Chapter 11 & 12 Summary

Chapter 11

There are numerous ways in which a user can place an image into InDesign. One way is to select File > Place, choose the image, and click the loaded cursor where you would like the image placed. InDesign automatically creates a frame, based on the image’s dimensions. However, you can create a frame before placing the image to contain the graphic by using the rectangle frame tool, the rectangle tool, or really, any enclosed shape. Another way to place a graphic is to drag it from the folder into InDesign. “This is the equivalent of File > Place, and it results in legitimate links.” An alternative way to drag and drop and image is to do so from Adobe Bridge. Using Bridge is advantageous because the thumbnails in Bridge make it easier to locate the correct files and the window placement with InDesign is easier compared to directory windows. It’s important to understand that the drag and drop method is limited and, depending on the files, may not yield satisfactory results. For instance InDesign will allow you to drag and drop from Photoshop, but doing this can be problematic as it can, among other things, significantly increase the file size as well as have no link to the original source. Using this same method for Illustrator, however, can be slightly more acceptable. Though the artwork will not be a completely accurate representation of the original, as some Illustrator effects are not honored in InDesign when the artwork is dragged or pasted.

The Links panel displays all the links within an InDesign file. If a link has been modified it will have a yellow triangle beside it, if a link is missing it will have a red stop sign. Each link has a page number that indicates which page(s) the graphic is on. If a graphic in an InDesign file has been modified or moved, you will be prompted when opening the file. At this point you can choose to update the links by clicking ‘Update Links.’ However, if you do not wish to update the links you can select ‘Don’t Update Links,’ and update them later. In most cases, unless multiple people are working on the same file, there is no reason to not go ahead and update all the links automatically. If a graphic is missing, simply select it in the Links panel, and click Relink (from the Link panel menu or the Relink icon). Then find and select the graphic. Modified graphics can be updated one at a time by selecting it the Link panel, and clicking Update Link (from the Links panel or Update Link button). The Relink button can also be used to replace one graphic for another. After selecting the graphic you would like changed, click Relink, and select its replacement. InDesign automatically updates the link, keeping any transformations that were originally applied.

To transform a graphic in InDesign, select its frame with the selection tool. “Then you can use the Scale tool or Free Transform tool to scale the frame and its contents. Or you can enter percentage values in the X/Y scale fields in the Control Panel.” If you want to scale the dimensions of a graphic frame, simply enter one of the desired dimensions. If the fields are linked, the image will be scaled proportionally regardless of the number you enter. By scaling the frame, the X/Y scale fields will still show 100% because InDesign recognizes this as a selection of both the frame a graphic together. But if you used the direct selection tool instead, selecting the graphic, these fields will not show 100%, but the percentage the image had been scaled to.

Drop shadows can be added to objects in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. InDesign is able to correctly interpret the drop shadows created in Illustrator and InDesign. However, InDesign is limited in its ability to interpret more complex shadows created in Photoshop. InDesign ignores Photoshop blending modes. “If the shadow falls on empty space, this doesn’t matter. However, if the shadow needs to realistically darken other content beneath it in InDesign, it will require some special handling.” Luckily, Object Layer Options in InDesign can solve this. The Object Layer Options dialog box enables you to control the visibility of layers within a placed file, by selectively choosing which layers to hide or show. Applying this to the drop shadow dilemma:

1. Place the image, and then copy the image frame to the clipboard for later use.

2. With the frame selected, go to Object > Object Layer Options, turn off all the layers visibility excluding the layer of the shadow and set the blending mode to Multiply. This frame will be the shadow.

3. Edit > Paste in Place the image frame (copied to the clipboard in step 1). Selecting ‘Paste in Place’ ensures that it is lined up perfectly.

4. Open the Object Layer Options again with the image frame you just pasted selected. Keep all the layers visible except the shadow layer.

If you change any part of the original image, the Object Layer Options you set will be lost.

The Color and Swatches panel in InDesign do not serve the same function. The Color panel creates informal colors that apply only to the objects that are selected. These colors are not stored in the swatches panel and you are limited to CMYK, RGB, or Lab colors. Generally, it’s better to create swatches. With swatches, you can choose from Pantone, Toyo, and TRUMATCH swatch books. Additionally if you change the color of a used swatch, the color of those objects change automatically. The swatches used in artwork created by Illustrator or Photoshop are automatically created in the Swatches panel by InDesign when the file is imported. If the swatch imported is a spot color, it must be changed to a process color. In the Swatches panel, a sport color is indicated by a white square with a gray circle. To change it to a process color, double click it and change it’s color mode to CMYK. A gray square to the right of the swatch indicates a process color.

“The primary purpose of the Ink Manager is to fix spot-color errors by remapping extraneous color to correct inks.” The Ink Manager can be accessed in the Separations Preview panel menus, the Swatches panel menu, or the Print and Export dialogs. In the Ink Manager, choose the spot color you want to remap and hen choose the appropriate ink alias. No permanent changes are made when remapping—it is actually performed during the output. Accordingly because the content hasn’t really been changed, none of these changes appear in the Swatches panel.

Chapter 12

Files created by other applications can become PDFs—web pages, images, etc. Acrobat allows for the creation of a PDF. However, there are other PDF-creation tools besides Adobe but not all these implementations are the identical. Therefore there will be some variations with regards to the utilization of PDF features, options, and controls.

The purpose of a PDF is to contain all the components of a document (text, images, etc.), ensuring it prints properly and can be accessed on numerous operating systems. Generally, all PDFs serve the same function but there are different types of PDF to accommodate different files. In Creative Suites, there is a wide range of different presets to create a PDF. Some of these settings—Standard, Smallest File Size, and Press Quality—are telling of the kind of PDF they were meant to generate. “The PDF/X and PDF/A settings are based on standards intended to ensure that a PDF behaves as expected.” In PDF/X-1a, X represents exchanges. This indicates a PDF conforms to a PDF/X standard and can be readily exchanged and useable between individuals. The standards of PDF/A are based on the intention of long-term use of a file (archives, etc.). “The most commonly requested PDF format for print in the United States is PDF/X-1a.” The following must be met for a PDF file to fulfill the requirements of the PDF/X1-a standard: CMYK or spot color images, embedded or subset fonts, clearly defined trim edges, and clearly defined bleeds.

All Creative Suite applications are able to export PDFs. In order to keep the layers, live transparency, or interactivity within those files, exporting them is really the only option. However, some print service providers ask that you use Distiller to create the PDF, even though exporting is easier and faster. Distiller converts PostScript to a PDF. “Create a PostScript file by printing or exporting PostScript from an application (using Adobe PDF as the target printer), and then drag and drop the PostScript file onto the Distiller window.” If everything is correct with the PostScript file and the appropriate job option has been chosen, a PDF will be created.

The ability to edit PDF files is very limited. This isn’t really surprising considering the purpose of PDFs is to preserve the document as a whole. However, there are tools to edit a PDF. “Acrobat, in the Advanced Editing toolbar, has three editing tools: the TouchUp text tool, TouchUp Object tool, and the TouchUp Reading Order tool. To edit text in a PDF using the TouchUp text tool, highlight the text you would like to edit and modify it. You may only edit the text if you have the font that was used and it is active. However, Acrobat won’t always let you edit the embedded font. Even if it does allow you to edit the text, you are limited to only editing one line at a time. The ability to edit graphic content is not as restricted as editing text. With the TouchUp Object tool, you select the graphic you wish to edit by right clicking and selecting Edit Image or Object. The content’s originating application opens in temporary file for editing. There are some limitations with regards to the extent an object can be edited (i.e., can’t add blending modes). After you edit and save the object, the corrected image is saved in the PDF. Even though editing can be done in a PDF, it’s generally a better idea to make corrections in the original file and recreate the PDF.

Source: Real Worl Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications by Claudia McCue