Software information and help

Adobe InDesign and Creative Suite

Most information below also applies to version 1.5 and 2 although you are strongly advised to upgrade to version 3 (part of the Creative Suite)

Before you start take note of the Preferences Set-up panel just below the InDesign box image on the right for important information.

Software info:
InDesign replaced PageMaker (still available) as Adobe’s DTP software package. It is relatively easy to learn and use especially if you are familiar with PageMaker or Quark Xpress - it even has the option to use Xpress shortcuts). InDesign is fast becoming the preferred option to Quark due to its similarity of interface to Adobe’s widely-used Photoshop and Illustrator. Now marketed as the Adobe Creative Suite - very highly recommended

Basic Rules: For additional info click on the highlighted text links - This should open a new window but you may need to click “Back” in your browser to get back to this page or select from side link.

Graphics:

• ALWAYS ensure graphics are CMYK before placing in InDesign unless printing greyscale. RGB will output grey if used.

• ALWAYS copy all graphics for a job into a separate folder with the InDesign document file so they can be accessed easily. However you can use InDesign’s built-in Package feature as long as files are linked properly.

• ALWAYS ensure minimum resolution (at size used) is 300dpi (preferred 350dpi) It does not matter if it is more than this. Never resize more than 20% maximum of original even if desperate!

• ALWAYS Hold down the shift key when resizing pictures to keep them in proportion otherwise you will stretch them out of shape.

• ALWAYS ensure any graphics that Bleed off the page are 3mm over the edge of the page.

Rules and Guides:

• ALWAYS set up your document correctly and define the guides and columns. You can set up multiple master pages with say 2 columns, 3 columns etc and apply them to individual pages (see your InDesign Help section)

• Always USE the guides - don’t just place the text more or less where you think it looks ok. In multi-page jobs the reader will notice and it is bad practice

Text and Fonts:

• Avoid using too many fonts. Three or four maximum usually looks best. Make sure you supply all fonts used with your job (see “Preflighting” and “Package” on this page)

PDF output:

• InDesign enables you to directly output PDF proof and high resolution print files. However do make sure the file IS ACTUALLY high resolution when sending to for press output.

• You should always Preflight and Package the whole job including graphics if you are not 100% sure the PDF is of press quality.

Preflight and Package (see panel opposite)

• InDesign Preflight checks the links, colours, fonts etc which may affect the successful output of your job. And shows the results in a window with separate sections for each.

Before you Package always correct the problems Preflight finds.
Tip: You can tick a box for “Show problems only” in each section.

• Common errors: Fonts: Your document uses fonts which are not available on your PC. Use Find Font to correct this.

• Links: You have used graphics that are not linked properly are no longer available on your PC. Go back to the document and use the Links pallete (Window> Links>) to correct – some graphics may simply need updating or you may need to relink to original graphics. Ignore text links if you want to they won’t matter as text is embedded in document anyway.
  Important: if you lose links to graphics they cannot be printed properly – you only get a print of a low res screen image.

• Colours: if you are printing 4-colour process – you must only use CMYK process colours in your job. If other spot colours show (RGB or Spots), go back to the document and change to used colours to process in the Swatches pallete. Look at the icon next to each colour. RGB (has three vertical lines) or CMYK (has 4 triangles). Spot Colours have a SPOT icon as well. Process colours have a grey box as well.
  If you are printing to a desktop colour printer this doesn’t matter but for Litho printing you must use CMYK output.

• Once Preflight shows no errors click on the Package button.
   

 Preferences Set Up
Certain preference setting will help avoid problems later: - do these setting with no document open and they will become the defaults.
1. Viewing Quality.
  In Preferences, select Display performance. There are three options: Optimised, Typical and High Quality. The bottom part of the panel allows you to adjust each of these settings if you understand what you want – however no need to change anything here.

Select TYPICAL as the default
Typical is fine for most documents and means you are less likely to run out of memory or have to wait ages for the display to show.

If you need to view an individual item on a page in High Quality, right-click on the item, select Display Performance at the bottom of the contextual menu – then select High Quality – if you have “ignore local settings” ticked then the whole page displays high quality but if you have it ticked only the graphic you select will be high quality.

2: Automatic Back-up file.
InDesign has a very useful feature in that you can UNDO any number of times right back to where you opened the file if you so desire. It does this by creating a temporary file (you will see it in the same folder as the main file with a strange name) - this file contains all the undo information.

One problem is that if you work on a file for a long time this undo file gets bigger and bigger and can slow things down.

Periodically it is good to save your InDesign document and close it. Reopen the document and you have lost your undo file (InDesign creates a new one). Of course you can now only go back to the stage the document was in when you opened it but it optimises performance.

 Package (File> Package...)
 If problems are found (eg missing links) you should be prompted to run Preflight. Best procedure is to run Preflight FIRST before Package.

Once Preflight shows no errors you can Package the InDesign document, fonts, links etc so that everything used in the document is copied to a single folder ready for output by Pagefast.

Tip: This is also a good method to gather all the linked files together in one place on your computer even if not sending for press output.

This folder can then be written to CD or Zip and sent complete to the printers.

This can save you time and money sorting out problems later on.

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