Defining Print Communications

Desktop Publishing

Historical Momentsin Print Communications Cavemen draw on cave walls Languages/Alphabets developed Hieroglyphics developed in Egypt God shares The Ten Commandments on

stone tablets Types of Paper invented

Vellum from skins of sheep or goats Papyrus later developed from reeds Paper as we know it, finally invented from

wood pulp in 1867

Historical Moments in Print Communication Codex Sinaiticus (4th Century)

First non-scroll book Monks copy Bibles by hand Gutenburg prints Bibles with his

movable type printing press in 1455 Only printing professionals involved in

printing from then until recently Martin Luther posts the 95 Theses

Historical Moments in Print Communication In 1621 the first book, The Whole Book

of Psalmes, is printed in America The first true newspaper, The Oxford

Gazette, is published in England in 1665 In 1833 Louis Daguerre exhibits the

daguerreotype, the first photographs. Willard Kiplinger prints the

first newsletter in 1923 The Kiplinger Washington Letter

Historical Moments in Print Communication The computer is introduced but is

mainly command line-oriented (DOS) Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) emerge

in the early 80s with the Apple Macintosh (stolen from Xerox PARC)

Aldus PageMaker is introduced by Paul Brainerd in the early 80s for the Macintosh and interfaced with Apple’s LaserWriter

Historical Moments in Print Communication Multiple computer applications

developed that allow anyone with a computer and a printer to publish

A glut of poorly designed publications proliferate throughout the world

Why does this happen?

Print Communication The challenge of designing print

communications lies in the fact that there are no hard-and-fast rules If there were concrete rules, computers could

replace us all and everything would be uniform (boring)

In this class, we’ll think in terms of tools, not rules Guidelines, techniques, applications, etc.

This semester we will familiarize ourselves with the tools of the trade

So What is Desktop Publishing? Using design skills and computer

hardware/software to mix text and graphics in the production of a printed publication

Not since the very earliest days of printing has it been possible for one individual to have complete control over design, typesetting, and printing.

But this power doesn’t magically transform you into a designer, it’s just a tool of the trade

Before Desktop Publishing Everything had to be pasted into place Text had to be typeset professionally Graphics had to be resized manually Lines and boxes were drawn by hand White-Out was heavily used See pages 20-21 for more details DTP takes the place of way we used to

compose a publication, but not the writing, photography, binding, distribution, etc.

Example: Lest We Forget

1989 Yearbook Used layout sheets

done in triplicate to layout pages

Used a pica ruler to determine how much room text would take

Had to wait for blue line proofs to see if text calculations were correct

2000 Yearbook Use PageMaker to

layout pages Text is typed and

manipulate on screen

Laser copy and blue line proofs are checked for errors

Example: Lest We Forget

1989 Yearbook All photos had to

be manually cropped and labeled for placement

Color photos had to be resized at Wolf or Mid-South Color Labs

2000 Yearbook Photos can be

scanned, resized and placed

Color photos can be scanned or enlarged at publisher

Communicating In Print

February 8, 2000Desktop Publishing

Communicating in Print Before you even turn your computer

on, make sure you understand your communication goals

Can you communicate your message if you don’t know what your message is? Yes, but it will be dumb luck or the

wrong message Planning is critical to the

communicating and design process

Communicating in Print Before communicating anything, it

is necessary to identify: Your Reader – who you’re talking to Your Subject – what you’re saying Your System – how you’re saying it Your Attitude – your baggage

Let’s look at these in more detail

Your Reader Who is the intended audience

for your piece? The definition of your audience will

drive many of your design decisions Child vs. Adult,

Accountants vs. Skateboarders, Americans vs. Japanese,High School Grads vs. Ph.Ds

Your Subject What is the basic message you’re

trying to communicate? The definition of your subject will

drive the way you position the elements in your piece

If the design isn’t arranged correctly, your message can be miscommunicated

Your System What format or medium will best

communicate your message to your reader?

Know your technological possibilities and limitations Desktop printer or other Final Output Device Print Shop What paper will it appear on?

Dream first, then seek the tools to accomplish your goals

Your Attitude The perspective you bring to the table

Humility – be willing to admit you need help if you get in too deep

Conventional – be willing to look outside of the computer system to accomplish a project

Collector’s – be willing to educate yourself by collecting ideas from others (swipe file)

Experimental – be willing to play

Additional Items to Identify What similar messages have my

readers encountered from other sources or competitors?

How does this publication relate to my other publications?

Our Technological Environment

February 8, 2000

Technological Environment - Hardware Computers (Macs and PCs) Monitors (varying sizes and resolutions) Printers (inkjet, laser and film) Scanners (flatbed and film) Other input devices (digital cameras,

video, etc.) Network (campus and internet) The trick is to know when

to use what

TechnologicalEnvironment - Software Word Processing (Word,

WordPerfect) Publishing (PageMaker, Quark) Drawing/Photo Manipulation

(Illustrator, PhotoShop) These aren’t definitive definitions of

these applications - some may cross over into the other

Homework Bring in your first 4 items for your

Swipe file Logon to eGroups and enter your

information