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
Target Audience: Really, their target audience probably
encompasses a wide range. However, taking everything into consideration, their
main target audience is probably individuals 13-30. 
