I decided to use Fireworks to design a postcard for print but am unsure as to
how well it will print. I designed it at 300dpi but when I print it some fonts
seems a bit pixelated. Could anyone advise me as to the best way to prepare the
file for a printshop? Should I export it as a TIFF? Are there export setting
that I should be aware of like 'create outlines' for text in Illustrator?

THANK you for any guidance!

Derek Snyder wrote:
> I decided to use Fireworks to design a postcard for print but am unsure as to
> how well it will print. I designed it at 300dpi but when I print it some fonts
> seems a bit pixelated. Could anyone advise me as to the best way to prepare the
> file for a printshop? Should I export it as a TIFF? Are there export setting
> that I should be aware of like 'create outlines' for text in Illustrator?
>
> THANK you for any guidance!

The only useful guidance anyone can give you on this is that you have
chosen the wrong tool for the job. Fireworks was not designed to do
print work and cannot handle the CMYK color space (among other things).
You would be better to start again in Illustrator or InDesign if you
have either and export to print ready PDF (there are several presets in
both apps).

Before even going further in FW, contact your printer to see if they
would accept a TIFF in RGB mode (which is what you'll be able to
export). I've worked in a screen printing company for years and, even
though the process is quite different from what your printer will use to
print postcards, we did not accept bitmap files as they caused all sort
of problems for color separation to produce films. On the other hand,
color space was not important for us.

But for digital printing which is probably what will be used for your
project, getting a file in the correct color space from the beginning
might be crucial to your printer as they probably will not want to take
a chance of making the conversion themselves (it will need to be done)
which will shift the colors in a manner that may not be acceptable to
your client. I know we would not take the chance. You're really better
off creating the piece in a print based application that supports CMYK
to begin with as well as exporting to more suitable file formats than
TIFF. A printer may even use a native Illustrator or InDesign file but
will probably prefer a PDF over anything else.

Save yourself some hassle and forget Fireworks for print work.

--
Stéphane Bergeron
reach:connect:communicate
www.webfocusdesign.com
blog:tutorials:articles:gallery
www.pixelyzed.com

Thanks for the detailed reply. I had come to the same conclusion about needing
to redo the design in Illustrator or photoshop. Maybe inDesign. I have used
those in the past but find Fireworks so easy to work with that I thought I'd
try it for print. Oh well...

Could you take a quick look at my http://cellocelli.com/LgCardBack.png and
advise which program might be best for me to redo this with based on my design?
i have 3 specific issues that I am not sure how to do with inDesign or
Illustrator. I can do some googling for but any guidance would be great!

1. The background color fade
2. creating the 'CC' logo by merging or flattening two overlapping C's into
one entity so that I can apply opacity to it evenly.
3. creating a drop shadow on the box that I use as a sheet music cover.


Would inDesign or Illustrator be a better bet for me do you think
Thanks again,
Derek (humble cellist)

CAVEAT: I've never used InDesign, I'm not an Illustrator expert, and I've never
made anything for print.

However, looking at your postcard, I don't see anything that a vector drawing
program (such as Illustrator) can't do. You used the vector aspects of
Fireworks, to make it, so you should be able to do that in Illustrator. The CC
logo should be easy enough: convert to paths then join.

I do, however, remember reading something about opacity/transparency effects
not giving the expected results when printing, but I don't remember where I
read that. (As a Web person, it didn't really apply to me.) Anyway, my point
would be to check the results of your drop shadow carefully.

Derek Snyder wrote:
> Thanks for the detailed reply. I had come to the same conclusion about needing
> to redo the design in Illustrator or photoshop. Maybe inDesign. I have used
> those in the past but find Fireworks so easy to work with that I thought I'd
> try it for print. Oh well...

I love Fireworks too but as you are realizing, it really is not well
suited to print work. I would forget Photoshop as well because, although
it is misused a lot for design work, that really isn't its forte
although it will handle print just fine. Photoshop as its name implies
should be used to edit photographic images, not create layouts.

> Could you take a quick look at my http://cellocelli.com/LgCardBack.png and
> advise which program might be best for me to redo this with based on my design?
> i have 3 specific issues that I am not sure how to do with inDesign or
> Illustrator. I can do some googling for but any guidance would be great!

As it's a one page thing, I would probably use Illustrator but if you
need more pages, use InDesign.

> 1. The background color fade

Not a problem in either InDesign or Illustrator. In either apps, start
by drawing a regular rectangle and make it the size you need. In
InDesign, then go to the Effects Panel and apply an Gradient Feather
effect to your rectangle. The settings should be self explanatory. In
Illustrator, make an exact copy of your rectangle and apply a white to
black gradient to it (white will remain opaque, black will be
transparent). Then select both your original rectangle and the one with
the gradient and go to the Transparency Panel. In there click the small
arrow at the top right and select "Make Opacity Mask". This is actually
closer to how you'd do it in Fireworks but, visually, its the same
effect as the effect in InDesign.

> 2. creating the 'CC' logo by merging or flattening two overlapping C's into
> one entity so that I can apply opacity to it evenly.

Why would you flatten it? In either of the 3 apps, just take the 2
letters and convert them to paths (create outlines in AI and ID) then
join them as one vector shape. Apply simple opacity to the shape. No
need to flatten as a bitmap.

> 3. creating a drop shadow on the box that I use as a sheet music cover.

Both Illustrator and InDesign have drop shadow effects that are
probably a lot more sophisticated than Fireworks. Simple thing to do in
either apps.

> Would inDesign or Illustrator be a better bet for me do you think

Either would do the job well. InDesign will give you the best control
over text as well as multiple pages. Illustrator would handle your
project with ease as well. Stay away from Photoshop as your back to
dealing with resolution dependent bitmaps and that is also far from ideal.

HTH!

--
Stéphane Bergeron
reach:connect:communicate
www.webfocusdesign.com
blog:tutorials:articles:gallery
www.pixelyzed.com

Thanks for the most ful info! I'm doing it with inDesign and all is going
smoothly...excepct:

I don't seem to be understanding the gradient tool. I would like to create a
fade on a box with a colored background. When I apply the gradient I seem to
loose the color and now have a black to white fade. What am I missing or how
can i create a fade with the color I have chosen?

http://cellocelli.com/PoscardNoGradient.pdf
http://cellocelli.com/PoscardWithGradient.pdf

I realize that this is a Fireworks forum but u have such knowledge. I
appreciate your .

THANKS

Derek Snyder wrote:
> Thanks for the most ful info! I'm doing it with inDesign and all is going
> smoothly...excepct:
>
> I don't seem to be understanding the gradient tool. I would like to create a
> fade on a box with a colored background. When I apply the gradient I seem to
> loose the color and now have a black to white fade. What am I missing or how
> can i create a fade with the color I have chosen?
>
> http://cellocelli.com/PoscardNoGradient.pdf
> http://cellocelli.com/PoscardWithGradient.pdf
>
> I realize that this is a Fireworks forum but u have such knowledge. I
> appreciate your .

Thanks for the kind words. I can you with this issue but I am far
from an expert InDesign user. I have used Fireworks for a lot longer and
Illustrator for longer still. But I love ID so here it goes:

If you don't need transparency in your gradient and it looks like you
don't, you need to have the gradient panel open to edit and even apply a
gradient to your rectangle. You don't need the gradient tool... this is
not Photoshop ;-)

Also, you should be aware that you should probably create your colors
before doing your layout. Once you have the colors you need saved in the
swatches panel, coloring elements of your design becomes a lot easier.
Use the color panel to mix your colors then drag them to the swatches
panel. You can give them more meaningful names or leave them as is.

Once you have your colors, select your rectangle and have both the
gradient panel and the swatches panel open at the same time. You'll have
to drag one of the two out of the dock to do so. Make sure the fill is
selected in the top left of the swatches panel or your main tool bar. If
your rectangle is selected on the page and the fill already has a
gradient you should see it in there. If not, select "Linear" under type
and change the angle to 90 degrees. Then drag the color swatches you
need to the respective gradient swatches in the gradient panel. Select
each gradient swatch and adjust its location if they are not 0 and 100 %
respectively. For a straight linear gradient like you need it should be
really easy. Send me your .indd file if you have trouble and I'll check
it out for you: stephane (at) pixelyzed (dot) com

The good thing about using an app with a real color management system
like InDesign and Illustrator is that, if you change your mind about the
color, you just change it once in the swatches panel and the change is
automatically reflected everywhere in the doc where you used that color.
I really wish Fireworks had better color management with global
individual color swatches like that. On the other hand, Fireworks as a
lot more gradient types.

HTH!

--
Stéphane Bergeron
reach : connect : communicate
http://www.webfocusdesign.com
blog : tutorials : articles : gallery
http://www.pixelyzed.com

as a webdesigner i usually also makes cards in teh same design for the
customer. I move the graphics into a new document with a DPI of 300, finish the
card, saving as JPG. THEN i open it in photoshop and convert it to CMYK colors
to see if it does look as intended. then ship it to the printers.

but no - FW is not for print work in general. Good for PDF's though.