InDesign Workshop.

Setting up the page:

• Open 'New document'.
• Choose page size according to final product.
• Columns divide up the page, the gutter is the gap between them.
• Margins create guides on the page.
• Standard bleed is 3mm, very important for commercial printing.
• Slug area is for things that will be printed but then discarded.
• Choose number of pages.
• Facing pages is for if you're making a book, spreads on screen.
• Double click on pages in palette to skip to them.
• Insert and delete pages via the palette.
• Layout of pages is as it would be if you were reading it.
• 'Cmd 0' fits the page to the window.
• By pressing W you get a print preview.

Adding content:

General

• Text, image, shapes and colour.
• Anything that is used must be contained within a frame specific to the content.
• When working with frames you can work with the content or container.
• The selection tool can resize and position the frame.

Text

• Write text by creating a text box, clicking and dragging with the type tool.
• 'Fill with place holder text' fills text box with nonsense that allows you to experiment without the finished copy.
• Options for formatting text appears in the top options bar and the type menu.
• Palettes can be made for character and paragraph.
• Red square on frame indicates overflow of text, by clicking on it then clicking and dragging will create a new frame that is linked.
• 2 clicks on type tool selects a word, 3 selects the line, 4 the paragraph and 5 the whole text.
• Frames can also be divided into columns on the options bar.

Images

• When creating images to be used in InDesign: Photoshop - Resolution 330dpi, actual size, format TIFF or PSD, colour mode CMYK or greyscale. Illustrator - format AI, colour mode CMYK or greyscale.
• Saving with PSD allows transparent background.
• To import a Photoshop image create a rectangle frame, then 'place' the image via the file menu.
• Use the selection tool to edit the shape of the frame.
• 2 circles when highlighted is the content grabber, now dealing with content rather than container. By pressing the shift key you can alter the size of the image, not recommended only to be used for small changes.
• To import Illustrator image go through the same process of placing on the page, they can also be copied and pasted and the image can still be manipulates as if in Illustrator.
• Imported on a transparent background.
• When you place images in InDesign they look a lower quality than they did originally, it is a low resolution preview. When sent to print images will be replaced with the original.
• The links palette gives information to where the images original file is.
• When saving, save InDesign file and image files in the same folder.
• Arrange image frame so that it doesn't obscure the text by using text wrap on the window options. Selecting the 2nd box will do this. The 4 fields can be used to offset the text.
• Use contour options, alpha channel to use the border of transparent images.

Colour:

• Colour must be applied using a frame.
• Create the frame and add colour using the colour or swatches palettes.
• Strokes can be created using the strokes palette.
• To create a background drag the frame to the bleed line and send to the back.
• Same applies to text but you can use the two additional buttons to change the colour of the writing.
• The type tool can be used to change individual characters.
• Create new colours on the swatch menu. Click the right hand corner then 'new colour swatch'.

Task