Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with print

Supporting Oneself with Freelance News Photography: Possible??

Sheila Nagig — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:42:45 -0800

It's looking like I'll be jobless this summer. Would it be possible to keep myself alive by taking photos of newsworthy events and selling them to news organizations? I'd like to drive around the country this summer before starting a new job in the fall, and I'm wondering if I'd be able to support myself during the trip by selling photos. Planning around events might be difficult, I know, and so might finding someone willing to pay for coverage of them. I know that the new industry is in peril, and news orgs don't have a lot of money floating around.

But would it be possible? Is it a totally hare-brained idea? And, if it is indeed viable and not just a complete fantasy, how do I begin making contacts in the media who would even be interested?

What tool is used to create graphs on the market data page in the WSJ?

arimathea — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:14:29 -0800

The market data page of the WSJ is incredibly dense and filled with interesting graphs. I've been trying to figure out what must go into the creation of such an item on a daily basis, and by perusing the careers page for Dow Jones, i've gathered some information, namely that there is extensive use at the WSJ of Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and MATLAB. What I haven't figured out is what the workflow looks like for the latter part of creating those graphs. I imagine there's data ETL and preprocessing to get the data condensed/melted into the right form. I know a lot of more "catchy" infographics are done in Illustrator with the use of pathing and graphing tools, but is it really possible to get things like the faceted stripcharts and bar chart graphics done with those tools, or are there other data analysis/graphing toolsets in use for print-quality basic graphics at large production houses? What does the workflow look like?

I need a Print Portfolio!

gregr — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:02:28 -0800

I need a portfolio to carry 12x16" artwork on paper. All the portfolios I see are cheap looking and cheap or great looking and expensive. I'm looking for cheaper portfolios that have the look of a more expensive portfolio. I'm willing to buy the expensive portfolio if that's the only way to get the look. I need something that will protect my artwork while in transit, allow me to easily show the work off when I get there (no binders), have a carrying handle, and the internal dimensions of the case have to be at least 12x16".

Paying a fee to get published in an illustration yearbook: worth it?

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 08:57:50 -0800

I am an illustrator and have been recently contacted by the magazine Uppercase, who offered me an opportunity to be part of the third edition of Work/Life, an annual book dedicated to the work of 100 international illustrators. While surely nicely curated and distributed, Uppercase Work/Life asks their applicants to pay a CDN $500 fee to have a two-page spread. Is it worth it? The email that I got made it look like I had been selected for my illustration skills; reading it more carefully, I understood it was more a discount code for application (a $50 saving).

I've been following the work of Uppercase in the past years and find it interesting. I cannot hide a bit of disappointment at having to pay, but maybe this is normal? Should I pay? Is this worth the exposure? Anybody with similar experience?

Anonymous for fear of being blacklisted by Big Illustration.

CMS VS POD

pmaxwell — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 11:03:20 -0800

Content Management Systems allow users to manage/publish web content. A Print on Demand system allows users manage/publish print content. I need a single system that does both. I am looking for a system that allows for the creation and production of both web and print deliverables. For example, if I wanted to produce a 16 page report, I (or someone w/ access to the system) would login to the system, paste or key in the content into the relevant fields, add art from the library and once reviewed/approved, the system formats it into a pre-approved templated design. Once approved, I can output a hi rez pdf for printing OR port that content into a related template and output an html file for web usage.

I would like this system to be a repository for all publishing assets for this client – 20 different types of templates, eBlast templates, Microsites, banner ads – everything my client needs to manage and produce a variety of print or screen documents on their own – based on an templated design system.

One other note: I would like to have the ability to use fonts beyond "web safe" fonts for the print outputs.
Any ideas? thanks.

How do I design and print an 8-12 page booklet?

neilkod — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 10:11:26 -0800

I need to design and print an 8-12 page booklet for an upcoming Bar Mitzvah. I'm looking for word processor and page setup advice to get this done. I'm a Mac user and have Google Docs and Pages at my disposal. Do templates exist to make booklet design and printing any easier? If so, I'm not finding them.

I'm looking to use 8.5 * 11 page side, printed landscape, stapled in the middle.

Ideally I can output to PDF and sent it to a local(or online) printing company - I need about 100 booklets for the big event on the 19th of January.

I need to include Hebrew text (which I copy and paste from online sources example http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0213.htm) and Images.

I'm looking for advice on which software to use, how to set up my 'page setup' options, and how to align the pages, etc.

It looks great but could you make it a little bigger?

carsonb — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 22:07:26 -0800

I bought a print of a painting I love in the only format available: A full bleed art show poster on glossy 11"x17" bond. The painting reproduction is approximately the top half of the poster, say 10"x8". I can clearly see the grain of the canvas in the print, and it is entirely possible that the original painting is not much larger than the reprint. So my question is, is it feasible to have this print blown up to twice or thrice it's size without sacrificing quality? I'd like to mount a big version of the print/painting and hang it on my wall*. Would that be possible to do with such a small representation?

And if it is indeed possible, could you recommend a place in Los Angeles (preferably somewhere between Beverly Hills and Downtown) that would do the whole shebang for me? I have a suitable frame, but would need the image blown up, matted, and then mounted in the frame.

*I'd like to keep the (signed, precious) poster print in its tube for now.

Embed print-on-demand order form on site?

pavane — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 21:14:56 -0800

Print-on-demand that will print both my shirt and poster designs... from a purchase form embedded on my website? I know about CafePress, Spreadshirt, CustomInk, Zazzle, etc. for shirt and poster printing from my designs, but I'm hoping to keep the buying experience embedded in my website instead of sending buyers off to CafePress or somewhere (for both analytics and site look reasons). Zazzle does seem to do this with their Zazzle API, but I'm a bit skeptical because of the quality of shirt printing I've had from them in the past. Does anyone have experience with using them this way?

Or know of other print-on-demanders that let you embed the order form in your site? (I'd prefer printers that handle both shirts and posters, but am happy to hear about any that can handle either embeddably.)

Thank you!

For people searching similar questions: This questions is similar to this question asking about a t-shirt fulfillment API, but wondering if I can embed the entire purchasing experience on my site instead of sending buyers off to a page on e.g. CafePress.

Formatting of US print magazines

SweetLiesOfBokonon — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 03:15:25 -0800

So this has been bothering me for a while: I am living in Germany and had and have some subscriptions to US Magazines (Wired, Locus, NY Times Magazine). Why do they have this strange formatting where they interrupt articles in the middle and continue them on the end of the magazine? No German or other European magazines I came across do this and its uncomfortable to read. Is it some kind of remnant from ancient times, where every section had a predetermined allowance for pages and once an article exceeded its allowance the rest got tucked onto the end?

How Do I Prepare a Graphic to Be Used in a Shirt?

andoatnp — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:13:43 -0800

Is there easy instructions or a guide that I can use to create a simple image to be used to print a t-shirt? It will be solid color text on a plain background. This is the text I got from the person who will be printing the shirts:

The max imprint area for the front and back of the shirt is 12" W x 17" H. If you can send the original vector art for the design, that is preferred. Otherwise, please send whichever file you have and we can typically work with it but will let you know if we need a different format.

I am on a university campus and have access to photoshop. Is that the best program to do this, or something else? Is there a guide somewhere that would explain how to take text and get it ready for printing based on those specifications? Or can someone provide instructions?

I'm reasonably computer competent (I know things like basic html/css, R, STATA, latex, etc.), I just haven't done much on the design side of things before.

MS Access remains not user friendly for printing

jeather — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:44:52 -0800

I've switched my Access 2010 database from using Switchboard to using a Navigation Form. It's prettier and faster and it makes it impossible to print reports properly. If I select reportPrintable from my Navigation form, I get to put in my parameter(s). Then I can view it. If I try to print, I print the navigation form around it, too. This happens if I add the print button that Access so kindly provides to the form.

What I have, that sort of works, is a button on the report itself. On Click, I run the macro as follows:

Private Sub Command102_Click()
DoCmd.SelectObject acReport, "reportPrintable", True
DoCmd.RunCommand acCmdPrint
End Sub

This selects the report and prints the current report without the navigation form, but I have to reenter the parameters I used. This isn't reasonable for the long term. There are about a half dozen reports that have to be printed, and each report has either one or two parameters. (Either an ID number, a year, or a year and a month.)

Is there any way to fix this so it works more like the Switchboard used to work, or do I have to go back to it?

It's a sailboat!

carsonb — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:28:47 -0800

Maybe you know this art print? Years ago I lost a piece of art that I loved but didn't know anything about. It was a sketch of a dry-docked small (single-person? in the perspective it looked to be about a 12-foot craft) sailboat, sail down, in a field of waving shore grass, looking out towards the sea and the back of the boat. The surf was far away, maybe 100 yards or so, and the boat was positioned in the lower right-hand quadrant of the piece though not in the corner. The original medium was was pencil or charcoal on paper. When I see it I think "New England coast" and "loneliness". It was a yellowish-greenish-sepia tone, or perhaps that was just the paper it was litho'd on. I recall it was an official print numbered in pencil on the matting and framed in a low-profile chrome frame. Do you know the work? Can you speculate on the name of the artist? I'd really like to be able to attempt to get another copy. No (more) Mallrats jokes pls. TIA.

Best way to share a printer?

nickhb — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:49:41 -0800

Best way to share a printer (and/or set up a print server) in a college dorm? So my brother is starting college this month. He and his roommate are sharing a printer. If they have to, they can just plug or unplug their computers from the printer whenever they need to print, but that seems tedious. Ideally I would like to help him set up a print server so that either of them can print to the printer at any time, whether or not the printer is plugged into one of the laptops, but I'm open to other suggestions.

The dorm has both wired and wireless internet, explained roughly here. I would also like it if their computers and the printer were somehow isolated from the rest of the network, to prevent everyone and their mother from printing to it.

Thoughts?

What are the most interestingly designed books?

mortaddams — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 07:30:46 -0800

What are the most innovatively designed books currently in print? Do you know of one that has a particularly interesting layout, perhaps using typography, photos, drawings, or layout in an unusual way? If so, what makes it so great? I am interested in learning about some fun new examples of design.

Where to print and bind a 500 page PDF in Toronto?

demagogue — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 06:55:16 -0800

Toronto-filter: Some professors at my school are giving their textbooks to us students, free, via a printable PDF. So, I'd like to get it printed as cheaply as possible and then bound. Where's the best place to do this? Our textbook are on average ~500 pages. Proximity to Bloor and Spadina is a big plus.

What is the easiest way possible to enable printing from an iPad?

procrastination — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 06:58:54 -0800

We bought an older relative an iPad for ease of use in email and web browsing. He wants to be able to print things from it. He does not have wifi. What is the very easiest way to enable him to print emails and web articles? Our older relative needed a new computer for his rural home. He has only dial-up and is very bad about maintaining computers so we got him an iPad with Verizon data service, which reaches where he lives. He wants to be able to print. All I see is AirPrint, which requires wifi, which he does not have.

How can we allow him to print? I imagine we have to add wifi to his house, but seeing as he is not technically competent and lives far away, we would need to make this as easy as humanly possible.

What printer and equipments works easily right out of the box? Are there any printers that print from an iPad that contain their own wifi? What is the easiest way to get this done?

Technical logo design suggestions and tips?

odinsdream — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 19:28:31 -0800

Technical logo design suggestions and tips? I'm finalizing a logo in Adobe Illustrator. It's very simple, but I'd like some advice on any technical things that will cause problems down the line.

It's a very simple vector graphic with associated text. Two colors, one from the PANTONE coated library, and black. I intend the logo to be used on a white or light background. I don't include any "background" elements.

Some things I'm not sure about:
What point size should I use for the type? What about the document size itself? This will be scaled up and down as needed, using this original file.

How do I ensure that elements with strokes can be scaled up and down without oddball results? It seems like specifying stroke weights in points means they get fatter as the logo is scaled down, for instance. I'd prefer them to all be relative.

How do I configure the black color properly for printing? Anything else I might be missing that drives you nuts when someone sends you their logo?

Designer-friendly Custom Printing of Notepads?

activitystory — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 12:48:18 -0800

Is there something like Busy Beaver Button Company for stationery or notepads? I have a project in mind where I'll design something to be printed on every page of a notepad, in the area where the writing would go (think madlib).

Ideally, I'd like to put a single-color design on a 4x5" or so pad, with the image taking up most of the page. It would be nice to have a variety of ink/paper combinations. I'd like to be able to upload a pdf or illustrator file to with the design and have the results shipped to me. Most of the services I'm finding online are focused on a pre-set templates (business logo, from the desk of, etc.), which I don't want. Does anyone have experience with an online printshop that has a variety of nice papers and is focused on customers submitting their own designs?

Bonus points if it's a small/independent business and if they have pads with magnetic backs.

Firefox Tiny Printing

symbioid — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 07:27:24 -0800

Recently when I print with Firefox, it tries to squeeze everything into 1 page. The text is TINY. I have tried "Print 100%", Scale to Fit, Print regular in preferences (HP Laserjet 4200). I have tried to print with different drivers. Nothing I do save "Print 200+%" works, and that's absolutely absurd to have to do each time. Chrome prints things fine, but I really don't want to have to use a different browser each time... Anybody have an idea? Any info I seem to find on the web comes up with old FF2 and FF3 printing issues. Nothing with a more current version on the mozilla forums.

Where can I get screen printed posters made?

nessinonett — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:02:33 -0800

I've got some designs I want printed. Small run, around 25 pieces. I've been trying to get something set up with Holy Mountain, Shout Out Loud, etc. but it's been quite difficult getting a response. Any other suggestions I should check out? Both companies I listed use French paper, which is what I'd like to use.

Batch save pictures to computer from my Pinterest board

PardonMyFrench — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 07:34:14 -0800

I'm looking for some kind of script, app, tool, or hack to speed up the process of saving pictures from Pinterest to my computer as a batch. For example, I'll collect pins for a specific project or client for a few weeks, and at some point I'll want to create either a digital or print presentation from these pinned pictures. I'll then want to have the pictures directly saved to my computer.
The current process is: click on each pin to get to full size picture, then right click to save. Rinse and repeat for all the pins of a given board.
That of course is very tedious if i have 100+ pins to do this for...

Any ideas for a shortcut? Bonus point if on top of savings the pins to a given folder, it can also create a printable "moodboard" from those pins...

Thanks for your suggestions!

Spider print, spider print, someone hook me up with this spider print

Lou Stuells — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:26:32 -0800

This is a painting by Michael Sowa. I desperately want a print of it for the guest bedroom. Is it available for purchase anywhere? Oddly enough, the only prints available for sale by this artist seem to be cute dogs, pigs, bunnies and bears. Go figure.

How to print a webpage with additional image

papercake — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:30:21 -0800

Is there a way to add an image to a web page just for printing purposes? When creating invoices for images we use from stockphoto sites, we have to print out the webpage and then stamp the page. I'm lazy and don't want to have to keep walking to my co-workers desk, thirty feet away, to use their stamp.

Is there a way to quickly place a scanned version of the stamp onto the web page and print it?

(I know that I can print the page as a pdf and go into PhotoShop and add the stamp and print that way. That's perhaps a bit too complicated/time consuming to be worthwhile.)

I'm on a Mac, btw.

Why do we write 1st but not 2:00pm?

denriguez — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:39:59 -0800

Why do we write 1^st but not 2:00^pm? My best guess: Ordinal indicators came about as a shortcut in scribal culture and were carried over into print as superscript characters, whereas AM/PM came about after the advent of print. Can someone confirm this for me? Am I way off?

Mystery print that's now a mystery photograph too

annaramma — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 10:57:42 -0800

Please help us identify this print (and photograph) from the 1920s. A very faded version of this print has been in my boyfriend's family for some time. He's been curious about it's origin and we finally set to googling. We found this image of the print (much gaudier than expected), but that led to the photograph on Flickr (which is lovely).

We're curious about both, but I think the photograph has especially captured our imaginations. I'm planning on messaging the Flickr user about the image to see if she has any further info, but I'm hoping that it's familiar to someone out there. Maybe it looks like a part of a series or a very specific genre that will ring a bell?

Bonus trivia: a copy of the print is used in the set for the Star Trek episode The City on the Edge of Forever.