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On the Prowl at Geekend
Want to make friends at Geekend? This is one way of doing it. Here is my best version of the play-by-play of an interesting evening with fellow geeks in the wings. Please note: I am not a writer or even a storyteller.
Geekend Day 2: It started off with me unfortunately missing every single daytime session. I was desperately trying to close up my Friday work day so I could enjoy the evening. I was excited to attend the evening keynote with Oscar Gerardo and meet up with some friends. A quick check-in with foursquare and I was ready to enjoy the evening. Read more 
Print-Ready PDF files
Print-ready PDF files Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) is great for a multitude of uses. It has caused a revolution in printing. Everything needed for high-resolution printing can be packed into one file that can be opened and printed using Adobe’s free Reader on almost any computer. The trick is, because a PDF can be created many different ways, to create it the correct way and pack it with the essential information for high-quality digital printing or a file that can be used for make-ready, for offset printing.
Here are a few of the minimum requirements for a PDF file to be usable for high-resolution printing using a digital print process.
- All fonts used in the document should be embedded in the PDF file. The preference for “Subsetting” the fonts should be set to 100%.
- For CMYK printing, all color in the document should be CMYK. This goes for ink colors as well as photos and illustrations.
- Make sure that the photos and line art in the document do not have their resolution reduced (downsampled) when the PDF is created. Photos should retain their 300 dpi resolution.
- The compression should be fine set on “automatic” but some say “zip” is better than “jpeg” for quality. You can also choose “none” and the photos will not be compressed when the PDF is created but, this will result in a larger PDF.
If you follow these guidelines, your PDF will work for high-resolution CMYK printing. The same PDF will also work in all the processes that require less resolution as well.
The term “make-ready” refers to everything done on a press to prepare for the final print job. This includes selecting the proper colors, getting the image placement correct, setting up the plates, and preparing the printer for the chosen paper size and weight. Getting everything right during make-ready helps to ensure a quality print run. This step would be considered finished when the printer is satisfied with a print, and can therefore begin the actual run.I would like that for Free
Pretend for just a moment you walk into your favorite local bakery. You go up to the counter and the bakery’s employee asks you, “What would you like today?” Now you look at her and say, “I have this important business meeting today and I would like two dozen bagels and a variety of cream cheese please.” “Of course,” she says. She gathers your order and you take your freshly baked bagels and cream cheese and head for the door. She says, “Umm, don’t forget sir, you need to pay for those.” “No, it is ok, I buy a lot from you all the time and I need these for free today,” you say.
What just happened? As an employee of a local print shop this dilemma has reared its ugly head before, the horror of the freebie request.
Your customer always has a basic want or request –
- – I have no budget for this upcoming project.
- – We are wanting to do samples as a sales pitch to a current customer.
- – Would you like to be a print sponsor for this event we have this weekend?
From time to time freebies are part of any small business. With this, there has to be an understanding between both parties. When running a small business you can not afford to give a free project away that will conflict with your current production workflow already on the table. Your customer also needs to not push deadlines onto a project he or she is not going to pay for.
The dreaded freebie request– [Customer] It would be great if we could just change that layout a little bit and add this logo into it. It won’t be too much trouble, will it?
Do you have a freebie story? Please share below.
One of Apple’s Worst Products, Ever | via Wired.com
iTunes
It started so well back in 2001. Apple’s jukebox software was built on the third-party SoundJam which it bought the year before, and was a slick, quick and easy-to-use music player for a long time.
Then Apple decided that iTunes should be the conduit for the iPhone, and kept piling on bloated features. What had started as a pared-down, single-minded and simple application started to sync with Outlook, gained the useless cover flow view and, on the Mac at least, appeared to have a monopoly on the spinning beach-ball of death.
Worse, the iTunes Store, a fantastically user-friendly music store, gained weight in the form of the awful, hard to navigate App Store.
Of course, these days we have a new, simple and fast music app. It’s called Spotify. Apple, though, has shafted itself. The problem with selling a revolutionary device which is an iPod, a cellphone and an internet device, all in one, is that the software to support it needs to be similarly multitasking.
Anything we missed? While these failures are big, we have restricted them to the modern-day Apple, and ignored the Jobs-less wilderness years of beige boxes and overpriced printers.
– OK. My thoughts are as follows. iTunes has become a cumbersome product that is becoming more and more confusing. This is coming from a guy that takes pride in knowing his technology and keeping up with all the latest trends. Would it hurt my mac dock to have additional application lingering? No! A dedicated team for a piece of dedicated software would also be nice. I find iTunes sometimes clunky and a little over bearing.
At the end of the day, I do not have too much to complain about. I love Apple!
Feel free to add more in the comments.
via iSuck: Apple’s Five Worst Products, Ever | Gadget Lab | Wired.com.