Introduction to Graphic Design and Print Production

Design for Print

• Understanding paper sizes and ISO standards
• Imposition and bleed
• Colour models
• Making sure your documents meet the requirements for commercial printing

Basic Typography

• Understanding type size, what are picas and points
• Parts of a typeface, cap height, x height, ascenders, descenders, ligatures, font families and classification
• Good typographic practise, tracking and kerning, avoiding widows and orphans
• The correct way for inputing text in Microsoft Word for importing into a page layout programme.
• Understanding basic image terminology
• Understanding resolution, scaling and cropping
• Procedures involved in preparing images for commercial printing
• How to brief suppliers to ensure best image quality
• Image file types and formats

Preparing Artwork for Commercial Print

• Native files or PDFs
• Pre-press checks to avoid costly corrections and mistakes
• Print production processes; litho or digital; what to consider for different processes
• Design for web
• Important considerations when designing for the Web
• Web page formats; image file format
• Which Software Application to Use
• A brief overview of the software applications used by graphic design professionals
• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Flash) QuarkXPress
• Macintosh and Windows cross-platform issues