Print How-Tos

Bake Up a Batch of PDF Files

Open a file, change the header, save the file to a new location, close the file... repeat more times than you can count. If that sounds familiar, help is on the way.

Slim Down Your PDFs

Follow these tips to shrink a PDF's file size and help it display faster.

InDesign Transparency: No Longer the Forbidden Fruit

With this advice, you can reap the rewards of transparency and never hear those dreaded words, "It won't print!"

Create Clipping Paths without Photoshop

Here's how to cut out an image using only QuarkXPress.

HerGeekness Says: Convert Custom Letterhead to Microsoft Word Templates

Is your client insisting on a Word version of your letterhead design? Follow these conversion guidelines to cut down on your pain and maximize your profit.

Seven Tips for a Perfect Printed Piece

Straight from the pros at the bindery, this advice will help ensure glitch-free print jobs.

Turn Color Photos into Duotones in Photoshop

You can transform one photograph into a wide variety of duotones to use in print or on the Web.

Mastering Master Pages

Make your life easier with QuarkXPress's automatic page numbering.

Share and Synch Content in QuarkXPress

Are you repeating images, text, or stylistic attributes across multiple boxes or even multiple layouts? Use these tools to make sure that content always matches, no matter what changes anyone makes.

InDesign How-To: Take Control of Text Wrap

Flowing text around all kinds of objects and shapes is easy once you know how.

QuarkXPress Tips

You're sure to find new nuggets of information in this diverse collection of tips.

Microsoft Word for Creative Pros

You're a designer, not a text jockey. But sometimes you're forced to work with Microsoft Word anyway, and when that happens, you'll be glad to have these tips.

InDesign How-to: Mind Your Table Manners

The best tables communicate their information efficiently and look good doing it. This article doesn't only explain where to find InDesign's table tools. It spends even more time on the design principles behind the most successful tables.

Get Better Output with Photoshop's Automate and Scripts Menus

Learn how to automatically output multiple copies of an image in different formats (resizing along the way); print one page with multiple versions of an image; and create diptychs and triptychs.

Git Along, Li'l PDF: How to Stamp Proofs with Your Own Brand

Acrobat's Stamp tool can prevent a lot of confusion if you use it for things like explaining Lorem Ipsum placeholder text and FPO images on client proofs. But rather than settling for Acrobat's generic stamps, you can create your own. Yeehaw!

QuarkXPress How-To: Use Layers to Corral Overlapping Items

Say you want to edit text in a box that's obscured behind other boxes in a busy layout. You keep clicking on the wrong boxes, accidentally moving items, and generally making a mess. Here's how to fix that problem forever.

Give a 2D Layout a 3D Feel

With a combination of Photoshop and QuarkXPress, you can weave an image underneath and above a line of type. All it takes is a simple cutout that uses an alpha channel, and a stacking order trick!

Understanding Illustrator's 9-Slice Scaling

What is it? How do you use it? And is this new feature good for print or the Web?

Collaborate with Acrobat

Whether you're working with offsite team members or gathering feedback from a client, Acrobat's commenting and reviewing tools are unbeatable. Here's how to use them in a powerful, flexible collaborative workflow.

Better Than Ginzu Knives: InDesign's Pathfinder Commands

These often-overlooked tools can yield surprising results. Here's how to use them to create delectable designs.