Print Design

Ask Lena

Old Indesign File Won’t Package Without Missing Plugins

November 14, 2011 Read the full article →

Question I’m trying to package a file in Indesign, and get this message: “This document cannot be installed due to missing plugins. Please install or activate these plugins.” I don’t have the plugin asked for.  The original file is really old and I don’t have a way to get those plugins. What can I do? Answer [...]

Ask Lena

InDesign Style Syncing

May 9, 2011 Read the full article →

Question Hi Lena, I need help with paragraph styles in InDesign. I know how to create them, but not how to use them in multiple documents. I’d like to have related documents sync their styles, but I’d also like to know how to import some styles from one document to another. Answer Import InDesign Styles To [...]

Adobe Illustrator

How do I sample colors from my computer screen?

May 2, 2011 Read the full article →

Question I have a sample from a client that has this color they want to use on their website and their brochure. How can I figure out what color it is? And, how would I figure out the corresponding Pantone color? Answer There are several ways you can approach this. Since you are needing the [...]

Ask Lena

Ask Lena: What happened to InBooklet for InDesign

November 1, 2010 Read the full article →

Question I used to have an InDesign plugin called InBooklet. It was great for putting documents in spreads for the press. Now I can’t find it. What happened to it? Answer InBooklet was a plugin created by a company called ALAP (A Lowly Apprentice Production). They did a fantastic job. They did such a good [...]

Ask Lena

Ask Lena: InDesign Ruler Tips

October 25, 2010 Read the full article →

Question While using InDesign, how do I set the side rulers to increments of 13 points (the same as the text slug of 11pt 13 leading). I need to be able to use the rulers in all layouts as the basic body text size and leading is the same. Answer While in InDesign – If [...]

Ask Lena

Ask Lena: CMKY vs RGB

October 4, 2010 Read the full article →

Question What is the difference between are RGB file and a CMYK file? I understand the latter is needed to print, but what exactly is it? Answer The difference between RGB and CMYK is the difference between playing with flashlights and finger painting. Light: If you were to play with three different colored flashlights (Red, Green, [...]

Adobe Acrobat

How to create a form with Adobe Acrobat

July 19, 2010 Read the full article →

Creating a form with Adobe Acrobat (not the free Adobe Reader) is probably easier than you think. You will need: Adobe Acrobat (full version) A PDF of your form Create the basic form Create your form in whatever program you wish and save it as a PDF. Here I have created a simple form with [...]

Illustration

United Way Children’s Book Illustration

July 15, 2010 Read the full article →

For the last few years I’ve had the privilege of getting to do the design and layout for a series of Children’s books for the United Way. I got the opportunity to be more involved with the latest book with a chance to illustrate as well as lay out the book. From a designers point [...]

InDesign

Preview Separations in InDesign

July 5, 2010 Read the full article →

Question How do I preview separations in InDesign? Answer InDesign has a great way to review your files and make sure your spot colors are spot colors and your process colors are process colors. Launch InDesign Go to Window –> Output –> Separations Preview Select “Separations” from the dropdown menu. From here you can turn [...]

General

Design Contests: The Ugly Truth

March 8, 2010 Read the full article →

Will Work for Cash Let’s say you have a successful company and want to do a little updating. You’ve decided that old logo is looking dated, and head to a design agency you know and trust for something new. They quote you $1,000 for a design, tell you that they’ll be researching your business and [...]

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