Want to edit your own Logos in a Box? Many of the file formats supplied will need some specialized design software. Here’s a software list that will help if you want to put on your own design hat.

Gimp: GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It works on many operating systems, in many languages. Free alternative to the industry standard Photoshop from Adobe.

Adobe Acrobat Reader: Read Adobe PDF files on your desktop or on the Web. Required plugin to view any Logos in Box .PDF files.

Adobe Photoshop: The grand daddy of photo and image design. Used in the processing, manipulation and re-sizing of bitmap file formats. Special effects, and retouching tools. A little on the pricy side, but chock full of features. Mac OSX Version.

Adobe Illustrator: Industry standard vector drawing and illustration program. Used by our designers in the creation of ALL artwork on our site.

Inkscape: Free Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more. We also aim to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development.

Adobe Fireworks: Accelerate web design and development with Adobe Fireworks software, the ideal tool for creating and optimizing images for the web and rapidly prototyping websites and web applications. Fireworks offers the flexibility to edit both vector and bitmap images, a common library of prebuilt assets, and timesaving integration with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Dreamweaver, and Adobe Flash Professional software.

Adobe Dreamweaver: Design, develop, and maintain websites and web applications–from start to finish–with Adobe Dreamweaver software. Built for designers and developers, Dreamweaver offers both a visual layout interface and a streamlined coding environment. Intelligent integration with related Adobe software ensures an efficient workflow across your favorite tools.

Printing TIps

Once you’ve finished having your logo, stationery and/or brochure designed, it ‘s now on to getting them printed. Many of you will choose to work directly with a local printer – especially if you’re a ‘do it yourself ‘er, but may be new to working with offset printers and some of the industry jargon involved. Here’s a few pointers on working with your printer with a spot color printing project, and how to help insure there’s no surprises when your new letterheads, business cards and/or brochure are delivered.

* If you’re hiring a printer to print spot color material, and BEFORE printing, ALWAYS check your colors with a Pantone Swatch Book. This is the only way to insure that your colors are to your liking.

* Always ask for a ‘press proof’ of your job. While it’s sometimes difficult to get a color proof that’s completely accurate when using spot colors (most proofing systems are set up for CMYK and 4 colour process) it will give you a rough idea, and also allows you to check for spelling errors.

* If you’re printing on a combination of coated (glossy) and uncoated (matte) papers – typical with ‘glossy’ business cards and letterheads – keep in mind that the Coated and Uncoated surfaces may shift. Accordingly. colors may not match exactly across your stationery. You can adjust for this by using different inks for each part of your print job.

* Colors may not match exactly if you attempt to print spot color artwork as a CMYK (four color process) job. Many printers will simply change the colors to CMYK in your original files. A more accurate method is to use the Pantone Spot to Process Formula book. This allows you to choose CMKY equivalents to your spot colors. Ask an experienced designer to do it for you. Certain spot colors do not convert exactly.

* If your printer is using a ‘gang run’ – grouping your job with a number of other pieces on a large sheet – expect varying colors from run to run. This type of printing is designed to be cheap, not precise, and you’re not paying for exacting color standards.

* Your printer can change spot colors on the press easily, regardless of what is ‘tagged’ in your digital file. The PMS number has no effect on the ink used – it is simply a notation to indicate to your printer what color SHOULD be used. They can set up the press substituting any colored inks for the ones originally proposed. Check the swatch book beforehand.

* If you’re printing a 4 color process project, and are also using Pixel based images, insure that the digital files you’re supplying your printer are in high enough resolution. While some services will accept images as low as 150 DPI, it’s recommended that your digital files are no lower than 266 DPI (300 DPI and higher for high-quality glossy reproduction). If your images are in a low or even medium resolution, you run the risk of ending up with ‘blurry’ images in your printed piece.