Tag Archives: Adobe Systems

New version of InDesign CC 2015.2 released today!

Skilled Workman Posted on by

Click on the image to find links to download the free trial, buy a subscription, or whatever. This is always a big day for me. I’ve been working getting ready for the changes, so I can help you with any questions. Again, this go-round, there’s not much for book production. OpenType and Glyph Features There are new features to help with OpenType glyph choices. They are available from the Font Menu, from contextual menus when selecting characters [right-click], and there’s … Continue reading →

DPS lives! BUT at a price…

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Adobe’s DPS was originally released as a solution for magazine designers. It can do some amazing things with layouts, turning a magazine into an app. The problem has always been making it available for individual designers, and its considerable expense. Rumors have been flying that Adobe might move it to a solution named Adobe Publish. Now we find out that this idea’s dead also. What they’ve done is retain the DPS name and tied it into CC … Continue reading →

InDesign CC ePUBs now handle floating graphics fairly well

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There are always going to be complaints. But I can do everything I want to do with anchored graphics right now. With one major exception: It’s hard to predict what will happen with a graphic crossing a page break. If it’s floating, it may just not render. I can understand that. I really don’t have any idea how to handle that. But I can simply change my graphic so it doesn’t float and the page break will … Continue reading →

A possible replacement for PDFs or a new type of book?

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This one almost slipped past me. Bob Levine wrote about  it at InDesign secrets. Adobe’s now giving away licenses to the .folio format. This could be huge! Magazines were dying because .folio was so expensive Now maybe we’ll see some more folio readers. Maybe tablet reader apps will be able to handle folio also. Maybe PDF will finally go the way of the dodo. The ability to offer books with multiple columns and portrait/landscape versions gives technical … Continue reading →

Graphics In InDesign: an excerpt from “Practical Professional Self Publishing Handbook”

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This is the first portion of the new Practical Professional Self Publishing Handbook due out before summer this year. InDesign is the true replacement for FreeHand Many designers are still upset that Adobe took FreeHand off the market. We remain convinced that FreeHand was a far superior vector drawing program to Illustrator. Actually, I bring good news. InDesign is actually more closely related to FreeHand than it is to Illustrator. Ole Kvern and I have commented on this many … Continue reading →

New Review: Writing In InDesign: A Philosophy for Writers In Service to Readers

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Today we have a guest post from a man who is a reader of my work who has become a friend. A while back he told me he was going to write a review. I had no idea he would put so much effort into the attempt. I asked if I could share this and he said to do it. Pastor Dean Williams has been a pastor for over 30 years serving in “a multitude of denominational … Continue reading →

But you learn by doing: is your hardware/software good enough?

Skilled Workman Posted on by

You learn by doing, and there is a lot to learn: typography, page layout, printing limitations, ebook limitations, and much more. BUT! You can do it simply, line upon line, precept upon precept, as you grow into the publisher you need to be. How long will it take? That depends on how seriously you take your work and assignments. I used to teach this stuff in two intense semesters to people starting from scratch who were not … Continue reading →