What's the proper way to export an InDesign CC v15.1.2 file so that it accommodates iOS devices? Although I have my file size set to 250 x 300 pixels, when I export the file using 144 PPI (Retina Resolution) the file dimensions double to 500 x 600 pixels. What am I doing wrong?   Thanks! ... View more

I'm designing a 47"wide x 81" tall banner that my client is going to use for an upcoming kids event. The purpose of the banner is to allow parents and their kids to take photos to send to family and friends and to post to their social media accounts. As part of this campaign, we've developed a cartoon character in Adobe Illustrator, which I plan on placing over a large landscape photograph in InDesign.   What's the best way to separate the cartoon character from the background so it doesn't look so flat against the photographic background—drop shadow, glow, etc.?   Thanks! ... View more

I'm working on a brochure in InDesign that will be distributed in print and digitally via a PDF to about 500 employees. My client wants an 8.5" x 11" trifold brochure, which would work fine for the printed version, but I'm thinking a traditional single-folded brochure to make it easy to view and page through electronically. What do you think? ... View more

I'm encountering a strange problem that I need a little help with. I'm working on a business card design that uses a green screen photo that was shot by a semi-professional photographer using a Canon 70D. The image that has been provided to me is a 3816 x 5472 px (53 x 76 inches) .jpg at 72 ppi. Before attempting the green screen removal, I changed the image resolution from 72 ppi to 300 ppi with the Resample dialog box in Photoshop CC unchecked. That resulted in an image size of 12.72 x 18.24 inches. I then attempted to remove the green screen, which was poorly lit but usable, using the Select Color Range in Photoshop CC. That worked reasonably well, but there was still some green mixed in with the subject's hair, plus green fringing on the subject's clothing. I used a Hue/Saturation layer and targeted the green to remove most of the extra green. After I removed the green screen, I saved the image as a PSD file and brought it into Lightroom CC, which is my preferred application for color correction and photo retouching. I then saved the photo as a Photoshop PSD and placed it in an InDesign CC document. The final PSD was placed in an image frame that is 1.75 x 2.125 inches. Next, I output the file using a PDF Preset that one of my commercial printers provided, which has worked great in the past. See the attached screenshot below this post for the settings. Although the Printable PDF seems fine, and the image is showing at 300 ppi (using Adobe Acrobat's Object Inspector), the image in the high-resolution digital proof I received from the printer is pixelated. Clearly, this file required a lot of manipulation to get from Point A to Point B. Quite frankly, I'm not sure if this is a printer problem or an issue with my own image workflow. At this point, I was thinking about simply placing the 300 ppi untouched photo in the InDesign document and having the printer pull another proof to at least eliminate that variable. I would greatly appreciate any help and/or advice on this matter. Thanks! ... View more

I'm currently setting up a logo and graphics standards manual for a new client. I just noticed that the Pantone Color Bridge Swatches have different CMYK values for coated versus uncoated paper. Basically, a PMS build in the coated bridge swatch generally has a higher value than the same PMS build in the uncoated swatch. That means Pantone is recommending using less ink on uncoated paper versus coated paper. I thought it would be the opposite. Having said that, most graphics standards manuals I've seen use a coated CMYK build with no mention of specific paper stocks. Is this considered best practice? Thanks! ... View more

I'm working on an identity system for a client and I'm trying to pick a good neutral gray to go with PMS 301 Blue. The business cards, letterhead, and envelopes will all print in 4-color process. Some of the gray will be used for typography as small as 8 pt.. My initial thought was to use a 60 or 70% screen of black, but screened type is not as rich as a 4-color build. So basically, I need a good, neutral gray that's easily built out of 4-color process. Any suggestions? Thanks! ... View more

I'm trying to set up a Facebook ad for a client and I'm a little confused about the proper size. Most of the time, we simply design one 1200px x 628px ad and use Facebook's Automatic Placement to place the ad in various platforms, such as Facebook Feeds, the Facebook Right Column,  Instagram Feeds, and the Audience Network. As I'm sure you know, most of these platforms require different ad sizes and aspect ratios. So here are my questions: To accommodate the various ad sizes, I'm assuming  Facebook proportionally scales the 1200px x 628px ad to fit each respective platform. If that's the case, wouldn't the ad performance suffer because it may not be maximizing the image space available for that specific platform. Is there a best, general purpose Facebook ad size that will accommodate all of the ad placements mentioned? If not, is it best to design ads for specific placements? Where can I find the best, most up-to-date social media cheat sheet for ad sizes? Thanks in advance for your help. ... View more