Planning the Project


Why would you need to place an advertisement in a magazine? or create a poster? These types of marketing pieces are event driven. To promote an event, you could place an advertisement in a magazine your customers might read. The date and time of your event should be prominent. An easy map to the location is also a good idea, as is a description of the event. You should explore the science of demographics in choosing the appropriate circular to place your ad. Who are your customers, and which publications do they read?

Most publications will send you a media kit with their demographic breakdowns, editorial and content calendar (in case you want to place an advertisement during an issue that might be discussing your industry), as well as their rates for advertising.

How large do you want your ad, and how many colors will drive the pricing structure? How many times you might want to run your ad will also affect the cost of your advertisement. Sometimes the placement of an ad within the publication (on the inside cover, as an example) is more expensive than an ad buried toward the back.

File Format Choices: PDF or PDF/X?

You are probably familiar with Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) file format. This format is designed to be platform independent and easily viewed by all users with Adobe's Acrobat Reader, which is free. Most applications support this file format, and it is very common in the graphic communications industry.

Even though generating a PDF is fairly simple, it is still possible to make mistakes in saving this file format. This can lead to problems processing these files with your print service provider. As with application files, PDF files made incorrectly cost everyone in the production process time and money.

Many publications have adopted the PDF/X file format for submission standards. This is explored in this chapter as well. PDF/X is a PDF that is certified to ISO standards, including font inclusion, CMYK or spot color inclusion, trim and media box information, and trapping acknowledgement. These publications insist that you submit a PDF/X of your layout that they will drop into place. They will not repair your layout. The whole point of submitting a PDF/X is to simplify a publishing workflow by certifying that this incoming digital file meets the publisher's standards.

Fortunately, InDesign makes this very easy to do. One of the features of exporting a PDF from InDesign is your choice of not only which version of PDF you want to make, but also which standard you want it to conform to. This will make your ad submission easy!

Now, the content of the ad should be timely, include important event information, motivate people to attend, and reflect your company's brand. The images might be consistent with a current campaign or shot specifically for the event.

Production Choices

The poster that will be based on the ad needs special preplanning consideration. Where will the poster(s) hanginside or outside? The answer to this question will dictate the substrate and possibly the printing methodology. Thick UV inks on heavy weather-resistant substrate might be best screen printed, if the quantity you are printing will justify your setup charges.

If you are producing only a few posters and the environment is not a consideration, think about how and where the posters will be placed. Will they be hung and, if so, how? What about lighting? Will they be lit from the front or back? Quantity might dictate production choices as well: Wide format inkjets can offer short-run digital output as an efficient alternative to offset or screen printing, but cost can be a factor. You might need to involve an additional service provider if your offset printer doesn't offer these services. All these production considerations should be preplanned.

Transparency is an exciting feature for object-oriented programs such as InDesign and Illustrator. The effects are far reaching both creatively and from a production standpoint. Even the Drop Shadow command utilizes transparency to create the multiply blending effect that looks so realistic. It's important to note that the transparency feature can have unintended effects on your artwork and layout, so you need to consult your print service provider when contemplating the use of transparency features.

Color Choices

Is spot color involved? How important is the match? If it has to be exact, traditional separations are in order. If not, and you are working with a printer with a good calibrated and characterized device, perhaps you could consider a wide format digital output device for your posters.

Finishing and Distribution Choices

Because this chapter involves creating an ad that will appear in a local magazine, your finishing choices will be limited and the ad will be distributed based on the readership or circulation of the magazine.

You can request special finishing options for advertisingperhaps a spot varnish or a special die cutbut be prepared because it will significantly increase the cost of your ad and how it is placed and bound within the publication.

You can also affect the circulation of the magazine by requesting additional prints and distributing them yourself using your customer database.

The other project we will produce in this chapter is a poster. Depending on how it will be used, you have a few finishing options. Will it hang? If so, you might need to request grommets to accommodate hooks. Will it be displayed on an easel? If so, you might request that it be mounted on foam board. Will the poster be transported flat, or will it be rolled up in a tube? Be careful that your substrate choice won't curl on you. Again, all this should be planned in advance with your print service provider, even if that provider is an in-house partner. They can best advise you of your finishing choices based on how you will distribute the piece.



Adobe InDesign CS2 @work. Projects You Can Use on the Job
Adobe InDesign CS2 @work: Projects You Can Use on the Job
ISBN: 067232802X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 148

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net