Wow! Did the end of the school year sneak up on anyone else?
We didn’t even get through half of the topics that we wanted to this year. Our goal over the summer is to supply several articles that will gear up your publication for the coming school year. We would like to thank all of you that have been coming to the site. Keep coming back! We promise that more information will be coming.
Please help us out by spreading the word about our little site. As we grow the wealth of knowledge grows. Don’t be afraid to comment on any post. New for Fall 2009 - We have set up a gmail account for the blog. LitMagCreate@gmail.com This way you can contact us directly. If you have comments, suggestions, ideas, or would like to submit an article send it to us we wold love to hear from you.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Software Tip of the Month - April 2009
This month’s tip is for Adobe InDesign.
In the Edit menu there is a handy tool called “Step and Repeat”. If you need to set a bunch of shapes or objects in a single row, single column or grid this tool can make it faster. To start create an object on the page. Once you have that object created make sure it is selected and go to Edit --> Step and Repeat. In the dialog box that pops up choose how many repeats you want (The repeats are in addition to the original shape), the horizontal offset (Spacing from the left edge of one object to the next, horizontally), and the vertical offset (Spacing from the left edge of on object to the next, vertically). So lets set up an example. You want to make a horizontal row of four, 1 inch squares and you want there to be a 1/4 inch gap between them. Make the first square, go to step and repeat and enter the following: Repeat count = 3, Horizontal Offset = 1.25 in, Vertical Offset = 0 inches. If you check the preview box you can see the results and make sure that they are what you need. To make a grid you simply select the row of boxes that were created and follow the same steps except for the offset values. Change the Horizontal Offset to zero and the Vertical Offset to 1.25 inches. This will create multiple rows of blocks. This gives you a four by four grid of squares.
Next month I’ll show you a cool way to use this to make interesting image graphics.
In the Edit menu there is a handy tool called “Step and Repeat”. If you need to set a bunch of shapes or objects in a single row, single column or grid this tool can make it faster. To start create an object on the page. Once you have that object created make sure it is selected and go to Edit --> Step and Repeat. In the dialog box that pops up choose how many repeats you want (The repeats are in addition to the original shape), the horizontal offset (Spacing from the left edge of one object to the next, horizontally), and the vertical offset (Spacing from the left edge of on object to the next, vertically). So lets set up an example. You want to make a horizontal row of four, 1 inch squares and you want there to be a 1/4 inch gap between them. Make the first square, go to step and repeat and enter the following: Repeat count = 3, Horizontal Offset = 1.25 in, Vertical Offset = 0 inches. If you check the preview box you can see the results and make sure that they are what you need. To make a grid you simply select the row of boxes that were created and follow the same steps except for the offset values. Change the Horizontal Offset to zero and the Vertical Offset to 1.25 inches. This will create multiple rows of blocks. This gives you a four by four grid of squares.
Next month I’ll show you a cool way to use this to make interesting image graphics.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Software tip of the Month - March 2009
So we at LMCB are starting a new monthly feature for the site. Over the past few years I have been to several conferences. I usually make it a point to make it to the InDesign or Photoshop sessions. I have learned what I know about these programs from these sessions, books, and talking with others who use the programs. So the Tip of the month will share some of that information.
This month’s tip is simple but extremely time saving. Did I say it’s simple? Alt key and Drag. Got it? Alt and drag. This combination in InDesign allows you to click on an element while holding the alt key and drag to make a duplicate immediately. It is actually faster that copy and pasting the old way. As I continued to play with this I found that it works in the OS as well. In OS X if you Alt drag it will make a copy of the file folder, etc. In XP if you hold control and drag it will do the same thing in the OS, but in In Design it should be Alt drag (I’m not a PC confident as Mac confident).
This month’s tip is simple but extremely time saving. Did I say it’s simple? Alt key and Drag. Got it? Alt and drag. This combination in InDesign allows you to click on an element while holding the alt key and drag to make a duplicate immediately. It is actually faster that copy and pasting the old way. As I continued to play with this I found that it works in the OS as well. In OS X if you Alt drag it will make a copy of the file folder, etc. In XP if you hold control and drag it will do the same thing in the OS, but in In Design it should be Alt drag (I’m not a PC confident as Mac confident).
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Death of Print?/Is Print Dying?
Is Print Dying?
I’m not talking about writing. There are more words being written now then in any other time in our history. Everyone writes a little. Do you text? Do you write on a Blog? Do you Facebook? Do you have a MySpace account? How about Twitter? Words, ideas, and opinions are alive and well in our country.
Printing, the physical ink on paper, is waning. Prices have come down in off-set printing over the past years making printing more affordable, but how is that supposed to compete with the online forums that pop up overnight? It seems that this contest is a lot one sided. In the past few weeks I have heard about four newspapers that are in trouble. Three of them are merging into a single publication to hopefully stem the tide. The other ended up as a complete shock. One of the most well known papers in eastern PA is filing for chapter 11.
I know that this is a blog about Lit Mags, but, if the papers are struggling how long until our magazines are in the same situation? What are we going to do five years from now? The possibility exists for high school lit mags that have a miniscule operational cost. Buy some software once, make everything digital, burn it to a $.10 CD. The cost will be more in time than financial resources. What if you run it on the web? You can keep updating material every week for a few hundred bucks a year.
There are some of us that dread the day that the physical magazine becomes a thing of the past. I love holding the book, mag, paper, whatever, in my hands. I am as giddy as a school boy when the boxes of this year’s magazines is delivered and I can see all of our students hard work in bulk. All of those spins lined up. Nothing like it. I will miss that.
So where does this leave us? The first amendment is alive and well. Words are everywhere. Paper may not be the preference in a few years. What are you going to do to deal with the changing times?
I’m not talking about writing. There are more words being written now then in any other time in our history. Everyone writes a little. Do you text? Do you write on a Blog? Do you Facebook? Do you have a MySpace account? How about Twitter? Words, ideas, and opinions are alive and well in our country.
Printing, the physical ink on paper, is waning. Prices have come down in off-set printing over the past years making printing more affordable, but how is that supposed to compete with the online forums that pop up overnight? It seems that this contest is a lot one sided. In the past few weeks I have heard about four newspapers that are in trouble. Three of them are merging into a single publication to hopefully stem the tide. The other ended up as a complete shock. One of the most well known papers in eastern PA is filing for chapter 11.
I know that this is a blog about Lit Mags, but, if the papers are struggling how long until our magazines are in the same situation? What are we going to do five years from now? The possibility exists for high school lit mags that have a miniscule operational cost. Buy some software once, make everything digital, burn it to a $.10 CD. The cost will be more in time than financial resources. What if you run it on the web? You can keep updating material every week for a few hundred bucks a year.
There are some of us that dread the day that the physical magazine becomes a thing of the past. I love holding the book, mag, paper, whatever, in my hands. I am as giddy as a school boy when the boxes of this year’s magazines is delivered and I can see all of our students hard work in bulk. All of those spins lined up. Nothing like it. I will miss that.
So where does this leave us? The first amendment is alive and well. Words are everywhere. Paper may not be the preference in a few years. What are you going to do to deal with the changing times?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Talking to the Printer
In previous posts, Printing Options and Printing Time, we discussed the printing of a magazine. I would like to briefly revisit this as it is becoming the time of year when you should be talking to your printer in preparation for your magazine.
I suggest talking to a printer at the beginning of your layout process so that you can avoid problems later on. If you take the time to layout a beautiful magazine only to find out that you can’t afford it you will be upset, to say the least. When you talk to a printer they can bring their experience to the table to help you problem solve. In our magazine, last year, we found that by making our page size 7 1/4 inches2 instead of the 8 inches2 we were originally going with, the printer saved us money because he could print 24 pages per signature (12 pages on each side) instead of the standard 16 pages (8 pages on each side). This allowed us to do a full 4 color magazine. If we hadn’t talked to the printer we would have had serious decisions to make before we went to press.
Now, for those of you who may not be able to go to the printers, you may still want to talk with a printer. They may be able to help you with some tips and tricks (If they help you pay them back by giving them a free listing in your patrons list, or a thank you in the acknowledgments). In the past a different printer actually bound the magazine for us, but we printed the guts. You never know what they might be able to help with.
I suggest talking to a printer at the beginning of your layout process so that you can avoid problems later on. If you take the time to layout a beautiful magazine only to find out that you can’t afford it you will be upset, to say the least. When you talk to a printer they can bring their experience to the table to help you problem solve. In our magazine, last year, we found that by making our page size 7 1/4 inches2 instead of the 8 inches2 we were originally going with, the printer saved us money because he could print 24 pages per signature (12 pages on each side) instead of the standard 16 pages (8 pages on each side). This allowed us to do a full 4 color magazine. If we hadn’t talked to the printer we would have had serious decisions to make before we went to press.
Now, for those of you who may not be able to go to the printers, you may still want to talk with a printer. They may be able to help you with some tips and tricks (If they help you pay them back by giving them a free listing in your patrons list, or a thank you in the acknowledgments). In the past a different printer actually bound the magazine for us, but we printed the guts. You never know what they might be able to help with.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Fundraising
Fundraising!
How many of you just cringed? How many of you wonder why I just asked that? In my experience as an adviser I have met a variety of staff situations. One magazine can walk out their school’s front door and see five different companies that will donate quite a bit of money. Another has to raise almost every penny on their own. When I joined our magazine 4 years ago, the district gave us $1000 for the year. We raised $400 to $600 in addition to that so we averaged a budget of $1500.
What’s amazing to me is that the magazine has had success in the past despite the financial handicap. The year I came onto the staff we approached the school district for funds. The district had a grant that had $3000 dollars that could be used for our magazine. Instantly the print quality of the magazine matched the talent that was producing the magazines in the past. While we still had to consider money in the final decisions, the boundaries were closer to limitless.
Unfortunately the old axiom “Money makes the world go ‘round” is just as true for magazines. While it is possible to produce a good magazine on an inkjet, the archival quality leaves a lot to be desired. Finding the money to produce a publication requires a lot of work and dedication. We have a position on our publication staff that is dedicated to fundraising. That student’s job is to call, write, or e-mail local businesses to solicit funds. Unfortunately the fewer students you have working on fundraising, the less they can canvas businesses.
To be more efficient with raising money, start with anyone who has donated in the past. Chances are they will give again. Once you have exhausted that list, identify businesses in the area that have donated to other school functions. Ask you yearbook staff or adviser for a list of their patrons, but be sure that you don’t steal away patrons from them. Also try and Identify businesses that deal with publication, printing, books, etc. They may be more inclined to contribute to a school publication.
How many of you just cringed? How many of you wonder why I just asked that? In my experience as an adviser I have met a variety of staff situations. One magazine can walk out their school’s front door and see five different companies that will donate quite a bit of money. Another has to raise almost every penny on their own. When I joined our magazine 4 years ago, the district gave us $1000 for the year. We raised $400 to $600 in addition to that so we averaged a budget of $1500.
What’s amazing to me is that the magazine has had success in the past despite the financial handicap. The year I came onto the staff we approached the school district for funds. The district had a grant that had $3000 dollars that could be used for our magazine. Instantly the print quality of the magazine matched the talent that was producing the magazines in the past. While we still had to consider money in the final decisions, the boundaries were closer to limitless.
Unfortunately the old axiom “Money makes the world go ‘round” is just as true for magazines. While it is possible to produce a good magazine on an inkjet, the archival quality leaves a lot to be desired. Finding the money to produce a publication requires a lot of work and dedication. We have a position on our publication staff that is dedicated to fundraising. That student’s job is to call, write, or e-mail local businesses to solicit funds. Unfortunately the fewer students you have working on fundraising, the less they can canvas businesses.
To be more efficient with raising money, start with anyone who has donated in the past. Chances are they will give again. Once you have exhausted that list, identify businesses in the area that have donated to other school functions. Ask you yearbook staff or adviser for a list of their patrons, but be sure that you don’t steal away patrons from them. Also try and Identify businesses that deal with publication, printing, books, etc. They may be more inclined to contribute to a school publication.
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