Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Chapter 4&5

In terms of printing photos, the best file type for printing would be jpeg.  If you are planning on printing a word document or designed page, pdfs would work the best because when the files are sent to the printers, they can't damage or change around your designs.  When considering a file that you shouldn't try to print, designers should stay away from indd, ai, etc.  When a designer sends file types that are still open without packaging them multiple errors can come forward.  Font styles, pictures, and other images could potentially be lost in the transfer of files. 
A pixel is a minute area of illumination on a display screen, one of many from which an image is composed.  A Jpg is a file type that helps keep pixels from being compressed or destroyed and keeps the pictures in good quality.  When dealing with RAW files the data has been minimally processed from whatever recieved the image such as a digital camera, image scanner or motion picture film scanner.  RAW files are very large in size and can not be printed until they are processed.
PPI resolution stands for pixels per inch.  In every square inch of an image there is a count of pixels in the area.  The more pixels that make up a square inch, the larger the file size is.
Bitmaps, or pixmap, are a type of memory organization in computer graphics.  They can also be image file formats that are used to store digital images.  
When you crop an image in a graphics program, the image is being manipulated to frame the parts of the image that the artist thinks are important or relevant to the design.  By cropping an image, you can eliminate parts of an image that is unwanted or unnecessary.
When rotating an image, the design artist manipulates an image so that it faces a different angle.  Images can be rotated 90, 180, or 360 degrees in a design.
When changing the transparency of an object in a design program, the artist is changing how much of the image is seen in the image.  By making something transparent, you can make an overlay that is more see through, or create a background that isn't as bright.
Vector graphics is the use of points, lines, curves, shapes and polygons or other geometrical primitives based on mathematical expressions to represent images in computer graphics.  Working with raster tools in the vector format is the best way to approach vector graphics.
When a file is embedded with fonts, the fonts are available for viewing even if the computer used to open the file doesn't have the fonts present.  Generally, the type of file a font can be embedded in is a pdf file.
When text is converted to outlines it can be manipulated as an image.  It is no longer surrounded by a text box and can be stretched and conformed by the direct selection tool.  When text is conformed to outlines, every letter can be changed to a different color with a different color or size stroke.
When you simplify paths in a design file, you make the file size smaller and the the project cleaner.  When a path is simplified, excess points are removed from the file.


Source:
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/photography-beginners-forum-photo-gallery/180228-best-file-extension-print-web.html
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/JPEG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAW_file

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitmap_Image
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vector_graphics

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Personal Pad

5 thumbnail ideas before I started drawing with a ruler.  I'm obviously not very artistically blessed so I used X to represent the QR code and the PSU Split Face I was considering using.

Rough hopeful.  My general idea is to leave the k-h in lighter color and hopefully people can still use it to write on.
When I took this project to Print & Design Services at Pittsburg State University, I asked them to quote me on a total count of 100.  If I printed 100 copies of a fifty page, 5x7 black and white personal pad with a bleed and a chipboard back, the total cost would be $118.47.  If I wanted to obtain a personal copy of the pad without printing it in bulk it would cost me $3.39.  The turn around time they would need to produce my project is at least twenty-four hours.
The purpose of this project is to generate attention for my work in the Public Relations and Graphic Design field and hopefully bring forth potential customers.  The target audience would be anyone in search of a public relations specialist or graphic design artist.

Final Product

Monday, January 23, 2012

Blog Post 3 - Chapter 1, 2 & 3

The finishing process happens after the printing, when the substrate runs through a number of operations to be "finished" and ready for shipment to the customer. Finishing may include operations such as coating, cutting, folding and binding.

RIP which stands for raster image processor is used in printing systems to produce bitmaps and the bitmap is then sent to the printer.  The bitmaps help the document generate better resolution so the outcome of the print is better overall.

An image setter is a high resolution, large format device for producing film from electronically generated page layouts.


A Pica is a standard of measurement and every pica equals 1/6 inch.  A point is a measurement unit equal to 1/72 of an inch.  Every pica equals 12 points and every 72 points equals one inch.

A Die Cut is a method of using sharp steel ruled stamps or rollers to cut various shapes in post press or in line.  Die cutting is the process of cutting paper in a shape or design by the use of a wooden die or block in which steel rules are positioned in the shape of the desired pattern.  Pressure is applied and the ruler cuts out the desired pattern.

CMYK is a color model used in color printing.  The CMYK stands for the four inks used in most of color printing such as cyan, magenta, yellow and key which is black.  Spot colors on the other hand, are specially mixed inks that come in a rainbow of colors, including some speciality inks such as metallic and flourescent. Unlike CMYK or process color which creates colors by laying down layer of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black in varying amounts on the printed page, spot colors are pre-mixed and applied individually to the printed page.

A folding dummy is used to describe the preliminary image of the copy and art elements which will be reproducted into the desired finished product.  Dummies are used to view the actually product before multiple amounts of them are printed or in this case folded.  The folded dummy allows consumers to make sure their product is exactly how they would like it before they generate the desired amount.

The registration of designs, logos and other projects is important because it protects a brand name and image.  By registering your logo or other icon for your company, you protect yourself from other people claiming to sell your product to consumers or calming their work was done by your company.  A registration mark can be faint so that only people who know its whereabouts can find it or it can be front and center and the first thing people see.

VDP, or variable data printing,  is a form of digital printing.  VDP includes on demand printing in which elements such as text, graphics, and images may be changed from one printed piece to the next without stopping or slowing down the printing process.  And example would be personalized mail that is addressed to a different person on every print.

In printing, PPI stands for pixels per inch.  By magnifying an image several hundred percent on a monitor, each square will present in a checkerboard grid in which you can see a single pixel.  PPI stands for how many pixels are in each square.  LPI stands for lines per inch.  LPI forms a grid of equidistant dots of varying size on the printing plates.  Each dot attracts ink which is then transfered onto the printing surface and becomes a halftone.  DPI isn't the usual specification for resolution output devices, such as desktop printers, film recorders, RIPs and computer monitors.  When using DPI to print a project, much more ink used to produce the correct color variation and textures.

Sources:
http://www.movadcorp.com/resources/glossary.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_data_printing
http://digitalprintingtips.com/printing-tips/t--540/folding-digital-print-projects.asp





Wednesday, January 18, 2012

QR codes are designed to make accessing more information about a particular product or advertisement easier by sending the consumer directly to the source of the information.  For example, an advertisement about in-state tuition could have a QR code on the print ad or television screen where people could scan the code with their phones.  After scanning the code, their phone would be directed to the web page  about PSU's enrollment information.

QR codes can be generated at a variety of different websites.  By entering the internet address into the QR code generate for the page you want consumers to see starts the process.  The QR code generator then produces a QR code that will send people to your desired page after they scan the code.

QR codes track how many people use the code from where you generate them.  They code can record how many people scan the code and then how many people travel around the page and where they go after their introduction to the page.

Using a QR code has become an important part of today's advertising industry.  By using a QR code you enable consumers to gain more information about a product within seconds of their initial interest.  Consumers are able to go directly to the information the producer wants them to see rather than the consumer having to search for more information on their own.

Source:
http://kimtag.com/s/create_a_qr_code?gclid=CJukqPqb260CFYMEQAod-Cuaow
Preflight in the printing process basically means to check a document or any print project for technical errors to make sure the project is ready to be printed.  The preflight process involves multiple steps including running the file through preflight software.  The software checks for font conflicts, misused colors, missing or broken pictures and graphics, or any other things in the document that might cause problems or the printer.  Indesign has a built in Preflight application to make the production of files easier but when using Photoshop or Illustrator, Preflight must be done manually.


 Preflight Checklist:
  • Extend bleed artwork to bleed lines
  • Check that important content is within safety margins
  • Check and edit colors
  • Check that process colors are CMYK (not RGB)
  • Check that spot colors are converted to CMYK or, if desired, carefully defined and applied as spot
  • Trash unused color swatches
  • Check and edit fonts (with the help of Quark's "Usage" menu item or Adobe's "Find Font" menu item)
  • Make sure there are no missing or inactive fonts
  • Check that fonts are styled in their "true" form (in other words, unaltered by artificial "bold" or "italics" options in the application)
  • Check that linked graphics are up to date
  • Tidy by deleting unused elements, elements on the pasteboard, and empty boxes
  • Check layers
  • Make sure that the template layer only contains template elements
  • Template layer is set to non-printing or turned off
  • Artwork layer only contains artwork
  • Create a color proof to check your document for color quality, spelling and layout.
  • For an InDesign layout, simply open the document and select "Preflight" from the File menu.
  • Quark lets you "Collect for Output" from the Quark menu but not preflight. To preflight a Quark document you must use separate preflight software such as Markzware's FlightCheck.
  • Preflighting will result in a report listing conflicts and errors with your files. This is normal. Part of preflighting is fixing errors and running it through again until you get a clean report.
A Prepress Technician formats and proofs text and images submitted by designers and clients into finished pages before they are printed.  On average, a Prepress Technician makes $37,970 annually or $18.26 hourly.  

Sources:
http://inkd.com/earn/prepress
http://www.universalprinting.com/preflight.aspx
http://inkd.com/earn/prepress
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes515111.htm