adobe

I need the PMS color for this RGB design!

With Adobe dropping PMS (Pantone Match System) colors from all of their apps, everyone needs to use external solutions for when the client asks, “What is the PMS of the blue in the logo for our printer?

The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is considered a standard for print design, and still very much in use. It is a standards system that means the teal color your selected will the same teal color wherever it is printed.

The full PMS color swatch book was available in all Adobe applications (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.) through 2022. The Pantone company moved to a subscription model, Adobe removed PMS colors, and everyone is welcome to subscribe to the Pantone Connect subscription, which has an online converter, and  Adobe app plug-in to access the 15,000+ specified PMS colors (for ~$90/year).

For TLC Creative, our primary need for PMS colors is a few 1-2 color offset printing (using real inks) or screen printing (e.g. t-shirts). For these projects I have been using this free online RGB-to-PMS converter. Find it here.

Set the RGB value and it provides a set of potential PMS color swatch matches. Easy. Free. Done.

My tip is to use PowerPoint to assist with selecting the best PMS color swatch. I use Snagit to capture the color chip options, which are pasted onto a slide. Then add a PowerPoint rectangle and set it to the RGB value. This creates a more visual comparison of the RGB to PMS options.

As seen with this example, PMS colors are often not an exact match to the virtually infinite color range of RGB. And there are considerations for monitor calibration and other factors. But, I am confident in the process and providing printers with the needed PMS values for the client printing. These are from a real project, and we specified PMS 314 C.

Troy @ TLC

By |2023-09-08T11:47:29-07:00September 12th, 2023|Resource/Misc|

Using Adobe Typekit Fonts

Adobe Typekit is a combination between an online tool that previews fonts and an installer that adds them to a computer. Adobe TypeKit is included with Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions.

Adobe TypeKit -1

 

Can Presentation Apps Use Adobe Typekit Fonts?

Yes, if we are talking about desktop PowerPoint and Keynote. Once the Adobe Typekit font is selected and synced to the computer, the font is available in other applications. At TLC, we use PowerPoint for Windows and Mac and Apple Keynote – we can confirm Typekit fonts are available for all of them. Note: PowerPoint may need to be restarted for the font to become available in the font menu.

Adobe Typekit Windows Mac
PowerPoint YES YES
Keynote N/A YES

 

HOW TO FIND AND INSTALL ADOBE TYPEKIT FONTS

Adobe Typekit is a hybrid app that is web-based, and can also be viewed through the Adobe Creative Cloud app and most Adobe applications (PhotoShop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.). For our example, we are looking at Typekit through a web browser, which has the most options. Select the font to use in your presentation by going through the font library, select by clicking +USE FONTS (there are a lot of ways to view and search for fonts, and there are thousands of fonts).

adobe typekit menu

 

This is where things get a bit confusing. There are two options for using the font: (1) Web Sync, which will make the font available for web use (ie. a website), or (2) Creative Cloud Sync, which will make the font available for use in Desktop apps on a computer. We are installing fonts to a computer for use in PowerPoint.

adobe typekit

After selecting fonts and use, click SYNC SELECTED FONTS and they will  be installed on the computer.

adobe typekit sync

The Creative Cloud Desktop application will open and prompt you to add fonts from Typekit. Below that is a list of all Adobe Typekit fonts currently available.

adobe typekit -1

PowerPoint and Adobe Typekit

All Adobe Typekit fonts can be used by PowerPoint on both Windows and Mac, but there are some considerations:

  • PowerPoint needs to be started AFTER fonts are installed, or the new fonts will note show up in the font list.
  • Typekit fonts are considered “custom fonts” and will need to be installed on any computer that is going to show the presentation.
  • Only a computer that has Adobe Creative Cloud installed and has an active user account logged in to an Adobe CC account is going to be able to sync and install Typekit fonts.
  • PowerPoint will not warn you that fonts are missing, nor will it tell you where the fonts are from (So an end user needs to look at the font list for missing fonts and know they are Typekit fonts that they can install. TIP: Add a hidden slide or off-slide note about custom fonts and where to find them to help other users).
  • Typekit fonts installed on a computer are not actual files that can be accessed and copied to other computers.

2

Keynote and Adobe Typekit

All Adobe Typekit fonts can be used by Keynote, but there are some considerations: Keynote dynamically recognizes newly installed fonts, so there’s no need to restart it after fonts are installed (great!).

  • Adobe Typekit fonts are considered “custom fonts” and will need to be installed on any computer that is going to show the presentation.
  • Only a computer that has Adobe Creative Cloud installed and has an active user account logged in to an Adobe CC account is going to be able to sync and install Adobe Typekit fonts.
  • Adobe Typekit fonts installed on a computer are not actual files that can be accessed and copied to other computers.

2

 

-Troy @ TLC

 

By |2016-08-10T08:17:25-07:00May 4th, 2016|Resource/Misc, Software/Add-Ins, Tutorial|

PowerPoint Document Portfolio Sample

Adobe InDesign is our preferred layout application for print design projects. But it is not a widely used application in Office environments. Microsoft Word can be difficult to work with in documents that need to be flexible with content layouts. Design project requests for a “PowerPoint Document,” a PowerPoint file designed specifically for PDF or laser print output (not slide shows), continue to grow. And applying our formal print design background helps these documents stand out from “standard” Word and PowerPoint styling and be a visually “professional” print design piece.

PowerPoint Document

This single sided print piece (client content removed) is an example of a PowerPoint Document design project.

  • Letter size page (8.5×11″)
  • Portrait orientation
  • Clean, easy to read and professional print layout (content flow, smaller font sizes, alignment, etc.)
  • Off-slide indicators of editable text areas end user can modify
  • Customize PowerPoint template attributes to help maintain corporate branding guides (customized color scheme, default fonts, default shape attributes, etc.)

-Troy @ TLC

 

By |2016-08-10T08:43:32-07:00January 27th, 2016|Portfolio, PowerPoint|

Adobe Stock Image Service

For TLC Creative Services’ design projects, we have multiple stock asset subscriptions for images, video, music, etc. I recently noticed Adobe has a new stock image option called “Adobe Stock.” Being an Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber, I was excited that this may be a new CC benefit – which it is, and is not.

adobe stock 1

Adobe Stock is a new service that offers royalty-free, high quality photos and graphics. Currently Adobe lists a library of 40 million “world-class, curated images and graphics.”  The image selection is very high quality, but many images are the same (or very close) to those found on other services (which is not necessarily bad). I was hoping to find it an included option with Creative Cloud subscription (wishful thinking), which it is not (reality). It is a separate paid service that can be added to a Creative Cloud subscription.

adobe stock 3

One interesting difference from other services is there is only one size available, BIG. File formats are .jpg or .eps. The other big differentiator from other services is images can be managed directly from Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign using Libraries. Watermarked preview images are saved directly to your Adobe CC account’s library as they are added to work. If you decide to purchase, it can done directly inside the app AND the watermarked images are automatically updated to the high res, non-watermark version (which is a pretty fantastic feature!).

adobe stock 4

Cost:

    • $30 monthly for 10 images. Unused images will rollover for up to 120 images. Additional images cost just $2.99 each.
    • The other plan available is $200 a month for 750 images.

Will we be adding Adobe Stock to TLC Creative Services’ options? Not immediately. The cost (for the 750 images per month) is competitive with what we are currently using. When subscription services are up for renewal, Adobe Stock will definitely be one of the options to consider.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T09:05:05-07:00July 10th, 2015|Resource/Misc|

PowerPoint vs. Word vs. InDesign – Which Should I Use?

Every program has strengths and weaknesses. Below is what the TLC Creative Services design team views as the strengths and weaknesses of designing for print among the 3 major applications we use. So here is how Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign and Microsoft PowerPoint fight it out in the boxing ring:

PPT_Print_Applications

Adobe InDesign   PPT_Print_Adobe Application

– PRO: Professional desktop publishing software that has the highest level of control of layouts, print specific output, multipage control, unlimited master layouts with finite control, and no size or resolution constraints. Excellent image control and color use tools (in RGB, CMYK, Spot, etc.).

– CON: large learning curve, specialty software that costs more (and usually not provided across corporate users).

Microsoft WordPPT_Print_ Word Application

– PRO: Installed on virtually every computer (and many tablets & Smartphones). Very good control over text flow, line wraps, and text across multiple pages. Good output to print needs.  Easy and professional table and chart creation. Very good color use tools (if setup in document template correctly).

– CON: No bleed or printer crop marks, limited (or difficult to setup/use) multiple master layouts, difficult working with inserted graphics/tables/charts that do not align to column layout.

Microsoft PowerPointPPT_Print_PowerPoint Application

– PRO: Installed on virtually every computer (and many tablets & Smartphones). Great multiple master layout capabilities, great layout customization per page, excellent image control. Easy and professional table and chart creation. Very good color use tools (if setup in document template correctly).

– CON: Limited to low resolution output (it does not matter if you have a high res 300DPI image, it is output the same as lower res images). No bleed or printer crop marks (although, there are tricks to manually adding – but it is not like InDesign’s automatic features).

 

AND THE WINNER IS…. PPT_Print_8

There is no clear winner. Everything depends on what application you use most, what application you have installed and what the final print document is going to be used for. But for TLC Creative Services, the order is:

1. InDesign: This is the industry standard, the best option for print layout projects, and we have a professional team of designers that know this application. This is our go-to application when we are working with print-houses, publishers, etc.

2. PowerPoint: We are presentation design focused, so we know PowerPoint. PowerPoint’s multiple master layouts and flexible per page layout options are wins for us in developing custom layouts, similar to how we approach layouts in Adobe InDesign. We use PowerPoint for print-to-PDF (where a PDF document is the final “print” piece) because it allows clients the flexibility to update documents on their own.

3. Word: The few advantages Word offers (multipage text flow, image wrap, etc.), do not win over the flexible nature of PowerPoint – unless it is client request.

Up next, some examples of PowerPoint-to-Print projects.

– Troy @ TLC

 

By |2016-08-10T09:07:41-07:00March 4th, 2015|Resource/Misc|

Creating Quote Mark Graphics in Adobe Illustrator for PowerPoint

The previous post showed our visually stylized quote marks on slides with color backgrounds. For us, the process for creating the quote mark graphics is with Adobe Illustrator.

1. First, find a great font for the quote marks. Designer Amber selected Spirax Regular, which you can download here.

2. Select the text and create outlines, which converts from editable text to vector images.

3. The spacing for the quotes was a bit to far apart. Now that they are graphic elements they are easy to select and move a bit closer together.

4. Now we want to export the graphics from Adobe Illustrator in a PowerPoint friendly vector format. Go to FILE >> EXPORT

5. Select ENHANCED METAFILE >> EXPORT

Now with the quote graphics on our computer, we are ready to add them to any slide. See the previous post (here) for details on how to format the graphics in Powerpoint.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-10T09:48:37-07:00March 12th, 2014|Personal, Tutorial|

Adobe – Which is Better, Subscription or Disc?

The Adobe Creative Suite is the industry standard for design applications: PhotoShop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, etc. Adobe now provides two purchases options, and determining which is best is based on your needs.

Option 1: Purchase Disc
– The traditional purchase is a serial number, either software download or install disc. This provides a fixed set of applications (depending on which suite is selected). It is OS specific (Windows or Mac) and can be installed on multipled computers (generally two).

TLC Creative has historically purchased the Design Premium suite for its design and show computers. This suite includes:
• Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Acrobat Pro, Bridge, Media Encoder

Option 2: Subscription
Recently, Adobe has starting offering a new subscription option, called Adobe Creative Cloud. It is based on CS6, the newest version of all Adobe apps. It also has the advantage of being turned on and off. So if you need Adobe software for a short time, it can be paid for in monthly increments. It also has the advantage of getting additional tool features added with the automatic web-based updates (so the subscription install of Adobe CS6 Illustrator has a number of additional tools that the disc install does not).

The subscription option is like purchasing the most robust (ie. costly) creative suite, the Master Collectoin. When looking at the year long subscription rate, the subscription is considerably lower cost than purchasing the Master Collection. But not that far from purchasing one of the other CS options. Currently, the Creative Suite includes:
• Photoshop Extended
• Illustrator
• InDesign
• Dreamweaver
• Flash
• Fireworks
• Acrobat X Pro
• Acrobat XI Pro (Not included in any CS)
• Bridge
• Media Encoder
• Lightroom (Not included in any CS)
• Adobe Muse (Not included in any CS)
• Flash Builder
• Edge Tools & Services (Not included in any CS)
• Premiere Pro
• After Effects
• Audition
• SpeedGrade
• Prelude
• Encore

It also includes these services: (Not included with any CS)
• Device and PC Sync
• Cloud Storage
• Business Catalyst
• PhoneGap Build
• TypeKit
• Story Plus
• Digital Publishing Suite

For TLC Creative Services, a major advantage of the disc install version is our show computers can inherit the previous version. So all show computers are very capable computers, just not loaded with the “cutting edge” edition. With the subscription, there is no “old” software available for use on other computers. The subscription is more economical over the course of the year than a direct purchase and allows us to have access to many applications that have not been a part of our standard design process. So for us, it is a combination of Disc and Subscription.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T08:50:14-07:00January 9th, 2013|Resource/Misc|

Adobe CS6 – Disc or Subscription?

TLC Creative Services is a long time user of Adobe apps – all the way back to Photoshop 2 (not CS2, just “2”). For the last few CS (Creative Suite) versions, we have purchased the Design Premium suite, which includes:
– Photoshop Extended
– Illustrator
– InDesign
– Acrobat
– Flash Professional
– Dreamweaver
– Fireworks
– Bridge
– Media Encoder

With CS6, the staff designers have the Design Premium Suite and we are testing Adobe’s new subscription option of CS 6 this year. The subscription plan is a monthly fee vs. the big upfront cost. Adobe is also adding features to applications that are available only to subscription users. The CS6 Subscription is like getting the CS Master Suite and includes:
– Photoshop Extended
– Illustrator
– InDesign
– Dreamweaver
– Flash Professional
– Adobe Premiere Pro
– After Effects
– Audition
– SpeedGrade
– Muse

It would seem the subscription is the way to go. It costs a lot less at the end of the year vs. the disc install. But a major advantage of disc version is still owning the previous version when you upgrade. The TLC show computers inherit the previous version, so they have a full software suite for all design needs.

Every situation is different, but the disc install is going to remain a part of our use for several years because we have an ongoing use for the “old” Adobe software.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T09:07:33-07:00September 21st, 2012|Resource/Misc|

Adobe CS 6 is Coming – and FREE Upgrade Offer

Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat are all common applications we use for presentation projects. Adobe has (finally) announced the time frame for CS6 to be released AND is offering the largest free upgrade they have ever done!


Release date for Adobe CS 6:
By May 31, 2012Free Upgrade:
Purchase Adobe CS 5.5 through May 6, 2012 and receive a one-time upgrade to Adobe CS 6 free.Details for the upgrade offer from the Adobe site are here.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T09:25:56-07:00April 4th, 2012|Resource/Misc|

FREE – Adobe Lightroom 4 Live Online Course

I just found out about this (thanks Paul!) and thought others might be interested.

CreativeLIVE is offering an online workshop taught by Laura Shoe, a photographer and instructor from Seattle. Lightroom is Adobe’s incredible digital photography toolbox. The course description says it covers the fundamentals of Lightroom: how to import, organize and edit your photos and videos, create, copy and share and an overview what’s new Lightroom 4.

Get the full details here.

– Troy @ TLC

By |2016-08-16T09:27:06-07:00March 28th, 2012|Resource/Misc|
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