May, 2003 | CreativePro Network

Color Management How-To: Understanding Computer Color

This story is taken from “Real World Color Management” (Peachpit Press). It seems like it shouldn’t be that hard, but getting the color you see on you computer screen to resemble that which you see with your naked eye is a perplexing problem. Now try to match the colors on your display to that in […]

Canon EOS 10D: 6-Megapixel Digital SLR with More Features for Less Cash

About three years ago (a lifetime in digital camera years), Canon released the EOS D30, a 3-megapixel digital SLR that was revolutionary for a number of reasons, including its use of a CMOS image sensor that is more cost-effective and more energy-efficient than the CCD image sensors used by most digital cameras. In addition to […]

The Art of Business: Time and Billing Software for the PC Set

Two weeks ago we ran what we thought would be a sleepy column about Mac-based tracking and billing software. Boy, were we given a wake-up call. We got throngs of mail from irate PC-based creative professionals taking us to task for forgetting to include PC software programs. The once-timid contingent of PC creatives obviously has […]

InDesign Tips: Replacing Gradient Swatches and Improving EPS Previews

The comparison between InDesign and Illustrator has often been noted. “If you’re familiar with Illustrator, you can use InDesign” goes the common wisdom. But if you’re not an Illustrator user, you may not be aware of InDesign’s hidden power. One such timesaving feature is the ability to replace color swatches in a gradient fill. Another […]

Under the Desktop: Getting a Handle On Ink Costs

Printing with high-resolution inkjets is easy and fun, no doubt, but have you really thought about how much it costs? The price of printers is getting cheap enough, but does anyone have any clue as to the cost of each image printed? Nope. A pair of recent television commercials for consumer inkjet printers reminded me […]

Plug-Ins and XTensions: Photoshop Film Fixers, InDesign Palette Cleaners, Illustrator Map Generators, QuarkXPress Calculators

Each month Design Tools Monthly reviews some of the best plug-ins and XTensions on the market. Most of the mentioned products can be purchased through The PowerXChange. Illustrator Import GIS Data into Illustrator & FreeHand Avenza Software’s MAPublisher ($695) and MAPublisher Lt ($249) are powerful plug-ins for Illustrator 10 or FreeHand MX that let you […]

Bit by Bit: Grounded by Design

An official from the Federal Aviation Administration grounded my friend Bert’s airplane. It seems that the registration number lettering on the tail of the plane didn’t fit the fancy of this FAA official, and he has the authority to red-tag any aircraft that doesn’t meet the strict guidelines of the FAA. Normally this kind of […]

dot-font: Avant Garde, Then and Now

dot-font was a collection of short articles written by editor and typographer John D. Barry (the former editor and publisher of the typographic journal U&lc) for CreativePro. If you’d like to read more from this series, click here. Eventually, John gathered a selection of these articles into two books, dot-font: Talking About Design and dot-font: Talking […]

Design How-To: Using the Color Wheel to Find the Right Match

This story is taken from “Before & After” Magazine. You pay attention to colors in your photographs. You may even use a color management system to ensure that the colors you see on screen are the same as the ones that print. Yet do you pay enough attention to the colors that surround the image? […]