Rules of DTP – Lesson 4: Text Alignment

Fix Those Jagged Edges
After banishing those extra spaces in your text and toning down the type, you now must decide the best way to line up your lines of text.

Text alignment (also known as justification) refers to how the ends of lines of text line up. Most text in books, magazines, and other reading material is lined up on the left side (in those countries where materials are primarily read from left to right). Some people also like to align the right side as well as the left. That’s called fully-justified text alignment. In desktop publishing we have rules to help you decide which alignment to use.

Use Left-Aligned or Fully-Justified Alignment Wisely
There will undoubtedly be well-meaning friends, business associates, clients, and others who will question your choices for text alignment. Be prepared to explain why you chose the alignment you did and be prepared to change it (and make necessary adjustments to keep it looking good) if the person with final approval still insists on something different.

Daily Dose of DTP 4. It’s a Print!

Printing is easy, right? You just push the print button in your software and a few minutes later that printer sitting next to your desk starts churning out the pages. But what if you need hundreds or thousands of copies? What if you need to use paper larger than your laser printer can handle? What if you want to use metallic inks or raised printing?

There are dozens of ways to go about printing the files you create doing desktop publishing. In today’s daily dose of DTP I’ll break it down into two main methods to give you a taste of how printing works beyond the print button.

Class Notes: This is not simply a word-a-day course. The lessons follow a specific order in roughly the following groupings: General concepts > Things you need > Font specifics > Image specifics > Prepress & Printing > Rules & Tutorials (bold indicates the stage in which this lesson falls)

Today’s Definition
Printing
If you’re doing desktop publishing, chances are you’re going to want to print your fabulous creations. Get a taste for what that really means.

Rules for DTP – Lesson 3: Number of Fonts

You Look Fontabulous!
Fonts are such fun. One of the most popular sections on the About Desktop Publishing site are the free font downloads. But too many times novice designers (and even more experienced ones) go overboard when it comes to using fonts. Today’s discussion about how many fonts to use is somewhat subjective. It’s one of those situations where you cannot say absolutely that you should always limit font choices to just one or two. But hopefully you’ll have a better understanding about how using too many fonts is detrimental to what you are trying to communicate in desktop publishing. Don’t forget to check out the supporting graphics for this lesson.

Use Fewer Fonts
How many fonts are too many for one project and how do you know where to draw the line? A generally accepted practice is to limit the number of different typefaces to three or four. That doesn’t mean you can’t use more but be sure you have a good reason to do so.

Start a DTP or Graphic Design Business 3. Find Your Niche

Lesson Three
Finding Your Niche in Desktop Publishing
What kind of work comes to mind when you think of desktop publishing? Brochures? Business cards? Newsletters? There are dozens more types of design projects that can be created in whole or in part with your computer and desktop publishing and graphics software.

9-Day Make a Greeting Caard Class – Document Setup

Definitions
Orientation and Folds
In addition to the definitons for document setup, portrait and landscape orientation, and imposition I encourage you to check out the bonus material with expanded definitions and information on Margins, Crossfolds, and Imposition and Printer’s Spreads.Instruction
Setting Up Your Document
Some programs will have templates that do all the initial set up for you. If not, here are a couple of basic layouts to get you started.

Windows Font Basics for New Font Users: Lesson 3 – Font Installation

This Lesson
Font FAQs
This series of Font FAQs addresses downloading, installation, and troubleshooting issues.

Create a Portfolio in 6 Days: Lesson 3: Beginner Portfolio

What Goes in a Beginner Portfolios
In this lesson I’ll describe 5 ways to come up with portfolio pieces even if you’re new to design and desktop publishing. Not just for beginners, these ideas work for anyone trying to beef up weak areas in their portfolio. Some methods suggest using work you’ve done that you might not have thought of including. Other methods will require that you invest some time in developing suitable portfolio pieces. But these methods also have a bonus: you’ll be honing your design and software skills while building a portfolio. Go to Lesson 3: What Goes in a Beginner’s Portfolio.

Organize Your Photos with Photoshop Elements Day 3: Populating your Catalog

Day Three Lesson
Populating your Catalog
Learn how to populate your catalog with all your photos.
Ask Questions and Get Help with this Lesson

Daily Dose of DTP – 3. Is Prepress Anything Like Permanent Press?

Prepress
Before you press, prepress

Start a DTP or Graphic Design Business 2. Skills Assessment

Lesson Two
The Design Side of Freelance Design
It’s not unreasonable to believe that a person thinking of starting a desktop publishing business is doing so because they already do some kind of design work (either as part of their job or for personal projects) and want to make money doing something they enjoy. But that’s not always the case so let’s assess your current design and desktop publishing expertise with these quizzes.
http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/freelance/a/design_skills.htm