Adobe XML Architecture Specification

The Adobe XML architecture combines the powerful data and business logic capabilites of XML with rich presentation capabilities of Portable Document Format (PDF). The Adobe XML architecture offers support for arbitrary XML, allowing you to leverage existing and industry-standard schemas. Depending on the process requirements, forms can be deployed as PDF or an XML Data Package (XDP) and processed as XML.

Adobe. Design>Publishing>XML>Adobe Acrobat

Art from Turmoil: Stock Promotions Blitz Metaculture  

The stock catalog, a tool that was once used for research, has become a funky book that you look through for ideas and inspiration.

Shinn, Nick. ShinnType (2002). Design>Graphic Design>Publishing

The Art of Electronic Publishing

This book is a complete birdseye view of the World Wide Web, Internet, and the technologies involved in creating electronic publications from them. This book provides you with background information and practical guidance on how to surf, view, and publish material for the Web, as well as on paper. The explosion of activity surrounding the Internet and the World Wide Web requires a sane, non-hyped guide to help you navigate the sometimes treacherous waters.

Ressler, Sandy. Prentice-Hall (2000). Books>Web Design>Publishing>Online

The Art of the E-Zine  

Walinskas provides several tips for creating readable and informative e-zines.

Walinskas, Karl. Intercom (2000). Design>Publishing>Online

Beginning With The End: Understanding Printing

Where does a typical desktop publishing project begin? Dumb question? Perhaps not. For all practical purposes, the information gathering process starts at the end, with the printing process. If you're new to desktop publishing, this article will explain some of the technical aspects of design you may not have considered. If you're an old pro, it might remind you of some of the production steps we (I include myself here) sometimes forget.

Dornbos, Jim. Ideabook.com (2001). Design>Publishing>Prepress>Printing

Binding Decisions

If you're printing a booklet, book, or multi-page report you need to plan how the finished product will be put together before you set up your document in your page layout program. For some types of binding it might simply be a matter of ensuring that the margins are wide enough to accommodate the holes for a three ring binder or spiral binding. For saddle-stitching, you may need to compensate for creep. Some bindings are more durable, others allow your book to lay flat when open. You'll also want to weigh the cost of special equipment if you want to do-it-yourself rather than using a local copy shop or printer.

Howard Bear, Jacci. About.com (1999). Design>Publishing>Finishing>Binding

Book Design

An overview of the typical components of a printed technical book and the typical content, format, style, and sequence of those components.

McMurrey, David A. Illuminati Online (2001). Articles>Document Design>Publishing

Checklist for Publishing Customer-Facing Documents  

An example checklist for the process of developing documents.

InfoTechWriter. Resources>Publishing>User Centered Design

Choices, Challenges, and Constraints: Putting Documents on the World Wide Web  

A case study of the Unidata Program Center’s efforts to move information into online formats on the World Wide Web. Types of documents placed on line are discussed, as is the appropriateness of the medium for those documents. The conversion process is looked at. Obstacles to placing information online are also reviewed.

Hicks, Matthew B. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Publishing>Web Design

Color Forecasting

Every year I look forward to the Communication Arts issue that has the color predictions for the coming year. Mostly because I'm fascinated with the subject, but also because I want to see the funny color names they come up with.

Poynter Online (2004). Design>Publishing>Prepress>Color

Computer to Plate Basics Explained

In Europe and the US, Computer to Plate (CtP) seems to be a fast growing market. In some areas of the print market the majority of printers have already made the transition from traditional plate techniques to CtP. The reason why is easy to see: CtP gives almost instant colour register on the press, and there is no need to worry about stopping the press for removal of dust marks and scratches that sometimes would plague traditional film.

IT Enquirer (2003). Design>Publishing>Prepress>Printing

Computer to Plate Hits High Tide

Technology tends to be an irresistible tide, tugging individuals and businesses toward the newer, the faster, the better, and punishing the holdouts with obsolescence. No industry and no profession can escape that steady march of upgrades and improvements. Computer-to-plate imaging (CtP) has certainly not been an exception, driving all but niche shops to abandon the old (film imagesetters) for the promise of the new.

Franklin, Tom. Digital Output (2003). Design>Publishing>Prepress>Printing

Creating a PDF File  

This handout can help you with your PDF problems in Acrobat 3, 4, and 5. This handout does not attempt to address the Truth, but tries to share some hard-won advice about consistently getting good PDF.

Anthrobytes Consulting (1999). Design>Publishing>Online>Adobe Acrobat

Creating a Usable Electronic Newsletter In House

Many organizations are opting to convert existing print publications into electronic newsletters (e-newsletters)—and for good reason. E-newsletters can be developed for a fraction of the cost of their print counterparts and delivered to a global audience instantly. While marketers are discovering the ease of reaching a target audience with e-mail, many e-mail users are frustrated by the barrage of e-newsletters that muddle their inboxes monthly, weekly, or even daily. An onslaught of unsolicited commercial e-mail (spam) has made readers wary of marketing attempts. To reach these wary readers, companies need to create e-newsletters that respond to their audience’s specific needs—namely usability and trust. By following a few guidelines, you can launch a usable and successful e-newsletter.

Lawless, Amy. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Publishing>Web Design>Usability

Creating Online Newsletters Without Pain and Aggravation  

Online newsletters can be a surprisingly effective means of distributing information among engineers. The paper presents a tested low-anxiety method for creating newsletters to facilitate information transfer among engineers in a hi-tech environment.

Huntington, Don. STC Proceedings (2001). Design>Publishing>Online>Newsletters

Creating PDF Files from FrameMaker Documents

An issue that has come up over and over again on several FrameMaker and Acrobat/PDF email lists as well on the corresponding Adobe User-to-User forums is that of creation of PDF files. FrameMaker 5.5.6 and 6 have what looks like a convenient feature that is supposed to allow you to create PDF files via simply saving the document as a PDF file. I have gone on record as advising end-users not to use this approach for reliable creation of PDF files from FrameMaker documents under Windows and MacOS with FrameMaker 6 and earlier. Why do I most vociferously offer this advice and why doesn't the problem get fixed? And how SHOULD you create PDF files from FrameMaker?

Isaacs, Dov. InFrame. Design>Publishing>Online>Adobe Acrobat

Cross-Platform Publishing  

Desktop publishing has evolved tremendously over the last 10 years, coming from manual paste-up and manual design to complete digital photo-editing and digital graphic design. The challenges and issues we face in the translation industry are directly related to the authoring methods and build-environments of today’s writers. One of the biggest issues to date is the use of more than one platform for the authoring and localization (translation) of texts, ads, publications and software. The two most prominent platforms used for publishing media are the PC platform (Win 95 & 98) and the Macintosh. When a document is created, it is often authored for the source language; in other words, the authoring is not done with translation in mind.

Knoerndel, Dan. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Publishing>Document Design

The Digital Democratization

The latest digital copier-printers provide enhanced digital printing functionality, enabling users to do more than ever.

Miley, Michael. PennWell (2004). Design>Publishing>Prepress>Printing

Digital Facsimiles on CD-ROM: A Potential Solution to the Interlibrary Loan of Rare Books  

Despite the approval, nearly ten years ago, of the ACRL Guidelines for the Loan of Rare Materials, few special collections departments regularly loan materials to other universities. For the researcher, obtaining rare books and manuscripts (or copies of the same) via interlibrary loan continues to be difficult if not impossible. The last ten years have shown a phenomenal growth in the production and marketing of digital facsimiles of rare books. This article examines research on digital facsimile CD-ROM collection patterns and presents the results of a survey on interlibrary loan lending practices in an effort to understand the impact that CD-ROMs may have on interlibrary loan and access to rare materials.

Visser, Michelle. Journal of Interlibrary Loan (2004). Articles>Information Design>Publishing

Digital Libraries, Knowledge Networks, and Human-Centered Information Systems

One of the most dramatic changes in the ongoing information revolution is the rapid convergence of computing, communications and content industries. Digital content, especially in the form of large, distributed, heterogeneous collections of electronic objects - text, voice, images, graphics, video, and others - is fueling the growth of the computing and communications in each other. This paper discusses the role of digital libraries, and knowledge networks in general, in this process, in the context of human-centered information systems.

Chien, Y.T. ISRDP in Digital Libraries (1997). Articles>Publishing>Online>User Centered Design

Digital Paper

New press introductions have resulted in an almost bewildering range of paper sizes. Nonetheless, that old standby, the 8 ˙ 11-inch sheet, remains the most popular choice.

American Printer (2004). Design>Publishing>Prepress

Digital Paper Platform: Papers Impact Digital Print Quality

As digital printers and presses advance, paper manufacturers continue to improve the quality and variety of their digital paper lines.

Hitchcock, Nancy A. PennWell (2004). Design>Publishing>Prepress>Paper

Digital Printing - Making the Right Moves

The number of printing companies that can call themselves digital printers jumps to many thousands in the United States alone. If you've got a Digital Press, or a Direct Imaging Press, or utilize Computer to Plate technology to 'feed' your conventional presses, you're a Digital Printer!

Chiricuzio, Mike. On Demand Journal (2004). Design>Publishing>Prepress>Printing

Directions for Online Publishing

Online publishing of newspapers, magazines, and books is really a meaningless concept. We have to leave the legacy publications behind as we invent the world of online publishing.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1995). Articles>Publishing>Online>Web Design