Teamwork: Build Physical Networks

Some time ago I wrote about the importance of building physical networks as opposed to relying just on virtual help. I want to make this point again: whatever your project, find real people to meet and talk to - and avoid those who say 'you can't do this' rather than looking for a solution.

I myself come from the hot type generation – just. I was trained to do layouts with crayons, scissors and glue, and graphics was a black-and-white print you take to the girls in zincography.

In the age of computers many of us get isolated and look into screens rather than into faces. I know a couple, man and wife, who live together, but, having studies in the opposite ends of the house, talk to each other via Scype.

I have a friend in Colorado, also from a hot type generation, but older than me, with whom we worked on a newspaper project in the early 90-s. After our work was finished and handed over to printers we used to go to the shop floor and spend some time with the web off-set press boys to run through the pages and point out various features in the paper which we thought could be difficult or needed special attention, both technically and editorially. 

My printers here invited me once for a cup of coffee in the back-room. A poster was hanging on the wall there: "Tout le monde apporte de la joie dans cette enterprise, certains quand ils entrent d'autres quand ils sortent". (Everybody brings happiness to this enterprise, some when they come, others when they leave).  Nobody likes it when a client or a supervisor watches over your shoulder, but when it's done in such a way that people feel you came to show respect and appreciation, – it always helps. 

I think I'd never been able to achieve good results with Pages if I didn't invest in running through the whole production process with printers, graphic designers and photographers who work with me.

Tips and suggestions on working with professional printers and computer support shops are in this earlier article: Networking: Physical vs Virtual (same post as linked above).

Cover Tricks: Making Text Stand Out

This is the cover of the Property Guide I produced in Pages (64 pp., A5 format).

The cover was made by my co-worker in Illustrator, processed to press quality PDF and then incorporated in the Pages project.

The cover photo poses serious challenge to a designer. With mixed background of blue sky and foliage, various shades of green and brown, and long shadows of a low-hanging sun, how do you put cover straplines in such a way that the text stands out from the background? Here the designer used two tricks: putting white text on the semi-opaque colour box (bottom left) and using white outlines with dark text.

The first can be easily done in Pages and the second, specific to Illustrator, also can be replicated with good results.

I will write up the how-to in the next posts, but meanwhile if you have suggestions or comments, do contact me. And if you would like to have a copy of the guide send me an email.

Read the follow-on article 'How to Outline Text in Pages (Cover Design Tips)'

Original design by Shu Milne Creative

Pictured: Manoir d'Herouville (Bed and Breakfast) and Le Pigeonnier (gîte)

www.herouville.biz

Networking: Physical vs Virtual

I understand that like myself most readers of this blog are small businesses or individual users. I've learnt the hard way that you can't sort out all your technical needs on your own. You should build a supporting network – physical, not just virtual. Professional people physically close to you.

It is simply not possible to know all technical elements. If you try your end product suffers.

I live and work in deep countryside. Nearest house is a mile away, nearest small town with an electronics shop is 6 miles away. And nearest Apple Centre is an hour's drive. But even if you are in a large city, I think the tips below are relevant.

So try this:

• for printing services find small or medium size professional print shop, close to you geographically and preferably not part of a huge chain. You need to be able to deal with the same people face to face, get them interested in your project and excited about breaking new ground with new software or new creative possibilities. If you deal with large printing businesses with massive print-runs you often can't get that level of attention, quite often you have to deal with a different person each time you take your work for printing;
• have your printer use the same version of software that you use. My printer was using Acrobat 5 when I was using Acrobat 8, for example. It took us some time to realize that there could be a problem there. Layers technology was introduced with version 6 and it makes a big difference;
• synchronize your Acrobat settings with your printers;
• find a good computer service company, preferably a small specialised business, so you personally know technicians who will work with you, develop good working and personal relationship with them so when crisis comes they will go out of their way to help you;
• have technicians check your workflow, system and settings, they may find something you 'd missed;
• ask them to prepare a set of pre-press Acrobat settings and set your Distiller to use them as default. Save settings separately for back-up;
• if you are happy with your computer technicians, sign-up for a long term support/service so that you can call them on the phone or have them come and fine tune your machine;
• take notes describing your problem step by step so you could recreate it for a technician to see where the stumbling point is and find solution;
• take notes when you find a solution. My office is plastered with stickies where I scribble down ideas and solutions.

It is simply not possible to know and master all the technical elements of your hardware and software. If you try, your end product would suffer.

Pages cost 1/10 of Quark (79 euros/dollars vs 770 euros/dollars), even less if you count Pages as a separate program (79/3 = 26 euros/dollars). And far easier to use. Even after all upgrades to make Pages run smoothly (RAM should be 1Gb or higher etc.) it makes economic sense to stick with iWork.