Fetch Softworks’ Fetch 5.2 ($25) has a handy new feature called WebView. WebView lets you create standard HTTP addresses you can give to clients and colleagues that need to view images and other files on your website. This is really useful if you have groups of images that need approval or review. The update is free for Fetch 5 users. 
Fetch Softworks  - www.fetchsoftworks.com
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It’s the little things that make a difference- and nowhere is that more true than in prepress. Prepress is a world where one little checkbox makes the difference between ‘easy’ files and ‘hard’ files.

Here’s a good example: “Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities”. Un-checking this one little box can make my life very difficult.

So what exactly does this box do? When you save a PDF from Illustrator, Illustrator will write the entire original AI file inside the PDF. This makes the file larger, but makes later editing of the PDF much simpler.

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2007 celebrates Helvetica’s 50th birthday. To celebrate it’s birthday, director Gary Hustwit filmed a documentary shot all around the world focusing on the use and history of the Helvetica typeface. - http://helveticafilm.com. Helvetica is one of the most commonly used typefaces in the design world. From want ads to billboards, Helvetica is everywhere.

About the font: Helvetica was created by Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann at the Haas’sche Schriftgießerei (Haas type foundry) of Münchenstein, Switzerland. Practitioners of what would be known as the International Typographic Style (also called the Swiss Style) such as Josef Muller-Brockmann had popularized the use of sans-serif fonts like Akzidenz Grotesk which was created more than 50 years earlier in 1896 and marketed by the German type foundry Berthold. Haas set out to design a new sans-serif typeface that could compete with Akzidenz in the Swiss market. Originally called Neue Haas Grotesk, the typeface’s name was changed by Haas’ German parent company Stempel in 1960 to Helvetica — derived from Helvetia, the Latin name for Switzerland — in order to make it more marketable internationally.

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Quark’s website has a list of known issues in QuarkXPress 7.1. Most are fairly obscure, but one isn’t: If several items overlap a semiopaque picture box, the picture box or one of the overlapping items may not be included in the output. Read the full list at www.quark.com/products/xpress/71knownissues.html
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Some applications make changes to the contents of folders faster than Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger’s Finder can keep track of them. StuffIt is one of them. This partially explains why, if you expand a StuffIt archive into a folder when that folder’s “Show Item Info” view option is enabled, the expanded archive will appear to have fewer items in it than it should. 
There are two workarounds to this problem:

1. You can turn off “Show Item Info” for the target folder by choosing View> Show View Options.

2. After expanding the archive, either drag a new item into the target folder or create a new folder in the target folder. This forces the Finder to show all the items in it. www.CreativeTechs.com
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There is a security hole in Microsoft Office 2000, 2003 and 2004 that can allow a malicious Excel document (and possibly other Office documents) to “execute arbitrary code, resulting in a compromised user system.” In other words, it can delete files, corrupt programs, etc. Microsoft recommends “not opening any unsolicited Excel documents from either known or unknown sources.” But of course, this has always been a prudent policy.
Content provided by Design Tools Monthly.

Total Training Helps Adobe Creative Suite 3 Users Get Up to Speed Video Tutorials Demonstrate the Software Essentials

Carlsbad, CA, March 27, 2007 -Total Training™, Inc., a pioneer in engaging and innovative video-based training, today announced five new DVD-ROM based training series: Total Training for Adobe® Photoshop® CS3 Extended: Essentials, Total Training for Adobe Illustrator® CS3: Essentials, Total Training for Adobe Flash® CS3 Professional: Essentials, Total Training for Adobe InDesign® CS3: Essentials, and Total Training for Adobe Dreamweaver® CS3: Essentials.

Check out the press release

Pantone has released its “Fashion Color Report Fall 2007″, available for free at www.pantone.com/fall2007. The report features the top 10 Pantone colors for women’s fall fashions, which are:

• 19-1557 Chili Pepper
• 19-4316 Stargazer
• 17-0636 Green Moss
• 18-2929 Purple Wine
• 16-2215 Cashmere Rose
• 17-3812 Dusk
• 18-1354 Burnt Ochre
• 16-6116 Shale Green
• 15-0751 Lemon Curry
• 19-1116 Carafe

Content provided by Design Tools Monthly.

Adobe is submitting the Portable Document Format (PDF) 1.7 specification for approval as an official ISO standard. (PDF 1.7 is the file format for Acrobat 8.) Once approved, the standard will be governed by an independent panel, and will be available for incorporation into PDF-compatible products, including future versions of Mac OS X and QuarkXPress. The move will also help Adobe put to rest a long-standing feud with Microsoft over inclusion of PDF technology in Office for Windows.
Content provided by Design Tools Monthly.

Microsoft plans to release Office 2008 for the Mac sometime in the second half of 2007. The new version will run natively on Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. It uses the same “ribbon” interface as Office 2007 for Windows, adds a Mac-only Publishing Layout that helps create flyers and newsletters, supports the Office Open XML file format used in Office 2007, and more. Because Office 2004 for Mac can’t read the files created by Office 2007 for Windows, this spring Microsoft plans to release a beta version of converters that let Office 2004 open Office 2007 files.
Content provided by Design Tools Monthly.

With the resolution of the decades-long dispute with The Beatles’ Apple Corps, Apple Computer Inc., has dropped “Computer” from its name. Its official name is now Apple Inc.
Content provided by Design Tools Monthly.

Software Cinema / Pixel-Vector / Bargain Printing / NCMUG / PMA

Nathanial Clark, VP Sales & Marketing, Software Cinema discusses their 10 city training tour “Photoshop Training Camp Live” starring expert trainer Jack Davis best known for his PhotoShop WOW books. Hear the details of this great new learning tour. Find out more at: http://www.software-cinema.com

Eric Berkow, Prepress Manager for BargainPrinting.com, joins Inside Mac to share some great tips on freeware/shareware program downloads for design tools. His recommendations are based on his hands-on experiences and include font tools from LinoType and Spine Calculator. Read more and get the links at Eric’s blog: http://blog.bargainprinting.com/

Barry Anderson, Conference Director for Pixel and Vector Conference joins hosts Scott and Brad to give the details on these upcoming events. Hear about the instructors and sessions for these how-to events featuring the latest tools and tips for your favorite design applications. Get details at http://www.barrycon.comScott Sheppard gives Inside Mac a first hand report on the latest and greatest photography gear launched at this week’s Photo Marketing Association trade show in Las Vegas. Find out more PMA news at: http://www.pma-show.com/

Lorene Romero,  Board member and past president, North Coast Mac Users Group (NCMUG) joins hosts Scott Sheppard and Brad Wright as special in-studio guest for the Inside Mac Radio Show.Philip Hodgetts from the DPBuzz chatted about all the POST news of the week.
More information at www.digitalproductionbuzz.com.Andy Shalat the Mac Design Out Of The Box author chatted about his design
tip of the week. For more about Andy and his latest works: www.shalat.com.

 

 Standard Podcast [74:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Web Marketing Association, host of leading website awards competition WebAwards, released the Internet Standards Assessment Report (ISAR) to help the design industry create more effective and engaging websites.

“As the standard of excellence for websites continues to increase, consumers (and WebAward judges) are increasingly picky about what they consider to be an effective website,” said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association, Inc. “Design websites tend to push the envelope when it comes to innovation and adapting new concepts for display on their websites.”

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2007 WebAward Call for Entries The Web Marketing Association is now accepting entries into its 11th annual international WebAward Competition. The WebAwards is the standards-defining competition that sets industry benchmarks that the Internet Standards Assessment report is based upon. The deadline for entry is May 31, 2007 and the WebAward Web site is located at www.07webaward.org.

About the WebAwards

Now in its 11th year, the annual international WebAwards competition sets the standard of excellence in 96 industry categories by evaluating Web sites and defining benchmarks based on the seven essential criteria of successful Web site development. The goal of the Web Marketing Association, sponsor of the WebAwards, is to provide a forum to recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today. Entrants benefit from a Web site assessment by a professional judging panel and the marketing opportunities presented to an award-winning Web site. For more information, visit www.07webaward.org.

Pixels is the Photoshop conference for designers. Find out how to use Photoshop in your real world environment.

Click Here to Enter and Win a 3 Day Conference Pass!

The Photoshop Conference for Designers!
Chicago, April 30-May2, 2007
If you’re a creative professional, you rely on pixels — those building blocks of every Photoshop image. Isn’t it time you learn how to harness the power of pixels? The Pixel Conference is about real world pixel-control: From industrial-strength tonal and color correction to preparing your images for both print and Web output.

The Pixel Conference focuses on how professionals get their work done — high quality and high productivity. Leave the wacky special effects at home and take some time to master Photoshop’s powerful utility features at The Pixel conference.  At the Pixel Conference we only focus on the issues/topics that pertain to designers!

Bonus: Day Two of The Pixel Conference overlaps with The Vector Conference (www.VectorConference.com), with special sessions on using pixels inside Adobe Illustrator; using vectors inside Photoshop; and how to maintain the highest quality when mixing pixels, vectors, and type.

Come to both conferences and save a bundle!

iStockvideo Kicks Off “Future Now!” Video Contest Offering More Than $25,000 in Prizes

February 6, 2007
CALGARY, Alberta - iStockphoto®, the world’s busiest image market, today announced, “Future Now!,” the first iStockvideo contest, which will run through April 30, 2007. Videographers are encouraged to submit original videos between 30 seconds and three minutes long, centered on today’s high-tech lifestyles, offering a perspective on our futuristic, gadgetdriven lives. Judging of videos entered in the “Funny” or “Not Funny” categories will be done initially by the community and then narrowed to second- and first-place winners by a panel of industry judges. Winners will be announced in mid-May.

Entries must use a mix of at least one of five free iStockvideo clips and 10 free iStockphoto stills combined with original footage. All free clips and images have been donated by iStock members for use in the contest, which is sponsored by Abel CineTech. Two first-place winners will each receive a Panasonic AG-HVX200 camera, an 8GB P2 card and an accessory pack including a Kata HDV camcorder case. These first-place winners will also receive one year’s membership to Pixel Corps, a dvGarage Power Pak with $1,100 worth of dvGarage training and software, and dvGarage’s Conduit for Final Cut Pro 5.1.2.

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Design an awareness campaign to educate the public on the issue of global warming.  New deadline: June 17 2007

The impact of climate change is a heated issue, sparking controversy in political and scientific arenas. Most agree, however, that humans are largely responsible for generating the conditions that are driving the problem.

This competition asks participants to create an educational campaign to raise public awareness of the problem of global warming and the contribution of our daily lifestyle and activities to this phenomenon. The aim of the campaign is to provoke people to think about the issue and how their individual consumer choices and energy consumption play into the equation.

Your entry may address the broader topic of global warming or highlight a specific factor � but any facts contained in your entry must come from a verifiable source (you must quote the sources of your information in your project description).

The campaign may employ any media (print, billboard, clothing, film, animation, music etc) or a combination of formats.

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So the UPS man dropped off my new Pantone books today, and boy am I excited. No more “Solid to Process Coated” guide for me! From now on, it’s Color Bridge all the way, baby. This new book rocks! Not only does it promise better matching from Solid to Process, but also has RGB values for every color in the book as well has Hexadecimal values for the web!

It seems like I got these just in time too- Adobe CS3 comes out, and the Color Bridge will be included in those as well. At the moment, only Quark 7 uses the Color Bridge.

Originally from NJ, I started getting serious about “commercial” art in High School, selling a few of my paintings and sculptures. I also made quite a name for myself in school by being banned from the HS art show. They say the content was a bit racy, I preferred to call it artsy.

Then came the big party, I mean college, the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. After my first year of school, I was sucked into an ad agency, doing some illustration work but mostly paste-ups and mechanicals, I sure do miss the smell of rubber cement and a waxer (ask your parents about that kids!). Working in NJ agencies I built a nice portfolio, and set my sights on North Carolina where I could afford a house on the artist’s salary.

In NC I landed a job with a FireFly Balloons, a hot air balloon manufacturer, managing their graphics department. We would design and build balloons for corporations tired of the same old advertising media. Working that gig for about 4 years exposed me to working with fortune 500 companies and some really big egos! I married and had two great children and we decided it was time to move back North, (was I crazy?) this time to Upstate NY.

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Pantone, Inc., the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, selects PANTONE 19-1557 Chili Pepper, a deep, spicy red, as the color of the year for 2007. This engaging, resonant hue strikes a high note for fashion and personal expression as its boldness is appealingly eye-catching, sophisticated and enticing. In a time when personality is reflected in everything from a cell phone to a Web page on a social networking site, Chili Pepper connotes an outgoing, confident, design-savvy attitude.

“Whether expressing danger, celebration, love or passion, red will not be ignored,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “In 2007, there is an awareness of the melding of diverse cultural influences, and Chili Pepper is a reflection of exotic tastes both on the tongue and to the eye. Nothing reflects the spirit of adventure more than the color red. At the same time, Chili Pepper speaks to a certain level of confidence and taste. Incorporating this color into your wardrobe and living space adds drama and excitement, as it stimulates the senses.”

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