Print Asset Mgmt./Workflow Features

10 Folding Mistakes That Cost You (Big Time)

Forewarned is forearmed. Once you've gone through this list of strategic errors, you'll know what not to do when working on print projects with folds.

Choosing the Best Fold for Your Next Print Job

Do you have trouble deciding which type of fold is right for a print project? Let an expert narrow the field for you.

Free For All: Old, New, and Right Now

This installment of free resources includes stock photos, a painting application, Pantone libraries, an InDesign CS5 helper, and a color calculator.

Conquer Type-Killer Colors

Type printed in color or on color runs the risk of looking fuzzy, even illegible. Here's why it happens and how to avoid it.

Adobe InDesign CS5: First Look

With new features for collaboration, interactivity, special effects, and more, there's plenty to see in InDesign CS5.

Ten Steps to the Right Paper

So many things go into selecting the most appropriate paper for a project. Just follow these 10 steps and you'll always make the right choice.

Free For All: Harvest These Freebies

Summer has officially given way to fall, and in the northern hemisphere, that means it's harvest time. Fill your basket with this delectable sampling of free tools, fonts, and services.

Free For All: Just What You're Looking For

Be free with Web 2.0 Photoshop layer styles; fire and flame textures and backgrounds; an InDesign image library plug-in; easy scheduled emails; and a service that displays a Web design in 90 different browsers.

Design As Child's Play

People all over the world know and love the characters created by Sesame Workshop: Big Bird, Grover, Elmo, Boombah (in India), Putri (in Indonesia)... But very few people think about the design behind the Muppets. Here's the story.

It Ain't Mumbo Jumbo, Baby. It's Printing!

Printing has a language all its own: Work-and-turn? Work-and-tumble? What is this, a circus?

Eco-Friendly Inks

Are "green" inks as good as traditional inks?

Photo Murals Make You Think Big. Really Big.

For this children's museum in California, one intrepid creative pro produced an 18-gigabyte HDR Photoshop file, a 19-foot-long printout, and a 9-foot-high neon sign.

HerGeekness Says: Convert a File, Any File

When clients hand you files so ancient or obscure that they're unreadable, don't despair. Part 1 of my file conversion survival kit will have you repurposing those files lickety split -- without asking the client to lift a finger, and without forcing you to buy every application under the sun just to open the occasional weirdo document.

First Look: QuarkXPress 8.0

Finally, the makeover designers have been waiting for.

Going with the Flow

A Visual Designer Transitions from the Silver Screen to Your Computer Screen

HerGeekness Says: Screen-Share with Your Clients

Letting far-flung clients see your screen makes online proofing as good as in-person proofs and online collaboration a cinch. Recent technology improvements free you from worrying about routers, firewalls, computer platforms, or browser compatibility.

Pantone 2.0: After 45 Years, the Sequel to PMS

The new Pantone Goe spot-color matching system has a lot going for it compared to the venerable Pantone Matching System: It nearly doubles the number of unique colors, adopts a logical naming scheme, and comes with innovative color-palette software. But will Goe replace your current PMS swatch book? Only your wallet knows for sure.

The Colorful Identification System

How a 19th-century man developed a system used in very modern software.

Out of Gamut: Color-Correct Vocabulary

For some time now I've been explicating the finer points of color management in this column, and while I've strived to define terminology when needed, the conviction that a permanent, at-your-ready glossary would help tremendously has grown each and every month.

Photoshop, QuarkXPress, and InDesign Get a Little Help From Their Friends

We've got the scoop on the latest plug-ins for your favorite applications. Whether you want to quickly replace colors or reduce noise in photos, script anything in a publication, or typeset equations directly in your page-layout program, you'll find the info you need here.