I have a question about printing, a friend of mine has a lounge bar and wants to do an event every week. He asked me if I could design him a poster (A3) and flyer for it.
Now I started to do some research but I still have some questions.
Do you really need to use inDesign for text and can’t use photoshop for it? Even if the photoshop document is 300 dpi?
Then I have read in the graphics FAQ that 150 dpi is the minimum, I hate working really large could I work at 150 dpi or should I use 300?
And my final question, let’s say I made a vector in Illustrator and then copied it in photoshop to spice it up a bit, should I then copy it to inDesign and put the text on it or couldn’t I just use photoshop for the whole project?
Reason why I am asking is because it seems a bit unlogical to use 3 programs for one design.
For text, either InDesign or Illustrator is preferable since they are vector-based programs. Some print services will accept files created in Photoshop if at least at 300dpi, though.
You’re better off working in at least 300dpi. I’ve had friends inkjet print photos and layout proofs at 150dpi at a local printer and they look ok at a glance. I wouldn’t recommend it as a working resolution for an entire project, however.
No need to use all 3 programs. One vector program (Illustrator or InDesign) and Photoshop for graphics and images is sufficient. For posters and flyers, my preference is to do all the graphic work (creating, sizing, converting images) in Photoshop…then move to Illustrator to lay out the project and add text and create any vector graphics. My final output is usually a PDF with all text converted to outlines.
You might want to ask your friend what printing service they plan on using for the posters and flyers. Online services usually have minimum requirements and accepted formats right on their website. If it’s a local printer, you can always call them with any questions. In my experience, they will be more than happy to answer any questions to help you get a file ready for print…since it makes their job easier.
“You might want to ask your friend what printing service they plan on using for the posters and flyers.”
+1
The output format is the biggest thing. Most folks can take a pdf, psd, ai or whatever, but you need to know where it will be printed so you can make sure it is set for that specific place.
You should have no problem using photoshop. I don’t like drawing in photoshop, but there is no problem staying in any of those programs for the entirety of your project.
The primary role for the programs goes something like this Illustrator = vector work, Photoshop = raster/pixel based work, InDesign = layout. As mentioned by TexasBob for a job like this there isn’t any need to switch programs as now both Photoshop and Illustrator will handle each other’s file formats quite happily (and InDesign really features as a mass collaborator laying out multiple sources of text and images). You should stick with 300dpi though as it will force you to be careful about your source material and the limits of images that you might like to import/use.
Vector-based is preferable for text but anywhere it is used will not lose quality as the size is increased. Pixel based images will lose quality as they’re enlarged (hence starting out at 300dpi).
I’d take your pick of what you are most familiar with and run with it. Definitely check with the printer to ensure you supply a file that they can work with easily and efficiently.
Yea it really sucks to find free stocks to use in a poster which are usable in 300 dpi A3 format, so I’m probably going to create some vector myself with illustrator and focus on typgraphy.
I’m going to check what printing company he is going to use to check what the requirements are.
I’m mainly going to use photoshop since I’m used working with it but probably for plain text with no effects create it in inDesign, not sure, need to check the program first.
