So I had the interesting experience today of teaching our intern how to create a die-line. He had no idea what a die-line even was! Interns, gotta love em :P.

This brought up a long conversation between several of us about the technical knowledge that many designers seems to lack. While there are tons of classes out there that claim to teach someone how to be a designer, often times they miss some of the most critical (technical) aspects of designing for print.

A case in point would be pocket folders. To the left is a pocket folder die. A pocket folder is printed on a larger sheet, and then a blade (die) in the shape you see is used to cut the out the folder. Once cut, it is then folded and glued.

Now, in looking at this die, what do you see? The basic shape of a folder, right? Now think about how it will fold… The bottom flaps (with tabs on the outsides) will fold up! So any copy that is going to be on those tabs needs to be “upside down” relative to the rest of the copy to end up “right side up” on the finished product.

Now this is a pretty simple example, but what if you are looking for a ‘pocket folder’ that is a gate fold? Basically a “three-panel” pocket folder (Pockets left right and center!) How would that be setup?

The point that I am poorly attempting to make here, is that while it is not always the designers responsibility to create these a die file, it is their responsibility to know what they are, and how it will effect the finished product.

In those cases where a designer needs to create a die line, PICK UP THE PHONE! Call your printer, find out what the requirements for the die are. Even if they don’t know, they will more than likely be able to find out for you.

2007 celebrates Helvetica’s 50th birthday. To celebrate it’s birthday, director Gary Hustwit filmed a documentary shot all around the world focusing on the use and history of the Helvetica typeface. - http://helveticafilm.com. Helvetica is one of the most commonly used typefaces in the design world. From want ads to billboards, Helvetica is everywhere.

About the font: Helvetica was created by Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann at the Haas’sche Schriftgießerei (Haas type foundry) of Münchenstein, Switzerland. Practitioners of what would be known as the International Typographic Style (also called the Swiss Style) such as Josef Muller-Brockmann had popularized the use of sans-serif fonts like Akzidenz Grotesk which was created more than 50 years earlier in 1896 and marketed by the German type foundry Berthold. Haas set out to design a new sans-serif typeface that could compete with Akzidenz in the Swiss market. Originally called Neue Haas Grotesk, the typeface’s name was changed by Haas’ German parent company Stempel in 1960 to Helvetica — derived from Helvetia, the Latin name for Switzerland — in order to make it more marketable internationally.

About the film: Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.

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It’s the little things that make a difference- and nowhere is that more true than in prepress. Prepress is a world where one little checkbox makes the difference between ‘easy’ files and ‘hard’ files.

Here’s a good example: “Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities”. Un-checking this one little box can make my life very difficult.

So what exactly does this box do? When you save a PDF from Illustrator, Illustrator will write the entire original AI file inside the PDF. This makes the file larger, but makes later editing of the PDF much simpler.

If this box is not checked, when you read a file back into Illustrator many bad things happen. Every line of text is it’s own box- there are no more paragraphs. Gradients are usually converted to shadings. Basically, editing of the file becomes extremely difficult.

Normally editing a PDF is the last thing your friendly neighborhood prepress person wants to do. Unfortunately, just because we receive a PDF file, does not mean it is a good file for printing. We often have to add bleeds, fix color modes and move things around to get files press-ready. Also, there are many customers who misspell words or mistype phone numbers, and it usually falls on prepress to fix these errors.

So please, help out your prepress people, and CHECK THAT BOX!!

Seasoned and novice photographers searching for inspiration and solid hands-on training need look no further. Santa Fe Workshops recently announced its Summer/Fall 2007 schedule with a full-color 88-page catalog. The Summer/Fall season, which begins June 10, 2007, offers 48 photography workshops, including more than 20 workshops in the state-of-the-art digital facility, a variety of On-the-Road workshops, and 15 weeklong workshops in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

 There are some scholarships available from Kodak, Nikon and others. (more…)

Web Marketing Association, host of leading website awards competition WebAwards, released the Internet Standards Assessment Report (ISAR) to help the design industry create more effective and engaging websites.

“As the standard of excellence for websites continues to increase, consumers (and WebAward judges) are increasingly picky about what they consider to be an effective website,” said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association, Inc. “Design websites tend to push the envelope when it comes to innovation and adapting new concepts for display on their websites.”

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2007 WebAward Call for Entries The Web Marketing Association is now accepting entries into its 11th annual international WebAward Competition. The WebAwards is the standards-defining competition that sets industry benchmarks that the Internet Standards Assessment report is based upon. The food industry represents an important category in the WebAward competition, and the Web Marketing Association will again be honoring the Best Food Web site of 2007. The deadline for entry is May 31, 2007 and the WebAward Web site is located at www.07webaward.org.

About the WebAwards

Now in its 11th year, the annual international WebAwards competition sets the standard of excellence in 96 industry categories by evaluating Web sites and defining benchmarks based on the seven essential criteria of successful Web site development. The goal of the Web Marketing Association, sponsor of the WebAwards, is to provide a forum to recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today. Entrants benefit from a Web site assessment by a professional judging panel and the marketing opportunities presented to an award-winning Web site. For more information, visit www.07webaward.org.

2007 WebAward Call for Entries The Web Marketing Association is now accepting entries into its 11th annual international WebAward Competition. The WebAwards is the standards-defining competition that sets industry benchmarks that the Internet Standards Assessment report is based upon. The deadline for entry is May 31, 2007 and the WebAward Web site is located at www.07webaward.org.

About the WebAwards

Now in its 11th year, the annual international WebAwards competition sets the standard of excellence in 96 industry categories by evaluating Web sites and defining benchmarks based on the seven essential criteria of successful Web site development. The goal of the Web Marketing Association, sponsor of the WebAwards, is to provide a forum to recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today. Entrants benefit from a Web site assessment by a professional judging panel and the marketing opportunities presented to an award-winning Web site. For more information, visit www.07webaward.org.

A lot of files go through our pre-press department on a daily basis and we have a lot of experience and stories to share in order to assist you to get your images prepared correctly to maximize the print quality. Here is an example of a recent customer. With their consent, we share some before and after shots of their files, and how a few tips helped their designer prepare files that resulted in a top quality mailing piece.

The Anonymous Showroom is a multi-line fashion showroom in New York. As their business grows so does their need for top quality images that reflect the fashion lines they represent. The showroom receives daily shipments and sends our direct mail pieces to their clients around the country on a weekly basis. Digital photography is their only choice when it comes to a fast paced environment like Fashion. (more…)

You’ve decided to go for it. You’ve got the talent and determination. You know your skills are marketable. So what do you charge for your services? Even more important – what will a client pay?

For most Creatives it would be easier to figure out the national debt. Not surprisingly a lot of designers have no clue what they’re worth in the current advertising marketplace. That’s why they’re not accountants.

But if you’re going to be profitable, being compensated fairly and adequately can make all the difference to your success. Or lack of it.

Factor in all the variables
There are a lot of things to consider when you’re setting up a fee schedule: your location, the economy, your competition, your experience, your length of time in business and of course the client. All of these should influence your decision.

No one can tell you what to charge, but here are some basic guidelines on how to present yourself and your value to potential clients:

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Pantone, Inc., the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, selects PANTONE 19-1557 Chili Pepper, a deep, spicy red, as the color of the year for 2007. This engaging, resonant hue strikes a high note for fashion and personal expression as its boldness is appealingly eye-catching, sophisticated and enticing. In a time when personality is reflected in everything from a cell phone to a Web page on a social networking site, Chili Pepper connotes an outgoing, confident, design-savvy attitude.

“Whether expressing danger, celebration, love or passion, red will not be ignored,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “In 2007, there is an awareness of the melding of diverse cultural influences, and Chili Pepper is a reflection of exotic tastes both on the tongue and to the eye. Nothing reflects the spirit of adventure more than the color red. At the same time, Chili Pepper speaks to a certain level of confidence and taste. Incorporating this color into your wardrobe and living space adds drama and excitement, as it stimulates the senses.”

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Way back when, there used to be a little company called “Macromedia”. Some of you older heads might remember them. For a long time they were the big name in web development- until they were bought out by Adobe.

Macromedia had a great section on their website called the “Exchanges”. These were essentially forums where users could post scripts, plug-ins, actions etc. for every Macromedia product.

When Adobe took over Macromedia, they not only kept the Exchanges, but expanded them to cover many of Adobe’s products as well. If you have never been on the Exchanges, I would highly recommend it.

The Illustrator exchange has custom brush libraries, and all kinds of templates, as well a some useful plug-ins. The InDesign exchange has some really cool stuff, including scripts that will create editable calendars in InDesign.