CONVERT COREL DRAW FILES ONLINE - Free Online File Conversion Services | Filespazz.com

CONVERT COREL DRAW FILES ONLINE - Free Online File Conversion Services | Filespazz.com

Just helped out a friend with this handy tool.  It will convert Corel Draw files to just about any file type you want.  I converted to a Photoshop file.  It came back at 300dpi, the only issue was that the margins seemed to be missing, but that was an easy fix!

What is a "Bleed"?

Have you ever been completely baffled when your printer asks you to re-send your artwork with a “bleed” included? I was confused the first time that I sent a file to a printing company too. Luckily, I was working with a company that took the time to explain what a bleed is to me so that I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. I know that most printers won’t take the time to explain it to you, so here is my attempt at changing the pre-press attitudes that have prevailed in the past. Whenever you have a page that has images you want to “fall off the edge of the page” you must include a bleed on your document. A bleed is an extra 1/8” or 1/4” added on the outside of your main document in which those pictures “bleed” onto. The extra space will ultimately be trimmed off, however adding the extra room allows for a wider margin of error for when your printer attempts to trim your printed piece. Why do they need this extra margin of error? I know, they should be masters at cutting by now, but what most people don’t understand is that we stack all of the documents on top of each other after they are printed, and cut them all at once to ensure that the pieces are trimmed to the same size. This is an excellent practice, however there is a margin of error that is created by cutting them all at once. The bottom and top of the pile, even though we clamp it down as hard as we can, sometimes stretches and moves during the cutting process. Having the images bleed over the edge of where you want us to trim the piece, means that if those pages stretch and move even just the slightest bit, you and your end user of your printed piece will not notice. If the image did not bleed and we attempted to trim the piece to the size you requested, the top one may look great, but once you got to the bottom piece, there would be a bit of white paper showing on the edge making your document look un-professional.

Including the proper bleed on your document is easy in most instances. With InDesign you can set your bleed in the “Document Setup” dialog box. With Quark you just have to click on >Window >Guides >Create Bleed and Safety Guides. With Illustrator, Publisher, and Photoshop you will have to do some fancy footwork. With all 3 of those programs you will have to set your page size to be larger than the actual trim size that you want. So for an 8.5x11” letter size page, if you want to add a 1/8” bleed to it you will have to set your page size to 8.75”x 11.25”. 1/8” bleed on both sides adds up to adding an extra .25” to both dimensions of your page. If you are using any other programs to design your documents, then good luck I can’t help!  I hope this explains why we ask for a bleed to be included on the documents you send to your printer.  Oh and don't forget to set your bleeds in the "Marks and Bleeds" dialog box when you create your press ready .pdf file!

Picas, Inches or Ciceros?

I only recently realized that there are more measurement systems for the design industry than there are types of design software.  Picas, Points, Pixels, Agate, Inches, Metrics and of course the most random of all in my opinion, Ciceros.   I have attempted to make a complete picture of all measurements used in design and when/if to use them.

I have paraphrased www.Wikipedia.org and would like to thank them for creating an incredible outlet for sharing information.  Please visit their website for more detailed definitions of each of the measurements:

Pixel as defined on Wikipedia.org In digital imaging, a pixel is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled.

Pixels are primarily used for website design since websites are entirely dependent on the display device or in other words the computer screen that the end user uses to view the website.   Pixels are very difficult to use for print design and I do not recommend it. 

Picas as defined on Wikipedia.org A pica is a typographic unit of measure corresponding to 1/72 of its respective foot, and therefore to 1/6 of an inch. The pica contains 12 point units of measure. A measurement in picas is usually represented by placing a lower case p after the number, such as "10p" meaning "10 picas." Points are represented by placing the number of points after the p, such as 0p5 for "5 points," 6p2 for "6 picas and 2 points". An 8.5"x11" sheet of paper is measured as 51p x 66p.
I have never used Picas in the past and thought at one time that they were the standard for print design. However I couldn't find anything definitive that said I should be using them.  I have seen designs created using Picas and Points, but have yet to attempt a design using that unit of measure.  I really haven't found a use for it since most print design depends on the sheet size you are designing for and in the U.S. sheets are measured in inches. In the rest of the world sheets are measured in metrics.  Since the sheets are not measured in Picas then why should I use them for design?  If you have the answer as to why I should be using Picas, please send me a comment and let me know!

Points as defined on Wikipedia.org In typography, a point is the smallest unit of measure, being a subdivision of the larger pica. It is commonly abbreviated as pt. The point has long been the usual unit for measuring font size and is used in both print and web design.  The general math comparison to inches and milimeters is below.
1 point = ¹⁄₇₂ inches = ^25.4⁄₇₂ mm = 0.3527 mm.
Points have become the standard for type in both web and print design.   It is almost impossible to avoid creating any kind of computer document without choosing what point size the font should be.

Below are two units of measure that I was completely ignorant of until I noticed in InDesign that they were options for measure:

Ciceros as defined on Wikipedia.com A cicero  is ¹⁄₆ of the historical French inch (I can't believe there is something called a French inch), and is divided into 12 points. The measure-term cicero is thus used similarly to an English pica, although the French inch was slightly larger than the English inch; there are about 1.063 picas to a cicero. Cicero = 4.5 mm. Pica = 4.23333333 mm.  So really,  does anyone use this system of measurement?  Please write to me if you do!

Agate as defined on Wikipedia.com An agate is a unit of typographical measure. It is 5.5 typographical points, or about 1/14 of an inch. It can refer to either the height of a line of type or a font that is 5.5 points. An agate font was commonly used to display statistical data or legal notices in newspapers. It is considered the smallest point size that can be printed on newsprint and remain legible.  My co-worker mentioned that he used to use agates when he worked for a newspaper printing company, but he hasn't seen anything in years that required the use of the agate.  

Metrics vs. Inches.  I would love to switch to the metric system, however it is not possible in the United States printing industry as it is today.  Paper is always measured in inches in the U.S.  Inches can be extremely frustrating, for example try to properly tri-fold an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper.  The decimal points given after completing the math is unbelievable since one panel has to be .1" smaller than the other two panels.    Metrics seem so clean, so easily divisible and it has my vote.   

I realize I wrote a lot of words for one simple conclusion about Units of Measure: What to use When.  Design in the measurement system that your printer would prefer.  I use the inch system since all of our equipment and paper supplies rely upon the inch system, if I were designing for an international printer, I would use the metric system.

Palmetto Director Magazine Covers

The Essence of Time

Having worked in very time restrictive mediums (live television and pre-press design) My first years were spent wasting a lot of my time on elements of design that I thought were well worth the extra time but turned out not to pay off in the end.  Over the years I have learned to eliminate wasted time by following a few simple design recommendations.

1. Do not throw any designs away.  In the beginning of my career I felt like nothing I designed looked good and sometimes I would scrap a design completely.  On one of my very first important design jobs, I had run out of time. I had nothing to show my customer but the designs that I all but threw out the window.  I was sweating before that meeting thinking I was going to hear the worst comments about the garbage I thought I was giving them. However, to my instant surprise my customer loved them all and picked one to move forward with.  They've been a very loyal customer ever since.  That was when I started to keep all of my designs and realized that I wasn't designing for my likes and dislikes, but what my customer likes.  I may not know what they like right away so a design that I despise, might be the one that they love.  Not throwing any designs away keeps me from having to start over, lessening the time spent on the concept creation process.  This keeps my customers happy about the time and the cost of the project. 

2.  Never push a customer into a design that you want them to pick.  This will cost you precious time if they decide in the future that the design was not what they were looking for.  You will probably lose the customer if you push them into something they aren't crazy about.  Most customers want to be part of the design process and if you flat out tell them that their ideas won't work and only your idea will, it will keep them from keeping you.  Make them part of the process.  Listen to your customer and even if they say they want something that won't work in the format you are designing for, find a comparable design that will work in the medium requested. You will lose time and money if you try to bully your customers into liking something they don't.

3. Find your own style.  I used to find inspiration from anywhere and everywhere, but mimicking the design style of someone else can take up time that you can not afford.  There are set effects and tricks that I use on just about every one of my designs.  This is mostly for rush jobs that have a tight deadline. The main design element is original but there are some simple effects that I use on almost everything else.  I guess you could call it my own style. Once I figured out the simple elements that make my designs work every time, my time spent on projects has dramatically shifted, allowing me to concentrate on really making the main design element unique. I try to change these set elements  on the jobs that I have more time to work with. This opens new opportunity for my own set style to change. Give this one some time though.  It takes a thorough understanding of your design programs and it takes trial and error to find the right base design elements for you. 

4. Initial design concepts do not have to be perfect.  I spent years figuring out that the initial design concept does not have the be the finished product.  You can save yourself a lot of time when proposing a design concept to a customer if you don't completely finish the design.  I am not telling you to hand them something that is stick figures, but the little touches that need to be added, can be added later.  Explain ahead of time to your customer that the initial design is intended to get an idea of what direction they want to go in, and that once they decide the direction, the finishing touches and real eye popping elements will knock them over when they see the final product.  This also keeps you from wasting too much time on the finishing touches on a design that they may not chose.  This trick may not work for everyone, you have to be able to convince the customer that the best is yet to come.  You have to sell your designs. If you are not eloquent and don't have the confidence to talk them through to the next step, then you will have to take the extra time with a work that will speak for itself. 

I consider myself an extremely quick and efficient designer.  I have never missed a deadline, and  never will miss a deadline.  Turn around time might be only one element to keeping a customer happy in this competitive world of graphic design, but I find that if you can create effective designs more quickly than the guy next to you, you will win over the customer every time.

The Trouble with Color Matching

What is a Pantone Color?  Pantone colors seem like a miracle for designers when they first start designing for print.  It is a color selection system that should print exactly the color that they see in their swatch books. Designing everything using Pantone inks may not be the best idea. What most designers have never been told is that the Pantone Color matching system is great if your customer wants to pay for the specific Pantone inks to be ordered from Pantone and used in the press in place of the traditional Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and black inks that make up standard full color press printing.  Once you design something that contains more than 2 pantone inks, the price is considerably higher than standard 4-color printing (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black ink) due to the cost of ordering the specific Pantone Inks.  The combination of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black inks can create just about any color that you are looking for… with some major exceptions.  The problems arise when designers go overboard picking multiple pantone colors for their designs.  For example I recently had a customer send us a postcard from a design agency in which the agency had chosen 5 different Pantone or PMS colors as the “brand” colors.  This seems like the right thing to do to ensure the color will not vary from one printed piece to another, but one of those colors was Pantone Orange 21.  If you view Pantone Orange 21 on your monitor and in a Pantone Swatch book it is a very bright orange.  It was what seemed to be a very nice color choice. However since we had priced the postcard as our standard full color printing, CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black ink) printing, we had to convert the PMS Orange 021 in the design into the following color breakdown: 0% Cyan ink, 68% Magenta ink, 100% yellow ink, and 0% Black ink.  This color breakdown, which is the recommended color breakdown by Pantone, creates a much different orange color. Why? Since Pantone creates the Pantone Orange 021 ink using unique pigments that are completely different from Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, the final color is a color that can not be achieved using mixes of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black ink.  The best we can do is to attempt to get it as close as possible.  Here is an image with Pantone 021 ink next to the suggested CMYK combination to show you the difference.

What you are viewing is not a correct and absolute representation of the inks since you are viewing these colors on a monitor that combines Red, Green and Blue to create the colors you see.

Although the difference may not seem like much to you on your monitor, the difference can mean a lot to your customer.

The best way to avoid running into this color matching problem is to purchase a Pantone Color Bridge, which shows the Pantone inks side by side with the recommended CMYK mix.  Once you view the differences it will change how you chose the colors for your next project.

4-color Type: Use it Wisely.

If you are designing a document in full color that you will be sending to an offset printer for printing, I recommend making main body text 100% or a percentage of black ink only (gray).  There are thousands of ink colors to choose from in your design software, but beware if you choose anything other than black ink only for your text.

Why just black ink?  Let's get back to the basics and look at the printing process from the start.
Image #1 shows the printing process in its most simple form.

Image #1: 4-Color Printing

The sheet of paper moves from right to left and runs over each separate press blanket.  The first blanket has picked up, from the plate (not pictured here), the correct amount of black ink needed to print the image.  The second blanket holds the cyan ink, the third holds the magenta ink and the last blanket holds the yellow ink.  The sheet of paper runs over the first blanket, picks the black ink up off of the blanket, then passes over the second, third and fourth blankets. Each time the sheet of paper passes each separate ink module on the press, the sheet stretches by a tiny amount.  When the sheet of paper stretches is it difficult to make each color ink lay down on the sheet of paper in the exact same spot.  "In-registration" means that the 4 separate ink colors are laid down on the sheet in exactly the same place.  When it is "out of registration" the ink colors are not laid down on the sheet in exactly the same place making the image or type appear fuzzy. The sheet of paper stretches by a tiny amount, but that tiny amount can show up like a spotlight on a poorly designed publication. 

Image #1 above shows an image being printed that was designed as 100% Black, 100% Cyan, 100% Magenta and 100% Yellow ink laid on top of each other – super, super black.  This is a pressman’s worst nightmare.  It is too much ink for the paper to hold and will subsequently smear easily and take a very long time to dry.  It also makes it very difficult to keep each color in registration with the other 3 colors since the sheet stretches more with more ink coverage on the page. When printing a long run on the press it is difficult to hold the registration throughout the entire job.  If you design the job using 4-color type, the difficulty in keeping registration may result in handfuls of your job coming off the press with lower quality than you expect.  The Image #2 is the same Image but with a design using 100% black ink only. 

Image #2: 100% Black Ink Printing

If you look on the K (black) Blanket there is an image.  There is no image on the other 3 ink blankets since the image was created using only 100% black.  This type of printing makes it easy for the pressman to get it right on every sheet since registration does not need to be as exact.  This is especially true with full color publications.  I recommend making room in your design for the main body text to be black ink only.  This will create a publication that will print as you intended it to.