DTP tips & tricks – the basics. Desktop Publishing explained and more importantly “how to avoid BAD desktop publishing!” Two part video, all embedded below:

Avoiding Bad Desktop Publishing Part One:

Good elementary elements, according to the presenter, of a graphics layout include:
* Design Continuity
* Contrast
* Symmetry
Naturally, he wisely stresses a limited selection of fonts and using templates whenever possible to keep graphic design continuity in place.

Avoiding Bad Desktop Publishing Part Two:

Using style sheets and proper font  and image formatting.

PDF conversion to Microsoft Word can be handy. Here we read about a neat, free tool, for just that:

You can upload any PDF file to www.PDFtoWord.com, and it will convert it to Microsoft Word or RTF format and email the result to you. I gave it a four-column newsletter layout to convert, and the text became quite easy to select, even if the layout was compromised.
Source: http://graphicstart.com/item.php?&itemid=1045733

Let’s face it, with more and more layout design applications such as Adobe InDesign CS3 and even CS4 documents floating around, it get’s harder and harder for the still numerous QuarkXPress users out there. That is why Markzware’s ID2Q (Adobe InDesign to QuarkXPress) conversion XT (Mac or PC) is pretty much a must-have for any serious Quark operator and makes it 100% possible to live side-by-side your colleagues or customers working with .INDD jobs. Check out this NEW video demonstration of ID2Q v4 on opening InDesign in QuarkXPress 8, with some advanced QXP 8 tips and tricks at the end:

Getting your print layout into HTML or FLASH (.swf) is a breeze with QuarkXPress 8 and one reason to highly consider Upgrading or purchasing this long-standing industry layout application.

ID2Q is one of several Markzware conversion tools and part of it’s overall aim in democratizing content.

XChange International in the UK is making an incredible offer – Buy QuarkXPress to Adobe InDesign (Q2ID) or InDesign to QuarkXPress (ID2Q), which each cost 171 Pounds (199 Euros) respectively and get FlightCheck Professional an NO EXTRA CHARGE! FlightCheck normally costs 474 Pounds (499 Euros) – act today. Full offer from XChange International below:

Markzware, the creators of preflight technology, are pleased to work with XChange UK to promote an amazing offer. For a limited time only, purchase either the Q2ID (Quark to InDesign) or ID2Q (InDesign to Quark) conversion tool and receive FlightCheck Professional 6 free of charge.  Read more... (386 words, 7 images, estimated 1:33 mins reading time) Save £494.00 while stocks last! Q2ID (QuarkXPress to Adobe® InDesign) is a plug-in for converting documents from QuarkXPress® to InDesign® format. Q2ID now includes CS3 and CS4 compatibility. The plug-in is designed for use by service bureaus, translation services, data conversion specialists, and other users migrating to the Adobe InDesign platform. The product can convert Quark documents created with either the Microsoft® Windows® or Apple® Macintosh versions of QuarkXPress into Adobe InDesign for Macintosh format. The repurposed legacy content from Quark files preserves the content, pages, layers, look and feel of the original document. More…

Many who still work in QuarkXPress, now  have an easy way to open and convert those Adobe InDesign documents they get in with Markzware’s ID2Q v4. This QuarkXPress XTension for version 7 and 8 will open all versions of InDesign (CS1.5, CS2, CS3 and CS4). Watch this video demonstration of how easy it is here:

ID2Q v4 (Adobe InDesign to QuarkXPress) Video Tutorial

MarkzTools is an extremely valuable XTension for QuarkXPress which fixes the dreaded bad file format. When you have a corrupted Quark Project, this is generally one of your only hopes. It also has several other modules, including the ability to act as an insurance and ensure that your layout content does not go bad on you again!

This video is for MarkzTools users whom need assistance with installation or have a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ):

Valentin from OCHEDA Graphic Creatives recently called in with a small support question. In assisting him, I learned of his great zeal for using FlightCheck Professional on every job that he produces in QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign. SO much so that we asked if we could interview him to learn more about his graphic design workflow and how he works with preflighting, PDF and DTP layout applications. Watch the English interview here:

If embedded video does not show up, click here. Continues below…

Some interesting facts from Valentin:

• * He ALWAYS first preflights than makes a PDF
• * He makes Enfocus cPDF standardized press-ready files
• * He delivers BOTH the open file and the PDF to the printers
• * He prefers QuarkXPress over Adobe InDesign (and uses both intensely.)
• * He specializes in CD covers, inlays, etc for the music and entertainment sector

So, if you do cd layout or cd cover layouts, perhaps FlightCheck can help you, too. Do you have something to share with us? Leave a comment below!

Earlier this month, we presented you part three in a series of posts on preflighting titled, “Preflighting 101 – Part 2; Common Issues- Layout Problems.” Today we dive into more specifics on a electronic preflighting software in the form of, no surprise, FlightCheck Professional v6. In particular about the all important Ground Control settings:

FlightCheck Professional Ground Controls - Images Section

IIII. FLIGHTCHECK Professional v6 Concepts

IIII a. Ground Controls

FlightCheck Professional preflighting software by Markzware is a stand-alone application that electronically preflights numerous types of files in mere seconds. These file formats include QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, Adobe PDF, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and several others- not to mention individual image formats. The first step of preflighting with FlightCheck is setting up the Ground Controls. The Ground Controls enable you to tell FlightCheck how it should inform you about the document being checked. By default (The “Default Settings”) the Ground Control settings have many items checked to “on”, which you may not need to worry about.  Read more... (654 words, 1 image, estimated 2:37 mins reading time)

In the last “Preflighting 101″ post we covered text issues in the entry entitled, “Preflighting 101 – Part 2; Common Issues- text“. Today we are delving into the ever important (both technically and communication wise) area of layout graphics images, which FlightCheck Professional checks with precision- after all, an image speaks a thousand words… I wonder how many words that is with today’s exchange rate, image filled, Internet world… anyway, back to the potential problems and solutions with images in your print-documents:

Preflighting 101-
II Common Preflight Problems

II b. Bitmap (Tiff) Image Problems
Problems with bitmap images often come up when preflighting. Some of the more common difficulties have to do with improper scaling and image resolution, incorrect color models, complex clipping paths and poor image quality.  Read more... (1900 words, estimated 7:36 mins reading time)