Let's face it. Being successful as a designer often means we must be everything to everybody. Need business cards? No problem. Need an event banner? Got it right here. And thus is the life of design. To me, that's the best part. I love learning new techniques, new ideas and new technologies that increase my 'value' as a designer. We've already talked a little about ebooks and the new opportunities emerging for designers in this area.

But, I realized that we can't talk intelligently about ebook design until we really get the basics of book typesetting down. Today we are going to cover frequently asked typesetting questions. Feel free to leave comments below with your own questions about the trade and we will address those as well. What program should I use to typeset a book? To create a professional book typeset you will need to use a page flow software.

These softwares will give you optimum results and do in fact take a lot of the 'grunt-work' out of typesetting. The top three typesetting softwares are:

1. Adobe InDesign
2. Quark Express
3. Microsoft Publisher

If you are looking to do this long-term I personally recommend Adobe InDesign. having worked with all three InDesign is by far the most powerful and most widely accepted software there is. The basis of my course here on typesetting will be focused around using InDesign. Can I use Microsoft Word to typeset a book? Technically, yes you could.

Would I recommend it? No true designer has ever recommended designing in Word. :) Be aware that Word will not have the features and functionality that professional typesetting software has.

What are the parts of a typeset page? Your basic typeset page will include at least three elements:

1. A running header
2. Body copy
3. A page number

Optional elements will include:

1. A. Subheadings
2. B. Images Unsure what some of these items are?

Check out my 'typesetters' glossary. Got more questions? Comment them here or email me at [email protected]

As a designer, I'm always learning, new, faster and better ways to do something! One of my most recent discoveries: creating a 5 second contact sheet using Adobe Bridge and InDesign.  The functionality may have been around for a while, but it wasn't until reading "Adobe Master Apprentice" that I suddenly stumbled acrross this incredible feature.

Here's how it works:

1. Instead of having to place the images you wish to sample in InDesign in order to print them, simply collect the images into a folder on your machine.
2. Open that folder in Bridge.
3. If you're using CS3 go to the "Tools" menu and select "InDesign".
4. Select the option for "contact sheet"
5. Choose the number of rows and columns you want (this will adjust the size of the images)
6. Watch InDesign do the work for you, automated!

I hope this tip will save you tons of time! Enjoy!

Many young designers are totally overwhelmed when they find themselves thrown into a project with InDesign. Even designers that are very competent and advanced in Photoshop skill tremble in fear when faced with a basic catalog layout or brochure project where InDesign is the software needed to perform the task.

Recently, one such designer approached me with such a project. In InDesign as with any of the Adobe software, there is a right and wrong way to do things. Learning the “Ins” and “Outs” of the software is essential to advancing your skill level and rate of efficiency with any project.

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: The more you know your software the better your designs will be. Think for a moment, as a designer you can only be as good as your software knowledge. As with anything else, learning the software is best achieved with practice. At the same time, as you learn you want to ensure that you are learning “best practice” by listening to the experts and learning what they already know.

To that end, I’ve compiled a list of both free and paid subscription InDesign training that is top of the line. In fact a lot of these are courses and resources, I’ve personally taken or read, etc to further my own expertise in InDesign.

I hope you find something here that will help you as much as they have me!

If you're new to typesetting it can be very overwhelming. But it doesn't have to be. I've recently been asked by several student designers to elaborate a bit more on Typesetting procedures and best practices.

Overview:

• All books should be typeset and gathered using InDesign’s “Book” feature. (No books that contain “chapters” (including Slims and Minis) should be set up as a single flowing document).
• All books should follow a standard “style” labeling schema for both Paragraph and Character styles as detailed below.
• All elements within a document SHOULD be utilizing paragraph styles.
• Master pages should be utilized as much as possible.

File Name Standards:

• Before you can utilize the “book” feature in InDesign you must first have a set of documents to work with. Ideas for naming these book Documents would include the following file names:
  • FrontMatter.indd (Include Title pages, Copyright, Table of Contents)
  • Acknowledgement.indd
  • Introduction.indd
  • Preface.indd
  • Foreword.indd
  • Chapter1.indd
  • Chapter2.indd . . . and so forth until the end of the book
  • Appendix1.indd . . . and so forth as needed
  • AboutTheAuthor.indd
  • Ads.indd
  Creating A Template To create the appropriate “design” of the book. You will want to start designing with Chapter 1.
  • Create a new document (apple + n)
  • Set document page count (just guess at this point)
  • Set document margins (remember to allow thumb room and interior gutter)
  • Set document bleeds
  [caption id="attachment_757" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Screenshots from CS4 but the process is the same"]

  

  [/caption] Number and Section Options: Number and Section Options are found under the “Pages” panel flyout menu: [caption id="attachment_758" align="aligncenter" width="272" caption="Numbering and Section Options"][/caption] For each document set the “Number and Section Options” to “automatic page numbering”. Front matter will be set to “Roman Numerals” styles, but all others will be set to “Arabic Numerals”.  When this is set up, the page numbers will automatically update throughout the entire book as pages are added or subtracted to a single document.

   

  

  Tip! Use this document to set up your master pages, paragraph styles and character styles. When finished save it as a “template” for the rest of the book. Using Styles: To maintain consistency, I often use a specific naming scheme to be used when creating my paragraph styles. Paragraph Styles Naming Standards: Chapter Number Chapter Title Chapter Opening Body Copy Scriptures Pullouts Opening Your Paragraph Styles: Window  > Type and Tables  > Paragraph Styles

   

  

  From the Paragraph Styles panel click the flyout and select “New Paragraph Style” or from the bottom of the panel window click the “New Style” icon. Creating the Style: When creating a new style there are really only 4 of the Paragraph Styles option panels you need to deal with: 1.    “General” you will name your new style (one of the names above) and be sure to set your “Based On Style” to “No Paragraph Style”. Why? If your style is “Based” on another style and the other style changes it will alter this one as well. That is something you do NOT want to happen.

   

  

  2.    “Basic Character Formats” you select your typeface, weight, size and leading height.

   

  

  3.    “Indents and Spacing” choose your alignment (normally left justify for body copy) and extra spacing. i.e. First line indent for body copy, space after and before for subheads or scripture text, etc.

   

  

  4.    “Hyphenation” Set your hyphenation options as seen below:

   

  

  Now your new style is complete. Tip! To apply a paragraph style to an entire paragraph it’s not necessary to highlight the entire paragraph, you can simply click within the paragraph and select your style to alter the entire thing. Also try clicking with the formatting eyedropper tool for a quick fix. When to Use a Character Style? Character styles should be used anytime an “override” needs to take place for a paragraph style. For instance a bold word, a bold number, etc. Opening Your Character Styles: Window  > Type and Tables > Character Styles From the Character Styles panel click the flyout and select “New Character Style” or from the bottom of the panel window click the “New Style” icon. Creating a character style is the same process as a paragraph style but with more selective options. And applying them requires that you click within the WORD or highlight the character that you would like to change. Master Pages: Your master pages will need to include: •    Page Numbers •    Running Heads •    Chapter Opening Art •    Any other graphic elements that are consistent chapter to chapter Adding Your Content: As long as you have created your margins and columns within your InDesign document, you can flow all the text in for your first chapter automatically. To do this, choose File > Place and then select the document you’d like to flow in. Your cursor will change showing you that there is content to place. You can flow this content in with several different options. The quickest and most efficient way is to “auto-flow” the text throughout the document. Using this option will automatically place the text for you, allowing you to go back in and fine tune the layout and add your paragraph styles as needed.

   

  

  Creating the “Book”: Once your main document is set up you will want to use the template you saved to create each subsequent chapter. To create the “book file: File > New > Book

1.    Name the book as needed. This creates a new “book” panel in your workspace.

2.    Click the “+” to add documents to your book.

3.    Load all your documents into your book panel.

4.    Your page numbers will auto adjust and you can now edit each document by simply double clicking it to open make your changes and then save the documents.
5.    When you’re finished with the book file, you can save and close the book panel, export the entire book to digital additions (more on that later) or package the book for printing!

As a designer chances are one of your weaknesses is the "details". As artists we tend to look at the big picture. The details get lost somewhere in our need to be expressive and let "it all out"! Unfortunately, not paying attention to the details is one of the fastest way to lose a client. It only takes one print job that gets cut off, or messed up for you to lose good business. So how can we avoid this? 1. Use templates. Hang on now. When I say templates I do not mean for the design but rather for the document setup. For each printer I use I have a folder on my machine filled with Photoshop, indesign and illustrator documents that include the bleed settings and trim sizes. By doing this, not only do I insure that my designs will be the right size but additionally it saves me the time of gathering specs for every basic job. 2. Use master files. I've said it before but it bears repeating. When working with a file that contains multiple pages take advantage of the master file feature in InDesign. By using those master pages you can easily set up running heads ( the chapter titles that appear on the top of each page) that will be uniform, consistent and best of all quick!! Again keep in mind that paying attention to the details DOES not mean that your design time will be increased. 3. Know your color space. One of the biggest issues I see with student designers work is print files that are built as RGB files and web files built in CMYK. When this occurs they are often upset with the quality of the end result when the price is finalized. Pay close attention to your colorspace. If you need to use a filter that is only available in RGB you can convert using the option " do not merge", add your filter and then convert back to CMYK. As you do this you may realize that the RGB version appears more vibrant. You're right. It does BECAUSE YOU ARE VIEWING IT ON A SCREEN. Avoid the temptation to assume that those colors will print properly.

One of the most exciting discoveries I've made recently is the availability of LIVE PREFLIGHT in InDesign CS4. That in itself is well worth the fee to purchase an upgrade. Now, whether or not I will upgrade BEFORE the end of the year for tax purposes, well, that will depend.

I recently read an article that outlining some of the new features of Adobe's InDesign re-vamp and compared them to features of the new Quark 8. As a die-hard InDesign fan, I wouldn't be caught dead voluntarily using Quark. In fact, I've purchased Marksware's Quark to InDesign converter for the sole purpose of avoiding the product.

Interestingly enough, reading up on this list of "features" released in Quark 8 it was apparent that many of the "new additions" have been in InDesign for several years! Go Figure!

Back to Live Preflight, in InDesign CS4 with the "Live Preflight" option selected, you have the opportunity to have errors flagged in real time as they occur. Import a RGB photo? Live preflight will tell you. Is the font you're using missing a stroke? Live preflight will tell you.

Since I don't have my hands on it yet, I'm anxious to use this in a real production environment. Shoot me your feedback, I'd love to hear your experiences with InDesign CS4 vs. CS3.