PostScript Printer Required?

If you are a professional desktop publisher or graphic designer who works with commercial printers and service bureaus you will probably need to know and use PostScript.

Desktop publishers often ask "Do I really need a PostScript* printer?" and "Do I really need to know how to create PostScript files?" The answer is it depends. To help you decide here's a brief introduction to PostScript and some examples of when it is good to have a printer that speaks this language and why you should be familiar with PostScript.

What is PostScript?
Simply put, PostScript is a programming or page description language. It is a way of describing what a page should look like. Another such page description language is PCL (printer control language) found in HP printers. For the differences between PostScript and PCL see PS and PCL Comparisions.

Printers print dots. How these dots (raster images) are arranged on the page determines what you see, how the page looks. A printer uses an interpreter (printer driver) to translate digital documents created by your software into a raster image that the printer can print.

Some types of documents such as those created by graphic designers and desktop publishers, contain an intricate combination of fonts and graphics that are best described using PostScript. The PostScript language and a PostScript printer driver then tell the printer how to print that document. PostScript is generally device-independent, that is, if you create a PostScript file it will print pretty much the same on any PostScript device.

Do I Need PostScript?
Developed by Adobe, a leader in desktop publishing applications, PostScript technology (currently at level 3) is often called the language of desktop publishing. Its strength is in its ability to handle the often complex text and graphics typical in graphic design and desktop publishing.

If you do little more than type business letters, draw simple graphs, or print photographs, you may not need the power of PostScript. For simple text and graphics your non-PostScript printer driver may be sufficient for turning your documents into raster images. Otherwise, PostScript — specifically a PostScript-capable printer — is a good investment for most desktop publishers. Some types of text and graphics simply "look better" printed with PostScript. Or, as Adobe says on its Web site, "Adobe PostScript translates your great ideas into print — exactly as you intended."

Commercial printers speak PostScript, making it a common language for sending digital files. Due to its complexity, creating PostScript files can be tricky for the novice but it is a worthwhile skill to master. If you don't have a PostScript printer, troubleshooting any PostScript files you create becomes trickier. PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format based on the PostScript language and is increasingly used for submitting digital files for printing. With or without a PostScript printer, a basic understanding of the PostScript language is useful when creating and working with PDF.

Additionally, one of the two primary graphics formats used in desktop publishing is EPS. EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) is a form of PostScript. You'll need a PostScript printer to print EPS images.

Next Page: What If I Don't Have a PostScript Printer? & the Bottom Line on whether or not you need a PostScript printer to do desktop publishing.

*Is it Postscript, postscript, or PostScript? Although you'll find it written all three ways all over the Web, Adobe writes it PostScript (uppercase P & S). PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.

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PANTONE#174; Spot Color Nam...

The PANTONE? Matching System (PMS) is the dominant spot color printing system in the United States. Printers use a special mix of ink to achieve the color needed. Each spot color in the Pantone system is assigned a name or a number. There are over a thousand Pantone spot colors available.

Are PANTONE 3258 C, PANTONE 3258 U, and PANTONE 3258 CVU the same color? Yes and No. While PANTONE 3258 is the same ink formula (a shade of green), the letters that follow it represent the apparent color of that ink mix when printed on different types of paper.

The letter suffixes of U, C, and M tell us whether that particular color is how it will appear on uncoated, coated, or matte finish papers, respectively. The coating and finish of the paper affects the apparent color of the printed ink even though each uses the same formula.

Pantone swatch books — printed samples of ink - come in coated, uncoated, and matte finishes. You would use these swatch books or color guides to find the desired spot color for the type of paper used in your project.

Software programs such as Photoshop and CorelDRAW contain color palettes for various printing systems, including PANTONE colors. You can add additional color palettes or create custom palettes for your software.

In your software color palettes you may encounter suffixes such as CV, CVU or CVC. CV stands for "computer video" and is an electronic simulation of the Pantone color. PANTONE Reflex Blue CVU is an on-screen simulation of how PANTONE Reflex Blue will appear when printed on uncoated paper. Likewise, CVC is a simulation of the color on coated paper. Be aware that there are additional suffixes for process colors but for this discussion we'll stick with spot color.
U = uncoated paper
C = coated paper
M = matte paper
CV = computer video (electronic simulation)
CVU = computer video - uncoated
CVC = computer video - coated

Name That Color
So, which designation should you use when specifying colors? It doesn't really matter as long as you are consistent. While PANTONE 185 CV and PANTONE 185 CVC are the same ink formula, your software may see them as two different colors, even if your monitor shows them as virtually identical.

If PANTONE 185 is the shade of red you want, use either PANTONE 185 CV or PANTONE 185 CVC but not both in the same print job. Capitalization is also important. PANTONE 185 CV, Pantone 185 CV, and PMS 185 CV are three different colors as far as your software is concerned.

Software programs may use differing Pantone palettes. For example, Adobe InDesign 1.5 has Pantone coated (CVC) and uncoated (CVU) palettes while CorelDRAW 7 has a single Pantone CV palette. If you are importing images created in CorelDRAW into InDesign you'll need to rename your colors in CorelDRAW to match the InDesign color palettes.

When you define your own colors or creat custom palettes, use a consistent naming scheme. You can use oddball names to represent any color — such as Ruby Red Grapefruit #2 — but it is usually best to stick with a familiar naming convention: PANTONE in all caps, the name or number, then CVC or CVU as the suffix.

Remember, what you see on the screen is simply a simulation of the printed color. To insure the most accurate color, you should use your Pantone swatch books to find the right ink colors for your project.

How to Do Desktop Publishing > Intermediate Tasks > PMS Color Suffixes

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Creative Thinking

We all have some level of creativity within us. As with other activities, you can teach yourself to be more creative. Sometimes creative thinking requires us to look at things from new perspectives. Learn to unleash your inventive genius by thinking backwards. Here is an appropriate acronym containing five steps to creative thinking -- S A E D I -- that's IDEAS backwards!

S - State of Mind.
Creativity is a state of mind. Telling yourself or others "I'm not very creative," or "I can never come up with new or clever ideas," destroys that state of mind. Creative thinking requires positive thinking.

Read Positive Messages. For long-term creative thinking, read and study books on positive thinking. Some classic titles include Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking and Robert H. Schuller's Tough Times Never Last, Tough People Do.

Get a Quick Fix. If you have to come up with a clever new ad slogan or a new product name by next week, use some "quick fix" state-of-mind techniques to make yourself ready for creative thinking. Get plenty of sleep. Relax your body and mind with deep breathing. Let your mind wander freely. Don't dwell on deadlines or other negative thoughts. Finally, don't forget to daydream; it can be a very effective tool for creative thinking.

In addition to a clear head, it helps to have a physical space conducive to creative thinking. Think about your atmosphere.

S | A | E | D | I
Think Backwards to Think Creatively and Generate IDEAS

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Commercial Fonts for Teachers - School Fonts for Teaching Handwriting Skills

These fonts mimic the style of type used to teach print and cursive handwriting skills. Most are US -based with some UK resources and Australian resources at the end.

Prices were current at the time this article was written. Check each site for changes — including specials and discounts.

Adobe, Inc.
Briem Script MM
"Type designer Briem began the light version of Briem Script in 1984 as an italic handwriting model for school children. It draws on a handwriting method that was set out by Ludovico Vincentino degli Arrighi in his La Operina, published in Rome in 1522. The bolder versions were added later. But since Briem Script is a multiple master typeface with a weight axis, you can create instances from Light to Ultrabold, and anything in-between. With its clear, friendly face, Briem Script is the perfect choice for food and clothing labels, children's software packaging, menus, and invitations." $69.99 (17 fonts)

ITC Stone Sans
"They contain the linguistic symbols used by the International Phonetic Association, comprising more than 300 letters and diacritical marks, both historical and official. These typefaces are appropriate for dictionaries, language guides, linguistic texts, or wherever else spoken sounds need to be typographically represented." $135.99 (6 fonts)

Graphite MM
"Architect's handwriting with a chiseled pencil look" it looks like a nice, neat printed alphabet. $95.99 (9 fonts)

Educational Fontware (EFI)
"D'Nealian ?-style, Zaner-Bloser ?-style, Harcourt Brace ?-style, Peterson Directed Handwriting ?-style, McDougal, Littell ?-style, Getty-Dubay Italic (TM), SSD, and Palmer style handwriting fonts" come with a variety of trace, ruled, and other variations. Pricing ranges from $25 to $49.95 to $250.00 depending on the licensing and packages purchased. Mac and Windows

Fonts4Teachers
"Manuscript, cursive, & D'Nealian-style fonts for learning handwriting, math, reading, & phonics in English & Spanish, plus clip art, math & ASL symbols." Individual Font Sets at $9.95 ea. Complete Set for $29.95 School Site License: $299.95 Mac and Windows TrueType

IdeaMaker, Inc.
Startwrite
Create your own handwriting worksheets with this software and fonts. $49.95 School Site Licensing Available

Kindergarten.com
Font with ruled lines and with the numbered drawing lines for each letter stroke. 4 versions. (See the Free Stuff link for a free demo version) $29.95

MatchFonts
Under Calligraphic fonts you'll find one called Skrypta which is "quite close to the "ideal" cursive handwriting as described by school manuals." Available only in the package with other fonts. $29.95

Mountain Lake Software
Their School Font Collection contains trace and D'Nealian fonts. $39.95 (Same as the Visions Technology Product described below)

The Peterson Method Font Family
Also available through EFI

School Fonts for Beginning Writing
13 fonts from Kim Voss (Ashley's Mom) to teach reading and writing. 12 are traceable fonts. $59.00-$149.00 Mac and Windows, TrueType and Type 1 formats

Signature Software, Inc.
SchoolHouse Fonts
"Zaner-Bloser(Set A) or D'Nealian(Set B) styles include 18 different fonts in printed and cursive types." $49.95 per set $249.95 site license Mac and Windows

Visions Technology Product Line
School Font Collection
Commercial product for teaching "primary students how to form letters and develop handwriting skills using fonts such as the Trace fonts and D' Nealian fonts." Pricing is for either Mac or Windows except where indicated. To order, call 800-877-0858. Single School (Mac or Win) $39.95 5 Computer License $119.95 Single Site License (35 CD) $249.95 Single Site License (unlimited) $349.95

Club Type (UK)
Sassoon Primary Typefaces
Manuscript fonts designed both for reading and handwriting. Include alternative versions of some characters such as G, I, J, f, k, q, and numerals.

Sassoon Montessori
Manuscript fonts designed for children's handwriting exercises. Alternate characters included. Solid, dotted, and outline versions available.

Handwriting for Windows
This is actually a software program that includes a handwriting font. Use to create practice worksheets in cursive. Developed by a teacher in the UK.

InfaDot (UK)
Set of 4 cursive fonts and a phonetic font for creating your own handwriting worksheets. Mac and Windows.

More than words online(UK)
Developer of custom infant fonts for educational publishers.

Teacher Fonts
A variety of font packages for use in the classroom (math, historical, holidays) including some primary fonts that teach good handwriting skills. Look under Catalogue | Literacy for the listing.

Aussie Fonts
From New Horizons, for Windows, 11 handwriting styles used by schools around Australia; New South Wales 1 & 2, Queensland 1 and 2, South Australia 1 & 2, Tasmania 1 & 2, Northern Territory, Western Australia and Victoria.

Sheperdson School Fonts
Handwriting and Math fonts for schools including New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, Northern Territory, and Tasmanian. Each set includes Bold, Dots, Cursive, Outline, Regular, Numbered Dots, and Numbered Outline. $25 plus $5 postage/handling per set. Mac and PC formats.

All the School Fonts

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Free Candy Bar Wrappers Templates - Microsoft Publisher Format Candy Bar Wrapper Tempates

Candy Bar Wrappers
Microsoft Publisher 98 Candy Bar Wrapper Templates

These candy bar wrappers templates were created in Microsoft Publisher 98 but should open fine in later versions. Personalize candy bars for parties, as birth announcements, club meetings, and other special occasions. Each of these candy bar wrappers templates are a perfect fit for the specified candies. Personalize candy bar wrappers by changing the colors, fonts, and clip art as you please. Always print a test copy and try it out to insure everything lines up when wrapped around the candy before printing out your final wrappers.

• Index to all Baby Announcement Candy Bar Wrappers
(Several sizes and styles for Boys, Girls, Twins, Triplets)

• Wedding Anniversary Candy Bar Template: 1.5 oz bar
(Fiftieth Anniversary design is loosely modeled on and fits a Hershey's Symphony Creamy Milk Chocolate bar)

• Graduation Candy Bar Template: 1.5 oz bar
(Congratulations on your Graduation is very loosely modeled on and fits a Hershey's Symphony Creamy Milk Chocolate bar)

• 4th of July Candy Bar Template: 1.3 oz roll & 1.55 oz bar
(Turn a roll of Mentos candy into a firecracker or Celebrate America with a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar dressed in Stars & Stripes)

• CDR (CorelDRAW file) of Candy Bar Wrappers Templates
This CDR file (version 7, should open in all later versions) has blank templates with lines to show front, back, glue area, and edges of 5 different sizes of candy bars including the large 7 oz Hershey's Symphony bar. Use these templates as guides to create your own designs.
Download candywrapper_blanks.cdr

To Use the Microsoft Publisher Candy Bar Wrapper Templates:
• Open Publisher
• Choose File | Open
• Click on the Templates button on the Catalog menu that opens
• Navigate to the directory where you saved the template file
• Select the desired file
• Edit the file as needed by replacing with your own text. Change the colors as desired. If you don't have the fonts used in the templates, change text to a suitable substitute.

Candy Bar Wrappers - Templates, Tutorials, Supplies

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Orange Color Meanings

Orange is vibrant. It's a combination of red and yellow so it shares some common attributes with those colors. It denotes energy, warmth, and the sun. But orange has a bit less intensity or aggression than red, calmed by the cheerfulness of yellow. While orange and black are traditional Halloween colors, orange really pops with a medium blue. Red, yellow, and orange can be a fiery hot combination or, in tamer shades, a fresh, fruity experience. Make it tropical with green.

Use caution mixing orange and pink unless you want to recreate a vibrating, 60s psychedelic look.

Try a dash of orange with deep purple or a dash of purple with a bit of orange, tempered by lots of mellow yellow or white for an eye-catching look that's not overpowering.

These words are synonymous with orange or represent various shades of the color orange.

Pumpkin, gold, flame, copper, brass, apricot, peach, citrus, tangerine.

See how many others share the same color favorites.
View Results for Your Favorite Color Poll

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InDesign Page Setup Basics

Open a new document: File > New > Document. Now have a look at your New Document window. The first thing you see is the Document Preset section. Did you see that? Good. Ignore it because we will cover it shortly.

Look at the rest of the window. Everything is pretty much straight forward. You will see that in Page Size you have several page settings (letter, legal, tabloid, etc.) You can choose the size of your page from that menu or you can enter a custom size yourself. If you want to know what the word gutter in the Columns section means, go to the About Desktop Publishing Glossary entry for gutter.

You will probably also wonder what the Master Text Frame option is. First of all you need to understand what a Master Page is. A master page is a special page which will not print, unless you tell InDesign to do so. It's a page where you can set a basic layout and then all of the other pages that you will add to your document and which are based on that master page will look the same.

You can add or take off items from any page that is based on your master page and you can have more than one master page. We will have a look at the master pages a bit more in-depth in another lesson. Right now you just need to know what they are.

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Alignment

Alignment is the placement of text and graphics so they line up on the page. It's one of the principles of design that help us create attractive, readable pages. Use alignment to: create order organize page elements group items create visual connections

Good alignment is invisible. Most readers won't conciously notice that everything is lined up neatly but they will feel it when things are out of alignment.

There are several types of alignment that can work together to create a pleasing layout. horizontal alignment
In horizontal alignment left and right margins are exactly or visually equal. Horizontal alignment can be across the page or within columns. It doesn't necessarily mean center alignment. A block of flush left/ragged-right text can be aligned horizontally. Even though individual lines of text are not perfectly aligned on each side, careful attention to the amount of rag (white space at the end of the line) can result in a visually balanced amount of margin on each side of the block of text.
vertical alignment
In vertical alignment the top and bottom margins are exactly or visually equal. Vertical alignment can be the full page or within portions of the page.
edge alignment
Edge alignment lines up text or objects along their top, bottom, left, or right edges.
center alignment
Center alignment may be horiztonally or vertically aligned, or both.
visual or optical alignment
Visual or optical alignment fixes some of the problems that can occur with other types of alignment due to the varying shapes of letters and graphics. In visual alignment the objects may not be precisely aligned but to the eye they appear lined up.

Using Alignment
Lack of alignment creates a sloppy, unorganized look. Mixing too many alignments can have a similiar effect. However, it's also OK to break alignment when it serves a specific purpose such as to intentionally create tension or draw attention to a specific element on the page.

For simple arrangements, items can be aligned using the automatic align options in your software. For more complicated layouts the use of guidelines and grids aid in the precise placement of elements.

View these examples and discussion of alignment that show the underlying grid or guidelines that tie the elements together.Some of these examples come from reader redesigns of our Makeover Projects.

Ask the Experts, Join the DiscussionsBrowse the FAQs for answers to questions about desktop publishing careers, layout, graphics, prepress, software, and fonts.Stay Up-to-Date on the World of Desktop Publishing

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Increase Sales with Postcards

Make it easy for customers to buy your product or service, and your advertising dollars will stretch further. Marketing postcards can increase response to your sales message or subscriptions to your newsletter. As annoying as we may find those multiple reply cards that fall out of our magazines, publishers will tell you that the response they generate far outweighs the nuisance factor. Even on a small scale, reply cards work wonders. The first time I used postcard-sized subscription cards for my former magazine, The INK Spot, both new subscriptions and renewals increased noticeably in just a couple of months.

Whether as reply cards, newsletters, or announcements, postcards have multiple advantages over other means of contacting customers. Their size makes them less expensive to produce and mail. Recipients are more likely to read a postcard than an unsolicited letter in an envelope. Postcards are more convenient to fill out and return than clip-out order forms, coupons, or other response devices..

Integrate postcards into your marketing plan in one or more of these ways: As subscription or renewal postcards for newsletters, magazines, and other periodicals. Order forms for almost any type of product. Postcard Newsletters (newscards). Survey forms. Coupons. Mini-news releases or announcements.

Increase the effectiveness of your marketing postcards with one or more of these techniques: Prepaid return postage. Pre-addressed return address on card or a pre-addressed envelope. Color. Neon-bright paper, pre-printed paper, or photo-postcards attract attention. Plenty of room to fill in names and addresses, and easy-to-read large type. Check-boxes that allow the recipient to quickly fill out order forms or surveys. Incentives such as free gifts or drawings for prizes to entice recipients to return surveys or other types of reply cards. Include your mailing address, phone number, or other alternate contact information on the postcard. Repeat any special marketing message that is found in accompanying marketing materials. Calls to action. Always tell the recipient what to do with the postcard — "Fill it out & drop it in the mail" may seem obvious, but say it anyway. It works.

This article originally published in The INK Spot magazine.

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Write Fonts

When my daughters had to start doing homework in cursive they came to me almost daily asking me to show them how to write various letters. It's been years since I learned formal cursive handwriting and my characters didn't always match what the school taught. I needed cursive handwriting fonts.

While most of the handwriting styles in this collection are those taught in US schools, including D'Nealian, Zaner-Boser, and Getty-Dubay Italic, I have found a few for styles taught in the UK, parts of Australia, and other areas. I'll continue to add to the collection of free fonts and links to shareware and commercial ones for other styles as I find them.

It's not just teachers that use these fonts. They can make a nice addition to a school newsletter or incorporated in graphics used for school Web sites or for any publication or Web site dealing with education.

Free Handwriting Fonts for Teachers
There are far more commercial offerings that freebies, but I have found a few that may suit your needs. Some are designed specifically for teaching handwriting skills and others are close and perhaps suitable in a pinch. You'll find some print or manuscript, cursive, and trace fonts with and without rules in a limited variety of styles.
[Free School Fonts] updated August 2008

Shareware Handwriting Fonts for Teachers
This category includes downloadable try-before-you-buy shareware school fonts in manuscript, cursive, and trace versions. Some are free for personal use.
[Shareware School Fonts]

Commercial Handwriting Fonts for Teachers
Many companies offer a wide range of school fonts designed for teaching handwriting skills. There are print, cursive, and trace fonts in all the major styles. Some include the ruled lines that are found on ruled handwriting paper.
[Commercial School Fonts]

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