DPI - Printer Resolution

DPI (dots per inch) is probably the most familiar and most misused measure of resolution. For desktop publishing, it is probably the least important measure as well. It is not the resolution of scanned images. It is not the resolution of images on screen. It is the measure of how many dots of ink or toner a printer can place within an inch (or centimeter).

Most printers print the same number of dots horizontally and vertically, though some may have differing numbers. Basically, 600 dpi printers print 600 tiny little dots across one inch and 600 dots vertically for one inch.

How SPI, PPI, DPI, and LPI relate
The lower the DPI of a printer, the less fine detail it can print and the fewer shades of gray it can simulate. Because monitor resolution is so much lower than printers, low resolution images that look fine on-screen often print poorly.

DPI, Scanning, & Digital Images: DPI is only relevant in that the combination of your printer's DPI and the required LPI determine how much resolution your image must have. If you will be printing to a 300 DPI printer, resolution in excess of 300 SPI is rarely necessary.

DPI and Printing: In general, the higher the resolution of your printer or imagesetter, the greater detail you can print and the better appearance of your output. See Part 5: LPI for more on printing images.

DPI and the Web: On the Web, DPI is irrelevant because images display on-screen in pixels (PPI).

In practice, SPI and PPI are often used interchangeably. DPI is frequently used in place of one or both terms. However, even if you call it DPI, remember that each dot or "unit of measure" behaves differently depending on whether it is a scanner (or scanned image), a monitor (or on-screen image), or a printer (or printed image).

Next > LPI: Halftone Resolution

Measurements Systems > Measuring Resolution > DPI: Printer Resolution

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Graphic Design vs. DTP

Graphic design and desktop publishing share so many similarities that people often use the terms interchangeably.

There's not really anything terribly wrong with that but it is helpful to know and understand how they differ and how some people use and confuse the terms.Answer: The short answer: graphic design jobs involve the creative process of coming up with the concepts and ideas and arrangements for visually communicating a specific message desktop publishing is the mechanical process that the designer and the non-designer use to turn their ideas for newsletters, brochures, ads, posters, greeting cards, and other projects into digital files for desktop or commercial printing

While desktop publishing does require a certain amount of creativity, it is more production-oriented than design-oriented.

Graphic designers use desktop publishing software and techniques to create the print materials they envision. The computer and desktop publishing software also aids in the creative process by allowing the designer to easily try out various page layouts, fonts, colors, and other elements.

Non-designers also use desktop publishing software and techniques to create print projects for business or pleasure. The amount of creative design that goes into these projects varies greatly. The computer and desktop publishing software, along with professionally-designed templates, allow consumers to construct and print the same type of projects as graphic designers although the overall product may not be as well-thought out, carefully crafted, or polished as the work of a professional designer. Graphic design is the process and art of combining text and graphics and communicating an effective message in the design of logos, graphics, brochures, newsletters, posters, signs, and any other type of visual communication.

Desktop publishing is the process of using the computer and specific types of software to combine text and graphics to produce documents such as newsletters, brochures, books, etc.

Graphic design and desktop publishing are often used interchangeably but, in part because it is an activity also used by non-designers, desktop publishing is often considered a lesser activity than graphic design. In truth, the two are separate but intertwined disciplines.

Not everyone who does desktop publishing does graphic design, but most graphic designers are involved in desktop publishing - the production side of design. The term desktop publisher can refer to a designer or a non-designer but it often carries negative connotations of an amateur.

Some graphic designers are quite vocal about their distaste for desktop publishing, which is somewhat amusing since much of what they do does involve desktop publishing. What they are really upset about is not desktop publishing itself - it's an invaluable part of the entire graphic design process - but rather the misuse (real or perceived) of desktop publishing software by non-designers.

All the FAQs: Career & Business | Software | Design & Layout | Graphics | Type & Fonts | Prepress & Printing

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Fuchsia

Designers familiar with four-color process printing will recognize fuchsia as the M in CMYK — magenta, a pinkish-red color.

Answer: On the purple side of pink, fuchsia is another name for magenta, the pinkish-red ink used in CMYK color printing made of equal parts of red and blue. Named for the pink-purple flower of the fuchsia plant, it is sometimes described as hot pink, reddish-purple, vivid pink, light purple, etc. Antique fuchsia is a more lavender-leaning shade of fuchsia.

Common misspelling: fuschia

Some of the faces of fuchsia and magenta: Fuchsia (Web color) | Hex #FF00FF | RGB 255,0,255 Hot Pink (Web color) | Hex #FF69B4 | RGB 255,105,180 Deep Pink | Hex #FF1493 | RGB 255,20,147 Dark Magenta (Web color) | Hex #8B008B | RGB 139,0,139 Neon Fuchsia | Hex #FE59C2 | RGB 254,89,194 Fashion Fuchsia | Hex #F400A1 | RGB 244,0,161 Deep Fuchsia (Crayola: Fuchsia) | Hex #C154C1 | RGB 193,84,193 Antique Fuchsia | Hex #915C83 | RGB 145,92,131

The SVG color keywords fuchsia and magenta are both for the Web color #FF00FF. The CSS color keyword for #FF00FF is fuchsia. #FF00FF is also one of the browser safe color. The keywords hotpink and darkmagenta are for #FF69B4 and #8B008B respectively. Fuchsia / Magenta is a mixed warm/cool color. Although fuchsia, like pink, is often consider a feminine color, it's not soft or genteel. It's a playful color that can be sophisticated when paired with cool, dark colors. Too much fuchsia can be overwhelming.

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Widows and Orphans

In desktop publishing, widows and orphans are those words or short phrases at the end or beginning of paragraphs that are left to sit alone at the top or bottom of a column — separated from the rest of the paragraph.

Do you leave readers dangling? Words left hanging leave readers in the dark.

Not everyone agrees on what constitutes a widow and what makes a word an orphan. For every source that says orphans are the end of a sentence sitting alone at the top of a column there is another source that calls it a widow. No matter what we call them these widowed and orphaned bits of text can make our stories harder to read and our layouts look unbalanced.

Some instances of dangling words are less troublesome than others but in this article we'll look at ways to control them. Whether or not you choose to tinker with each and every instance of widows and orphans in your publications is entirely up to you and/or your client.

Some examples of widows and orphans that often need attention: A word or two at the top of a column that belongs with the paragraph at the bottom of the first column looks out of place. The start of a paragraph at the bottom of a column is equally annoying. When the rest of the sentence continues on the next page it can also destroy continuity for the reader. Subheads that appear at the bottom of a column or end of a page — without at least 2-3 lines of the following text — also look bad and hurt readability.

Next: Once identified, learn the various ways to fine-tune your line endings to eliminate widows and orphans.

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Color Separations

On a printing press each color of ink used in a document is printed one at a time. Each printing plate used on the press is made up only of components of the page in that one color.

Separations are artwork split into component plates of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black in preparation for process printing (CMYK) or into the required number of plates for spot color printing - a plate for each color of ink.

Each separation prints a single process or spot color. Digital PostScript or PDF files take two primary forms: composite or pre-separated. Which you use depends on your software, colors, and the software or RIP your printer or service bureau uses.

Pre-Separated
A pre-separated PDF or PostScript file contains a separate plate for each color in the document. A standard process color job would have four plates (pages) containing just the color information for each color of CMYK. For spot colors, you'll have a page for each spot color.

You'll have separations for each page in your document so a 4 page CMYK preseparated file would have 16 pages. If you have a preseparated file you can only print the file as separations and on-screen viewing is limited to viewing each individual color plate.

Composite
A composite file contains all the color information in one file. It can be viewed or printed as a composite (everything on one page). Your service bureau separates the file into its individual color separations at the RIP.

Choosing Sides
Which type of file — composite or pre-separated — does your printer need from you? Ask. That's the best way to know for sure. Each has its benefits. It's probably obvious that a composite file will be more compact than a preseparated file — fewer pages. With composite files both you and your service bureau can view the document on-screen and check things like graphics, text flow, etc. more easily.

However, there are some types of documents that require pre-separated files for proper handling. At present, composite files don't contain the necessary information to properly generate separations for EPS duotones, DCS images, colorized TIFFs, and images with spot-color-to-spot-color gradients. These will require pre-separated PostScript or PDF files. Check with your printer if you are unsure.

Even when supplying a composite PostScript or PDF to your printer, you'll want to know how to create and print color separations to your own printer for proofing purposes. This will help you see if your composite file will separate correctly (all colors on the correct plates, no extra colors) and help you catch other mistakes that might not be apparent looking at the application file or the composite file.

This is a brief overview of composite and pre-separated files — just one aspect of creating color separations. For more in-depth technical specifications and tutorials as well as advice on proper preparation of separations in a variety of programs, see the sidebar resources.

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Holiday Borders

Make your own Christmas stationery or dress up fliers and invitations with these Holly borders made from dingbat fonts.

These holly borders come in both WMF (Windows MetaFile) and AI (Adobe Illustrator) formats. These vector graphics formats allow you to resize the images without distortion (no jaggies!). You will need a page layout or graphics programs that supports one of these formats. A black & white full holly border [WMF] [AI] A color full holly border [WMF (ZIP)] [AI] A color partial holly frame [WMF] [AI] 1 holly leaf clip art or corner piece [WMF] [AI] 3 holly leaves clip art or corner piece [WMF] [AI]

Warning:WMF files are very large.

You could create your own borders with dingbat fonts following these basic instructions: Open a vector graphics program (CorelDRAW, Illustrator, etc.) Select the Text pointer Choose a dingbat font Type characters at different sizes until you find the one you want Convert to curves then edit the character to change colors or other features Repeat (copy and paste) image one after the other around the page to create your frame Save your frame in a vector format such as EPS, WMF, or AI

Download holiday.zip (385K) The archive contains all the holly and snowflake borders except holly2.wmf (holly2.zip) and Holly Web page graphics.

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InDesign Document Area

If you need to measure things on your screen put that plastic ruler back in your drawer right now ... InDesign has rulers which are located right on the top and on the left of the document's window. You have the horizontal ruler (x axis) and the vertical ruler (y axis). They they can help you to measure what you see on screen. If you don't see them you just need to go to View > Show Rules. If you don't want to see them but they are turned on, you go to View > Hide Rules (or press F7 to turn them on or off).

The origin of rules can be changed. There are different ways to do this: Go to the top left corner of your work area where the rules start. Now click on it with your mouse and drag diagonally towards the right. When you release the mouse button, you will see that your 0, or origin of the rules, will be where you released the mouse. To reset your rules as they were before, just double click on the top left corner. Go to InDesign > Preferences (Mac OS) or Edit > Preferences (Windows) and select Units & Increments. Look at the section Ruler Units. You will see that there is a setting called Origin. You can choose between Page, Spread or Spine. While the Page and Spread option are quite obvious, the Spine option isn't really descriptive. The spine is the point where you would be binding your pages. In actual fact Adobe calls it Binding Spine.

Continue to the next page for more on the Ruler Origin and Binding Spine.

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Open Source DTP

For some reason, most of the publishing world doesn't take open-source software seriously. There are exceptions: a great number of national governments, large corporations, gigantic ISPs and web hosting firms use it. But in desktop publishing? It's hard to find even a mention of open-source in print or online.

The recent article here on About.com entitled "Mix and Match Software" was a case in point -- even at the very end of the article where both inexpensive and free software options were listed, the most powerful, professional-grade, and free tools for photo editing, word processing, layout, and press-ready PDF generation were completely omitted. Which is why I'm writing this article!

Note from Jacci: True, the Mix and Match article focuses primarily on the Windows and Mac software from Adobe, Quark, Corel, and Microsoft. However, the open-source Scribus and OpenOffice are listed on the free software lists for Windows/Mac.

When I started my own small publishing company two years ago, the budget was a shoestring combined with peanuts. I had already been using the Linux operating system for many years, including some extremely powerful open-source photo editing tools for my "real" job as a professional photographer. It didn't take long to find all the free software I needed to write and publish a large book, full of photographs and CAD drawings.

The proof is in the proofs and the press, of course. Fast forward 2 years. Every printing press I contacted for both the bound galleys (short-run for 150 Advance Review copies) and the final press run (2,000 copies) said "Linux? Scribus? The GIMP? What on earth are you talking about, never heard of them." But two of these presses (Bookmobile for the bound galleys and Friesens for the final press run) also said they were willing to work with beginners, and that they couldn't really care less what platform the press-ready PDFs were produced on, as long as they passed pre-flight.

So, I thought, "why not?" I had been using these open-source tools for photo editing and promotional materials for years. They seemed to work fine, and local printers never had a problem with the PDFs, even with CMYK at 2,400 dpi.

The first session of fingernail chewing came while waiting for the bound galleys. Result? No problems, your books arrive next week. The next session involved hair pulling as well as fingernail chewing, as I had invested about $10,000 in the press run. Again, same result, the PDFs were fine. The open-source pre-pre-flight showed 100% OK, and pre-flight from the big press showed the same, 100% OK. The book looks great, and is already selling well. And my tiny new publishing company saved thousands of dollars in software costs!

I'll cover the free, open-source tools I used for this book in an ala-carte fashion, just like the original About.com article. >> Next Page

Open Source Desktop PublishingLinux Software for Desktop PublishingLarger Versions of the Images in this Article (from Dan Fink)

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Headline Writing

The job of the headline is to get attention. A good headline makes the reader want to find out more by reading the article, brochure, or ad. To help your headline do this, try one of these techniques: Create curiosity Promise answers to a question or solutions to a problem Include a key benefit

Have fun with it
You can create curiosity by asking a provocative question or making a seemingly outrageous statement. Word play, alliteration, or take-offs on familiar phrases or cliches can create some eye-catching and often amusing headlines. However, avoid ambiguoity or at least use eyebrows, subheads, or decks (smaller headlines above or below the main headline) to clarify or explain. If your reader has to guess at what you mean or at what the article or ad is all about, they'll be saying, "I guess you don't want me to read this article." Some examples of word play, alliteration, and take-offs: Wingdinging it
using symbol fonts as impromptu logos

Build a Better Bass Boat

Sing a song of six pence, a pocket full of lies...
teaching children to tell the truth

The middle example, using alliteration, can stand alone but the other two benefit greatly from more straightforward subheadings.

State the Benefit
Answer the question foremost in your reader's mind, What's in it for me? Tell your reader about the primary benefit found in the story or brochure or ad. Offer a solution to a common problem. Create several potential headlines using as many of the following techniques as possible until you find the one that works best. Ask a question (How many cavities is "too many"?). Make a statement or exclamation (Fewer cavities. Guaranteed.). Tell "how-to" (How to spend less time at the dentist's office). Use a number (6 ways to get fewer cavities). Use a product, service, or business name -- or create a new word or catch phrase to describe the product (PearlyBrite dental creme is the newest weapon in the war on tooth decay). Use words like new, improve, more, and better (Get 50% more cavity protection in our new, economical 9 oz. tube).

Keep it short
What is the ideal length for titles and headlines? Seven words or less is a good rule of thumb. Shorter headlines are punchier and easier to read. If you need more words to accomplish the job, consider putting them into the subhead or deck.

Deliver on your promises
The best headline in the world won't help a bad story. Before you snare the reader with your witty headline be sure you can deliver with a well-written, informative article, brochure, or ad. Insure that your headline supports the body too. If you ask a question, provide an answer. If you promise to solve a problem, offer a solution.

Avoid deceptive headlines. If the headline suggests that the story is about low-cost, romantic honeymoon locations, don't give the reader a story about honeymoon disasters in cheap hotels. It might be a great story, but the reader feels cheated if the headline promises something totally different.

Use a headline to get the reader's attention. Catch the reader's eye and give enough information to make your reader want to read your message.

Even though I know the techniques for writing good headlines, my efforts fall far short of the mark on occasion. Consider these two examples from past issues of The INK Spot magazine (a publication about desktop publishing and word processing that I once published) with possible "improved" headline ideas. A Pretty Package

Do you have a clue what this might be about? It was in the Christmas issue so maybe it's on making your own wrapping paper? This headline and subhead might give you a better idea:

Changes in Resume Writing

Factual, but a little boring. How about adding a benefit for the reader?

When a professional copywriter is not feasible, heed these simple tips for writing effective headlines as well as the additional advice in Copywriting for Designers and Non-Writers.

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Offset vs. Desktop Printing

The method of printing — whether offset or desktop printing — dictates how the desktop publishing document must be prepared. That's why answers to questions about what kind of software to use or how to set up a document begin with "how will it be printed?"

Answer: The three primary differences in offset printing and desktop printing (such as inkjet and laser) are the colors of ink and the way the ink is placed on the paper as well as the type of machinery used to accomplish the task. Both commercial offset printing (also known as offset lithography) and inkjet desktop printing utilize four basic ink colors: CMYK. Dots of cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow, and black (the K) are placed next to each other in specific patterns that trick the eye into seeing millions of colors. Additionally, offset printing can use premixed inks in a variety of specific colors as well as metallic and florescent inks. These are called spot colors. However, printing white ink is not usually a viable option for offset or desktop printing. Inkjet printing puts all the different ink colors on the paper in one pass through the printer. In commercial offset printing each color of ink is applied separately. Because the paper must pass through the printing press multiple times, there are special requirements for preparing digital files for color printing. Desktop printing usually uses some type of inkjet or laser printer. The inkjet printer has ink cartridges that places the ink directly on the paper. These are self-contained units connected to a computer through cables. Offset lithography uses a web or sheet press that may consist of multiple units. Photographic printing plates are made of the file to be printed. The plates accept the ink which is then transferred to the paper. In choosing desktop publishing software one of the key considerations is determining how you will print your material. Some lower end or consumer desktop publishing applications cannot produce the type of files needed for commercial offset printing. Even when using software capable of creating the required files, non-designers may not understand how to properly create files for commercial offset printing.

Although there are many specific considerations for preparing files for offset printing, in terms of ink colors and the printing process two of the main software and file preparation considerations are the use of CMYK graphics and separations. CMYK vs. RGB
Graphics generally use RGB (Red, Green, Blue) or CMYK colors. Graphics on the Web or designed for on-screen display are RGB images. Because offset printing utilitizes CMYK inks, all full-color graphics need to be saved with CMYK colors. This simple conversion is done in your graphics software program. Separations
Whether printing in CMYK inks or spot colors, for offset printing you must supply a file that can be separated into different files for each ink color. These separations contain only the elements of the document that will print in one color of ink. The printing plates for offset printing are made from these separations. Also see: What's the difference between a commercial printer and a desktop printer?

All the FAQs: Career & Business | Software | Design & Layout | Graphics | Type & Fonts | Prepress & Printing

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Halftones

Halftone images contain a series of dots in a specific pattern that simulate the look of a continuous tone image. Because printers cannot print continuous tones — whether it's the many shades of gray in a grayscale image or the millions of colors in a color photograph — you must convert these images to halftones. Another term for halftoning is dithering.

Color Halftones
Color photographs printed in magazines, newspapers, or books consist of a series of dots in cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) that fool the eye into seeing the millions of colors that make up the original image.

Black & White Halftones
Black and white continuous tone photographs contain millions of shades of gray. When printed, these shades of gray convert to a pattern of black dots that simulates the continuous tones of the original image. Lighter shades of gray consist of fewer or smaller black dots spaced far apart. Darker shades of gray contain more or larger black dots with closer spacing.

Traditional Halftones
In traditional prepress, when you supply your printer with the actual photographs, rather than digital scans they create the halftoning necessary for printing by photographing the photograph through a special screen. For color images four separate screens are superimposed on each other in each of the four process colors.

Digital Halftones
When using scanned images or images from a digital camera, you can produce digital halftones direct from the software to the printer. Digital halftoning depends on the lpi (lines per inch, or screen frequency) and the resolution of your output device (printer). The screen used may be specified in your printers PPD (PostScript Printer Driver) or set specifically in your software program.

File Preparation
Color images are recreated through a combination of color separations and specific screening patterns and screen angles. When creating color separations, use the settings that match your output device. Talk to your service bureau about the correct settings to use with their imagesetter.

In addition to screening patterns, different printing presses and the paper you print on require specific screen frequencies — the number of dots used to create the image. This is that often misunderstood concept of LPI (lines per inch). In general, a higher screen frequency produces a smoother, more detailed image. However, for certain types of paper a higher screen frequency is not better. Typically newsprint uses an LPI of 85. 133 is the norm for glossy paper such as in magazines. Check with your printer to determine the best LPI settings to use for their equipment and your paper. See this LPI Chart for some common LPI settings and further explanation of this and related terms.

In practice, you may not need to do anything special with your images other than insuring you use the correct printer driver. The printer driver provides all the instruction needed.

However, there may be instances when you want to override default settings or create your own halftones. In the print dialog options for your document you can choose a different PostScript Printer Driver (PPD) or overide the LPI and screen angle settings for your document.

In a graphics program such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Photo-Paint you can convert your image to a black and white image using a specific halftone screen or dithering. This is necessary when supplying camera ready artwork using digital images. Both Photoshop and Photo-Paint allow you to specify LPI, screen angle, and a dot shape. Remember, size and rotate the image in your graphics program before converting to a halftone. Don't resize or rotate the halftone after you place it in your page layout program.

This brief overview provides basic information only. For more in-depth technical specifications and tutorials as well as advice on proper file preparation, see the sidebar resources.

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