second Edition. This book isn't quite as intense as the Real World book, but it provides a good overview of the subject. It has a number of glossaries for the various sections, and is a good starting point for graphic designers.
The main chapters in the Adobe book are:
- Color and Commercial Printing
- Constructing a Publication
- Imaging and Proofing
- Project Management Guidelines
This might not look like much, but each chapter has about 10 different sections (such as Printing Terms, Using a Color Management System, Checking Your Files, and Selecting Vendors).
And, at under 200 pages, it won't overwhelm you.
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FROM THE IFD MAILBAG…
by Kristin Schwarz
Patricia wrote in with a question about designing reply envelopes. Let's see if I can help her ...
Hi Kristin,
I'm working on the Main Street Millionaire exercise, and have questions about reply envelopes.
For the exercise, should I add faux FIM bars and a barcode to the Customer Reply Envelope (CRE)? The CRE I found in an AWAI mailing didn't have either, so I wasn't sure whether to add them or not.
Thanks,
Patricia
Dear Patricia,
Sounds like you are well on your way with your design for Main Street Millionaire. I think adding FIM bars and a barcode would be a plus, since it will make the envelope look more professional. However, it is not a requirement for the exercise.
If you are designing for a client who is experienced in direct mail, the client will usually give you the image file for the reply envelope.
Sometimes, though, you might have a client who does not have much experience in direct mail and will appreciate your expertise. The website of the U.S. Postal Service (www.usps.com/directmail) offers a lot of free DM resources, including how and where to place the FIM bar and barcode.
If your inexperienced client has not yet established a business reply account with the USPS, encourage him to do so. Whether he does so or not, you ought to check out the site and print out some of the information you'll find there to use as reference material. Knowing the terminology and having some basic understanding of the postal regulations for direct mail will make you look really professional to your clients.
Dear Kristin,
I have a recommendation that might be useful to all your readers.
If you want to convert one file format into another but don't have the right software, try www.zamzar.com.
This FREE online file conversion service converts documents, video, audio, and images from one format to another. Click here to see the entire list of the formats they convert from and to.
The site uploads the file on its servers and then converts it. You can convert files up to 100 Mb in size, and the file remains on the server for 24 hours. You'll be mailed the link to download the file.
Try it!
Murtaza
Dear Murtaza,
What a great tool! And it is free! Thank you for sharing this with us!
That's all from me for today. Have a safe and productive couple of weeks.
Kristin
[Ed. Note: If you have a question or comment for Kristin, please send it to:
insidefreelancedesign@awaionline.com, Attn: Kristin Schwarz.]
EXTRA! EXTRA! News and Job Opportunities
- CREATIVE GRAPHIC DESIGNER - Laserfiche, a fast-growing software company, needs a graphic designer to develop effective brochures, ads, direct mail packages, and more. The position is in Orange County, California. Send your resume and a link to your online portfolio to mktgposition@laserfiche.com.
- GRAPHIC DESIGNER - Tomax, a Salt Lake City based company that is a leader in the retail industry, needs an experienced graphic designer to join their team. You will design and create all print, web, and interactive marketing materials. Send your resume to resume@tomax.com.
- PHOTOGRAPHER/GRAPHIC DESIGNER - Lava Enterprises, a décor company specializing in candles, needs a talented designer to help them create catalogs, brochures, and advertisements that get results. You should also be a skilled photographer. You must know Quark, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and Acrobat. Send your resume to adudash@lavaenterprises.com.
COMING NEXT ISSUE:
- A Special Design Secret Straight From Bootcamp
- Quick Tip: Maneuvering the Professional Printing Maze
* ABOUT INSIDE FREELANCE DESIGN *
Inside Freelance Design is a FREE bi-weekly newsletter from American Writers & Artists Inc., available to AWAI members and friends.
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