Print Design & Layout How-Tos

Transform a Busy Photo into a Strong Silhouette

When you want a clean, strong image for a print or Web project, use Illustrator to turn a photo into a striking silhouette.

QuarkXPress Tips: Graphically Speaking

Good design does not live by text alone. To master QuarkXPress, add these image-oriented tricks to your workflow.

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.

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!

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!

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.

InDesign How-To: Mind the Gaps

When a page has even typographic color, your text looks good and your readers keep reading. Here's how to get it right in InDesign.

InDesign How-To: Six Small Things, Six Big Results

The big, flashy features of InDesign seem to get all the attention. But for long work sessions, it's the little things that make InDesign a pleasure to use. Here are six favorites.

Start Smart: Create Quality PDFs

The secret to banishing bad print jobs is to make PDFs the right way.

Quick QuarkXPress Layout Tips

We've got 50 -- count 'em, 50 -- tricks to help you create better layouts in XPress 7.