Magazine Layout?

[Pehpsi]

Hey hey.

A fairly new mag called Loop is giving me a whole page that I need to fill up with my pics from a recent gig at the Gaelic Theatre.

I am organizing it myself and have control over the layout. I've been told that I need to send them a file with the following specs:

297mm (w) by 420mm (h)
300 dpi, in CMYK and preferably a photoshop pdf file.

Never done this before, so need a little help on how it's done..

I use Aperture and CS3.

I'll probably want to use about 15 pics. Do I need to open all the pics in CS3 together? And should they be full size/qual?

I have till Friday to submit it.

Thanks in advance.

[jamesw]

sounds odd that they are getting you to do the layout, thats usually the art directors job; but it is good too... means you have 100% control over what you're doing.

you basically need to lay the article out like you want. go into cs2, select the a3 size (thats the dimensions you mentioned) and select CMYK as your colour base. copy and paste in the images and lay it out like you want with your words.

15 pictures over an A3 spread may get a little crampt... see how you go...

[Pehpsi]

Thanks mate, i'll give it a crack..

[blackD200]

Im assuming that the size 297mm (w) by 420mm (h) will also include the bleed ??? typically about 5mm off the edge - so dont put anything you dont want cut off too close to the edges.

[Pehpsi]

Not too sure They didn't mention anything about bleed...

Not even sure why they want me to do the layout! But I like having control over my stuff, so it's a good thing I guess. I'm gonna sneak my logo and website in there too

[Heath Bennett]

I would add 5mm to the A3 dimmensions - not subtract.

If it is A3 portrait, then it could be one of those big magazines that are printed on newspaper-like stock, in which case you should do some research on how to make it print well - try a search for a tutorial on GCR.

"Gray Component Replacement tells Photoshop to replace black with appropriate mixes of cyan, magenta, and yellow. ..."

- From this link:

http://psonline.quickcut.com.au/support ... tings.html

You might want to delve deeper for how to make it work - gets a bit technical.

[Pehpsi]

Another final quick question:

When creating a new document, what should I choose for Background Contents?

-White
-Background Colour
-Transparent

Thanks

[sirhc55]

printed on newspaper-like stock

If they are asking for 300dpi then I doubt it would be newsprint type paper as a lesser dpi would be requested.

Open in transparent Pehpsi

[jethro]

Phepsi,
Make sure the page is set to 430mm x 307mm this allows for 5 mm bleed all round. Pull a guide into the centre that is, vertically so as you dont kill a good image with the fold of the magazine.
Use guides or margins from your page set up to show where the actual page will trim, ie that means 5 mm in from the sides.

As far as I know this will only need some kind of UCR if you print newsprint. Total colour should be no more than 260%.
Web presses these days are waterless so their quality is incredible and 4 colour print is no longer an issue.

If this is to be created for a glossy, max ink sats should be around 310-320% with no UCR- GCR compensation.

Cheers
Jethro

[Pehpsi]

Thanks for all the help lads.

I haven't seen the mag physically, but I understand it's a street mag like Drum/Brag/3D - so one of those big size mags.

They didn't mention 'bleed/guide' so i'm just gonna leave that alone (and it kind of hurts my brain).

How does one scale down the pics once in PS? I can move them around, but not sure how to resize them to fit..

[Heath Bennett]

Thanks for all the help lads.

I haven't seen the mag physically, but I understand it's a street mag like Drum/Brag/3D - so one of those big size mags.

They didn't mention 'bleed/guide' so i'm just gonna leave that alone (and it kind of hurts my brain).

How does one scale down the pics once in PS? I can move them around, but not sure how to resize them to fit..

You will wish you did add bleed! It is as simple as setting up the document in PS as 430mm x 307mm and then while designing, realising that the outer edge will be "chopped off" by 5mm.

[Pehpsi]

Ok, you've convinced me

I'm putting it all together now, i'll let y'all know how I go..

Cheers.

[Pehpsi]

Hey all.

Thanks for your help with the mag layout. I use all your advice using bleeds/guides etc. and the editor said everything looks fine and dandy.

I ended up sending a .psd file so they can make changes if needed..

Cheers.

James.