Hey folks, it’s time once again to review the results of a poll and launch a new one.
This past month, we asked where you typically use InDesign.
As you might expect, the number one response was Office, with a little over 43% of respondents saying they use InDesign there. Home was a close second with 38%, making me wonder two things: first, how many of you are reading this in your pajamas, and second, when Adobe and Netflix will team up to offer a combo subscription.
It surprised me to see that Coffee Shop only garnered 5.9% of the vote. Clearly, Starbucks needs to up its game. InDesigners on the go (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles) checked in with 4.9%, followed by co-working space at 4.2%, and Library (shhh!) brought up the rear at just over 3%.
Here’s a chart showing the results.
New poll: What do output from InDesign?
Our new poll asks you what kinds of output you typically create from InDesign. You can choose from PDF (both kinds), EPUB (both kinds), HTML, XML, Publish Online, and Images. Please be sure to select all that apply!
This article was last modified on July 29, 2022
This article was first published on September 13, 2018
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I have two large monitors and my MacBook Pro at my office. Although the MacBook Pro is super portable, the large monitors are not. And although my supervisor would most likely let me work at home a good deal of the time, I don’t want the large monitors and the MacBook constantly reminding me of work in my open-concept house. The fuzzy slippers are a draw, though …
Crispy screen PDF images depend on a number of factors:
1. Vector v Raster. If the logo you mentioned is vector, placed in you InDesign file it will maintain its crisp appearance. If it is raster it’s quality will depend on its resolution size and scaling.
2. Zoom. Unlike web graphics where, generally speaking, images are displayed at a consistent size pdfs can be zoomed in depending on browser/user settings. A PDF viewed at 100% shield displays at 100% will show images differently to one viewed at fit-to-screen/125%/400% etc (unless they are vector images)
3. Monitor resolution. Low res monitors will display images poorly.
4. Transparency flattening resolution. In you document and in the PDF export settings you can change how transparency is dealt with.
5. PDF export settings. You can down-res the resolution of your placed images in the export settings of the PDF. This only effects raster images.
Thanks all for the online support and feedback. I suspect there is more to this than simple dpi settings and am hoping that our Mike Rankin will see this question and decide to write a step-by-step article!
Here’s a more specific example question…
I’ve created a logo and had business cards made. I now want to use that logo as my banner/heading image on my website and in a Constant Contact email campaign. Simply converting to RGB color mode and saving as a jpg or pdf with either 72dpi or 200dpi is still insufficient. What is it that makes graphics render crisply online?
“Web Design in a Nutshell,” published by O’Reilly, covers file types, image size, color mode, and…anti-aliased text, which is somewhat clear in Photoshop but doesn’t translate into How To in InDesign or Illustrator.
I’m looking for the steps to convert graphics, originally designed for print, suitable for optimal, crisp! rendering online.
Mike, if you’re there…please help!
Seconded!!
Hi Laura, I’m in the same boat—design for print originally and want to keep all my collateral in the same InDD master art file. For online images, though, I currently export a crisp PDF, open it in Photoshop, tweak the specs as needed, and save from there. I hate that extra step—seems so unnecessary—but InDesign does a poor job at exporting in other file formats I’ve found. But neither do I want to recreate everything in Illustrator. Am following for better suggestions!
I knew I wasn’t alone in this! Glad to see you are out there…
When you say open in Photoshop and”tweak the specs as needed,” do you just mean converting to the appropriate px size, changing to RGB, and reducing to 72dpi – or are there more tweaks????
Thanks for sending…very interesting.
I use 200dpi as a rule and usually have great quality. HOWEVER, I wonder if particular software programmes give particularly poor quality. Eg, I use Campaign Monitor for eblasts and my graphics on that appear poorer than elsewhere.
Hmmmm…everything I’ve read indicates that 72 dpi is best for online in terms of loading and resolution. But I will try 200dpi. I do, however, suspect there is more to it than just dpi. I’m after perfectly crisp online graphics across all platforms. There must be magic settings!
This article may help: https://creativepro.com/size-trap-exporting-jpgs-on-screen.php
I’m no expert, but a lot of articles argue that 72 dpi is totally outdated.
I also have read the 72dpi recommendations – but, like you, they often just don’t give the quality I need. 200dpi often solves the problem. I’d love there to be magic settings!
Easiest to work on InDesign projects on a large screen. That’s probably why less work gets done outside of office or home.
My 13″ laptop works just fine for what I do. Still, my InDesign work is mostly at home.
Good point, Walter.
Don’t forget the fluffy slippers in the home office!
P.S. And the Adobe socks!!
I lost my Adobe socks…
To answer your question, not only are we reading this in our pajamas, but we are working from our home offices in our pajamas!
You didn’t give an option for home office!
Just answered “Print PDF” to the new poll question, which prompted me to bring up the following…
Since I design for print, I am unfamiliar with how to prepare my InDesign (and Illustrator) files for optimal rendering online. Despite having queried this numerous times, I have not seen any comprehensive information on what to do. If I have a design file or design element originally made for print, what do I need to do to the file for online optimization? No matter what I try, whether converting to RGB-72dpi-JPG format (or various other settings I’ve seen suggested and tried), my graphics never look crisp online. Please Help!!!
Laura, One thing to be aware of when exporting a PDF for reading online is the accessibility of the PDF. And you are right, there is little or no documentation on it. So I put together a guide to go one step towards solving that. While it won’t necessarily answer all your questions about resolution and file size it will add to your knowledge of online PDFs. It’s a free download too.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5mekra2r2nvk06a/Producing_Accessible_PDFs_with_InDesign.pdf?dl=0
Thank you, Caspian Ievers! Much appreciated.
Thanks for this…looking forward to reading it!
I think that there are various setting for PDFs—I generally use “high quality print”—but wonder about other options, maybe one better for online?
I’ve tried that too – no joy. And some online platforms want JPG format (Constant Contact, I believe).