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Posted on 07/01/11 5:44:44 PM |
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scoobyclub
* Posts: 29 Reply |
Photoshop, InDesign and PDF
I was hoping someone could help me here with a conundrum I face. I have the prospect of a possible job which consists of both web design and print design. The latter is mainly one or two page flyers. Now I have tested that I can create the sort of flyer they have in Photoshop and created a PDF from it. My question is this good enough for printing in a commercial environment? Are further steps required? I posted a question on one of the linkedin groups and the responses were basically you should never design a flyer in Photoshop ( + things to do with font bleed and rendering ) it must be done in a page layout program. Now this seems a bit extreme to me but is this really the case? Would my Photoshop design not cut it? |
Posted on 07/01/11 8:41:43 PM |
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Ocker
* Posts: 54 Reply |
Photoshop, InDesign and PDF
There's absolutely nothing wrong (and nothing to stop you) using Photoshop to design flyers. In the latest versions, the text handling and formatting capabilities are terrific. At the end of the day it's down to how skilled you are using this very complex software. Sometimes it may be quicker using page layout software like Quark or inDesign but of course they are equally complicated. It really depends what you are most familiar (and skilled) with. If the flyer is to be printed completely edge-to-edge (to put it in a non-professional way) then the layout will need a bleed. In page layout software you will set the bleed dimensions and it will print this and the trim marks for you. In Photoshop you will have to do that yourself. But using guides and setting up a 3mm bleed all round is not a particular chore. To produce the PDF remember not to flatten your .psd file. Save as a PDF or (the way I prefer, although Steve does not agree with me!) save as an EPS and then distill to the PDF. In the UK use either the current Pass4Press PDF setting or PDF/X-1a:2001. If you've got Acrobat Professional you can then perform a 'Preflight' check on the PDF. Hopefully you'll get 'No problems found' with a big green tick. If not, it will tell you what the problems are. Common problems are image resolution (keep to 300dpi at actual print size) and 'text with point size below 8pt using more that one colourant' (very common this one, keep small point text to either C, M, Y, or black (or reversed), if not, the slightest registration shift will make the text very difficult to read. So all feasible in Photoshop. But at the end of the day, how good the flyer looks is down to the design skills, as well as the technical skills. Plus speak to the printers, and ask them how they expect the artwork to be provided to them. |
Posted on 07/01/11 11:57:27 PM |
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Mark Goodwin
**** Posts: 261 Reply  |
Re: Photoshop, InDesign and PDF
I agree with Ocker. There is such a lot that can be done with Indesign but if you are not up to speed with it, yet you are with PS, I would say go for it in PS. I have the complete CS5 Suite but am desperately trying to learn it all, at the the moment I am sticking with PS and a bit of AI. I have completed a number of print projects with PS without any complaints. I would check with the printer though to be sure you are providing the right file type, Colour space and correct bleed measurements etc. Good luck _________________ Mark Goodwin If you do what you have always done, you'll get what you've always got! |
Posted on 21/01/11 11:26:07 AM |
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scoobyclub
* Posts: 29 Reply |
Re: Photoshop, InDesign and PDF
Thanks very much for the good information ( didn't get email updates hence delay ). Much more helpful than the Linked in group where the first reply was "Never create a flyer in Photoshop". |