CHOOSING THE RIGHT “RESOLUTION”

Essential for good scanning is the right resolution. In a nutshell, resolution is just your computer’s way of asking, “How detailed should I make this picture?” When people say that a picture looks “low rez,” they mean the picture doesn’t have enough detail–it looks fuzzy. Using a setting of 300 dpi will give good results for grayscale images and using a setting somewhere between 300 to 600 dpi will give good results for line art and color images. Please note, (1.) it is highly recommended that 300 dpi be the minimum resolution chosen; (2.) the higher the resolution selected for your scan, the larger your file size will be.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT “IMAGE TYPE” or “MODE”

Scanners can scan in different image type/mode, and you will need to choose the correct image type/mode for each image to get the proper results. While every brand of scanner uses its own phraseology, the image type/mode for grayscale images is usually named something like “Scan as Grayscale” or “Scan as Black and White Photo.” This image type/mode is primarily used for scanning images that have lots of different shades of color and tone in them, like photographs. Another image type/mode your scanner will have might be called something like “Scan as Line Art” or “Scan as Bitmap.” What this means is that the final output (your image) will be composed of pixels either 100% white or 100% black. No in-between. No levels of gray. This image type/mode is perfect for images with dark, heavy lines and with very little shading, such as cartoons. Black and white printed text should also be scanned in this image type/mode. Some examples of each, both correct and incorrect, are shown at right. For LPi purposes, if you have full color on your bulletin or newsletter, you can also scan in color. This image type/mode might be called something like “24-bit color.”

There are many image-editing (photo & paint) programs available which can further improve the scanned image. These programs are very helpful. Scanning your image is only the first step – making that image look good enough for print is the bulk of the work. Put another way, your scan is simply a pretty stone, but these programs cut and shape it into a fine diamond. If you are using the Windows operating system there is a FREE image editing program available called Irfanview. You can download it for free from Irfanview.com. Although these programs are tremendous aids, it is good to remember that the software is still only as good as the scans you put into them.

While it is near impossible to develop guidelines that apply to all scanners, the one hard and fast rule is to never trust what you see on screen. Always print a hard copy to paper. This allows you to see if an image is too dark, too light, too blurry or too small. Just remember, as with anything else, with a little practice, getting good scans every time will become as easy as 1-2-3!

There are a few ways to make this more manageable, one of which would be to start your own clip-art library.  You can create a folder either under the root C: directory or right on the desktop and anytime you come across an image on the Art and Media Portal you can click the download button and save it into that folder.  The system will even give you an option to rename the file to make it easier to identify.  If you know events are going to be coming up soon or if there are certain events that happen on a regular basis you can do a search for that item when you have some extra time and that way you can find and download the perfect image ahead of time so that it can be inserted into the publication easily.

Now, I know some of you may be thinking, “Great, now I have a folder on my desktop with a ton of files and I don’t remember what they were for anymore.”  The clip art library does not need to be restricted to just that one folder, it can be organized in any number of helpful ways.  If there are a lot of seasonal images subfolders can be created inside the clip-art folder for Spring, Summer, etc…  Likewise if there are a lot of images for similar events they can be organized into subfolders for those events, but remember to keep these folders a little bit generalized or else you will find yourself creating a new folder for just about every image.

A little bit of time spent building and organizing a library will save you a lot of time.  Don’t forget, Art and Media Portal is a wonderful resource for your publication.  Having images at your disposal will also remove the temptation to cut and paste the image from the internet (which has been an issue mentioned in previous blog entries).  Hopefully this will give you a way to make clip art a little bit more enjoyable and less cumbersome.

Coming soon…

How to make your graphics and text work together!

• Over 20,000 items to communicate your message—right at your fingertips
• Over 40 pieces of content are available for use in any of your organization’s publications each week
• A continually expanding collection of English and Spanish art, verses and reflections
• Art for many occasions and special events
• Fast access and downloads
• Quick and efficient searches using keywords and dates
• Easy Navigation
• NEW Holiday art added yearly

LPi’s Art & Media Portal is your all-in-one resource for your organization’s printed communications. This on-line resource can be used by any staff member for your bulletin, newsletter, school, and for promoting upcoming events. Just enter a keyword or date in the search bar to find complete content resources and clip art collections.

After you have logged into the Art & Media Portal at http://www.portal.4lpi.com and selected the graphic you would like, please do not make the mistake of copying and pasting the “thumbnail preview” of the image. Please do the following…

1. Click the Download button located below the graphic or to the right of the graphic in the “expanded view” —to get to the “expanded view”,  click on any thumbnail of any of our files. You will be sent to a page with a large preview of your selection. From there, you should see the button that says “Download”. (As in the examples to the right)
2. Choose the option Save File.  Click OK. A new window will open and ask you where you want to Save the File. Choose the location from the drop down arrow in the Save In menu. The graphic will download to wherever you choose to put it, i.e. your Desktop, your My Documents folder, your My Pictures folder, or any other location you find easy to access.
3. Click Save.

Today’s crime: Justified text

Are you guilty or innocent?

Once upon a time, there was a world without personal computers. In this world, when you wanted to impress readers, you bought what was considered the absolute pinnacle of technology: the IBM “Selectric” typewriter.

Do you remember me? Do you miss me?

If you worked in an office in the days before personal computers, you may remember the electric typewriter that could justify text with the push of a button. It printed paragraphs in beautiful, justified columns that were the envy of the office. Justified columns were a mark of distinction that set you above lesser mortals. (And automatic centering freed you from having to count the number of characters on a line and divide by 2. If you remember the typewriter, you probably remember that little annoyance!)

Fast-forward to the year 2010.

Personal computers and printers are as common as televisions. There is no longer anything special or prestigious about justified text in itself, although it does seem a bit formal on the page.

So, why is justified text a crime?

When you stretch words out from margin to margin, the computer needs to pack in some space between each of the words on a line. Some lines of text have very little space between words, while other lines have larger gaps between words. This stretch effect results in uneven reading as your eyes jump from word to word.

And on some lines, the gap between words can be really huge. This makes little white “holes” in your copy.

This effect is even greater if you have hyphenation turned off. Without hyphenation, the computer can’t divide words to make a better fit on the line. If there are larger words on the line, the gaps between the words are largest.

With justified text and hyphenation turned on, the computer can make the gaps between words smaller.

TIP: Text that is left justified is easiest to read.

1. Important Information

Bulletin covers are excellent places to post the information that needs to be found easily. To help distinguish the information and help find it quickly, separate the bulletin cover into sections for each item. For example, include a staff directory with the staff members’ titles, contact numbers but keep it separate from other crucial information such as the Sacraments or the Mass times.

Important regular information

2. Make Announcements

Bulletin covers are also an excellent place to make important announcements. For example, spotlight a member of your faith community with an article featuring that parishioner’s volunteer service or an article about the resent awards won by parish students. Notices congratulating graduates, welcoming a new baby, or celebrating a marriage, etc., are also exciting announcements to post.

Make an Announcement

3. Publicize Volunteer Opportunities

We all know it can be difficult at times to get volunteers but a prominent spot on the bulletin cover can be a very convenient way to help with your volunteer search. Whether the faith community needs people to work in the soup kitchen, lead the children’s choir, bring items to a parish picnic, take the offering, buy/sell tickets for an upcoming fundraiser, etc., the bulletin cover can provide a visual representation of the faith communities immediate needs.

Volunteer Opportunities

4. Courses of Study

Many faith communities have different study opportunities outside of the regular weekly worship service. A bulletin cover featuring this information allows worship attendees to find a course that matches their needs. Some classes are defined by their membership (single adults, pre-school, elementary and/or high school students, men’s club, senior women, etc.). Others classes are defined by the material they deal with such as church doctrine, a particular book of the Bible, how to pray, etc.

Upcoming Classes

5. Holiday Celebrations

Reserving a bulletin cover for holidays, secular or religious or both, is a favorite idea. Special covers and clip-art for major holidays are easy to find on LPi’s Art and Media portal.

Special Holiday cover

So, have fun, add some great design elements to your bulletin cover from LPi’s Art and Media portal, http://www.portal.4lpi.com and create a bulletin cover that will help you spread your news!

Today’s crime: Indiscriminate borders.

Are you guilty or innocent?

When someone brings you an article for your bulletin or newsletter, they usually want their article to stand out. Each person thinks that his or her article is the most important one on the page, of course.

When people submit their articles, they’ll say, “Put a border on it.” Most people are not skilled and talented graphic designers like you are, and they can’t think of any other way to draw attention to their message.

The problem grows out of control when everyone wants a border on his or her article. Every article can’t stand out. The more you try to do to draw attention to each and every article, the more readers will perceive your efforts as clutter and visual “noise” and tune out of your publication. Readers are generally attracted to clean-looking uncluttered pages.

Here is the key: Don’t think of borders as a way to draw attention to an article. Instead, think of borders as fences, just like the fences in your neighborhood. Fences don’t make houses more valuable. In fact, their purpose is simply to restrict access to the property. In some areas, they can also be a visual blight on a neighborhood. They can make a neighborhood seem less welcoming.

Instead, try to think of borders only as separators. In a way, they restrict access to your articles. If one section of the page needs visual separation from another section of the page, consider putting a border around one section. This tells readers that there are two distinctly different topics on this page and keeps them focused on one or the other. But neither topic on the page is more important just because of the border.

Too many borders on a page, overly large or wide borders, and fussy, distracting, or elaborate borders, are all a crime against the reader. The borders get in the way of the message. They can be a distraction. Readers see the border (the fence) and don’t notice the important message inside.

To attract readers to a particular article, consider these alternative strategies: move an important article to the top of the page or give it a larger-size headline.

Are you guilty or innocent?


Underlining. Is there anything easier? Just click that “U” button and underline away! And did you know that in Microsoft Word 2007 you can choose your underline style? Yes, you can have single, double or even dashed underlines. It is so tempting. But just because you can do something, it doesn’t mean you should.

If you are on the Internet, you know that underlining means, “Click here—this is a hyperlink!” It can get pretty confusing to your online readers if your bulletin is also posted on the web. They will see the underlining and think they are looking at something clickable.

If you read the last episode of “Crimes”, you learned that we rely on the shapes of words to help us recognize the words without having to read every letter. Letters like g, p, q, and j have decenders that go below the baseline of the other letters.

When you underline, you chop off the decenders. This makes the shapes of the words harder to visually recognize. This happens whenever you use that “Underline” button up next to the “Bold” button at the top of Microsoft Word or Publisher.

Use bold or italics (or both) to add emphasis to your text, and generally avoid the underline.

Are you mourning the loss of the underline? Here is a quick tip to help you get over it:

You can remove the hyperlinks in your print publications. When an email address or URL goes all bluish-purple and underlined, just “right click” on the link. Depending on your program, you may be able to simply choose “Remove hyperlink” from the context menu that appears. (In older programs, choose “Hyperlink”, and then click on the “Remove hyperlink” button.)