http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/Publishing A listing of the most recently indexed works about Design and Publishing in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/Publishing http://tc.eserver.org/34709.html http://tc.eserver.org/34709.html This isn't a discussion of hyphenated vs. not hyphenated. It examines the difference between putting a PDF file on the Internet (what I call an on-line document) and having a truly electronic Web presence for that content (what I call an online document). Unfortunately, the two often get bundled together. http://tc.eserver.org/34530.html http://tc.eserver.org/34530.html A graduate seminar in intensive work developing and using systems to manage documents delivered electronically and in print using single-sourcing technologies. Theory and practice of managing publication projects across groups and organizations. http://tc.eserver.org/34334.html http://tc.eserver.org/34334.html Almost 2 million book titles were published in the US alone, compared to more than the 1.3 million books published in the preceding 100 years. This change in the amount of information available for consumption is starting to change the way people read. How do we address the problem of information overload? Through good writing, and good information architecture. http://tc.eserver.org/33662.html http://tc.eserver.org/33662.html The landscape of web writing has changed. The value of well-edited and reviewed content is giving way to faster, less-refined posts on blogs, comments and services like Twitter. It is clear from the dwindling number of article pitches that many prefer to draw traffic to their own sites. http://tc.eserver.org/33400.html http://tc.eserver.org/33400.html Compares Gutenberg's invention of the movable type to the creation of XML. But where movable type changed the “economics of a mechanical process,” XML changed the “economics of content authoring, formatting, and customization.” http://tc.eserver.org/32344.html http://tc.eserver.org/32344.html This article reviews the social potential of digital storytelling, and in particular its potential to contribute to the strengthening of democracy. Through answering this question, it seeks to test out the relative strengths and weaknesses of two competing concepts for grasping the wider consequences of media for the social world: the concept of mediatization and the concept of mediation. It is argued that mediatization (developed, for example, by Stig Hjarvard and Winfried Schulz) is stronger at addressing aspects of media textuality, suggesting that a unitary media-based logic is at work. In spite of its apparent vagueness, mediation (developed in particular by Roger Silverstone) provides more flexibility for thinking about the open-ended and dialectical social transformations which, as with the printed book, may come in time to be articulated with the new form of digital storytelling. http://tc.eserver.org/32034.html http://tc.eserver.org/32034.html Stories are so hardwired into our subconscious that it would not surprise me if we did indeed inhabit a story-space that is different from our web-based reading-space. This is a testable proposition. Do our brains work differently when we are in the middle of a story versus when we are in the middle of web surfing? I would be astounded if they were the same. But if that was all the happened -- different strokes for stories than for links, then the solution to exiting the web and entering stories is easy -- just read, listen, or watch more stories. http://tc.eserver.org/30858.html http://tc.eserver.org/30858.html his article describes the (re-)design of newspapers and magazines as a process of cultural change which goes beyond designing a publication's layout, typography and use of colour, and includes designing the processes and structures of its production. http://tc.eserver.org/26699.html http://tc.eserver.org/26699.html The philosophy behind the Orange Journal requires that the editors take several practical, theoretical, and technical elements into careful consideration in order to provide the best knowledge-building community possible. http://tc.eserver.org/26349.html http://tc.eserver.org/26349.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/26142.html http://tc.eserver.org/26142.html Publications pages are often among the most popular pages on web sites, particularly government sites. But this handy convention has turned into a problem. http://tc.eserver.org/25885.html http://tc.eserver.org/25885.html Though form and function does not necessarily improve the content of your message it can improve the ease with which it is accessed--and design can effect how well it is understood. http://tc.eserver.org/25661.html http://tc.eserver.org/25661.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/25154.html http://tc.eserver.org/25154.html Originally published in 1989, this printing primer for digital artists has been updated and annotated for today's digital desktop publisher. http://tc.eserver.org/25113.html http://tc.eserver.org/25113.html An overview of the typical components of a printed technical book and the typical content, format, style, and sequence of those components. http://tc.eserver.org/25059.html http://tc.eserver.org/25059.html Every few weeks we receive a flyer about a 'seminar' or a 'workshop' on newsletters -- now to write them, how to design them, how to produce them, how to improve them. Although we haven’t actually attended any of these seminars, they travel to many major cities, and the list of topics covered and the testimonials printed in the flyers are impressive. This phenomenon of the successful traveling newsletter seminar suggests that A) lots of people (hence organizations) are interested in creating or improving newsletters, and B) there’s lots to be learned about newsletters. http://tc.eserver.org/24938.html http://tc.eserver.org/24938.html An example checklist for the process of developing documents. http://tc.eserver.org/24791.html http://tc.eserver.org/24791.html Newsletter design comprises everything from column width and typeface to clip art style and paper color--where do you start? You don’t need to be a graphic artist to design an appealing newsletter—but you need to know the basic principles and how to apply them consistently. Consciously or not, every time you read something, you make judgments about its design. Was it easy to read or skim? Did the artwork seem appropriate? Were the page numbers easy to locate? In this workshop we will review these and other design elements and how to make them work for your newsletter. http://tc.eserver.org/24775.html http://tc.eserver.org/24775.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/24682.html http://tc.eserver.org/24682.html Color printing has been a profitable application for print shops. Whether it be marketing collateral materials (brochures and the like), posters and signage or coupons, color documents have been the exclusive domain of offset printing. http://tc.eserver.org/23092.html http://tc.eserver.org/23092.html Wofford demonstrates several methods for saving paper that can help technical communicators cut the costs of paper usage. http://tc.eserver.org/22746.html http://tc.eserver.org/22746.html After spending a week of toil and labor in the Semantic Web mines, I've returned to the surface, to the sweetness and light of the XML developer community. And what do I find but a crisis about the XML part of the technical book publishing industry, as well as a monster thread about character entity names. http://tc.eserver.org/22701.html http://tc.eserver.org/22701.html PRISM is an extensible XML metadata standard for syndicating, aggregating, post-processing and multi-purposing content from magazines, news, catalogs, books and mainstream journals. http://tc.eserver.org/22593.html http://tc.eserver.org/22593.html Acrobat's annotation tools are valuable for marking-up and commenting on design layouts and digital comps no matter where your client is located. Acrobat 6.0 goes a step further by integrating e-mail comment tracking for more efficient review cycles. Learn how to tap into these powerful features. http://tc.eserver.org/22569.html http://tc.eserver.org/22569.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/22570.html http://tc.eserver.org/22570.html Yes, the 'poor man's CTP' still suffers from some early shortcomings, but four-color work on four-up equipment is becoming a short-run mainstay. http://tc.eserver.org/22583.html http://tc.eserver.org/22583.html Between 23 and 30 percent of all files submitted for print are in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF), a figure that's likely to grow. http://tc.eserver.org/22557.html http://tc.eserver.org/22557.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/22552.html http://tc.eserver.org/22552.html The latest digital copier-printers provide enhanced digital printing functionality, enabling users to do more than ever. http://tc.eserver.org/22551.html http://tc.eserver.org/22551.html As digital printers and presses advance, paper manufacturers continue to improve the quality and variety of their digital paper lines. http://tc.eserver.org/22553.html http://tc.eserver.org/22553.html 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! http://tc.eserver.org/22556.html http://tc.eserver.org/22556.html The JDF standard is expected to revolutionize the printing industry. It's come a long way, but there still is work to be done. http://tc.eserver.org/22550.html http://tc.eserver.org/22550.html Four firms discuss the benefits of color variable data printing, such as creating marketing campaigns and experiencing up to a 40 percent rate of return. http://tc.eserver.org/22547.html http://tc.eserver.org/22547.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/22545.html http://tc.eserver.org/22545.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/22538.html http://tc.eserver.org/22538.html PDF is becoming the de facto standard for not only viewing documents onscreen but also for printing them on paper. Acrobat 6 Professional includes better printing and prepress tools than ever before. PDF pundit Ted Padova shows you how they work. http://tc.eserver.org/22546.html http://tc.eserver.org/22546.html Everyone who has worked with color proofs knows that proofing systems are fundamentally flawed. A color proofer represents the output of the offset press. http://tc.eserver.org/21850.html http://tc.eserver.org/21850.html It was so much easier when we just had papyrus. http://tc.eserver.org/20939.html http://tc.eserver.org/20939.html The stock catalog, a tool that was once used for research, has become a funky book that you look through for ideas and inspiration. http://tc.eserver.org/20935.html http://tc.eserver.org/20935.html A categorized registry of electronic journals, journal services, or 'knowledge environments' that offer or provide innovative or novel access, organization, or navigational features, functionalities, or content. E-Journals that include multimedia components are listed inM-Bed(sm), while those that offer pay-per-view access are listed in Just-in-Time(sm). Some e-journals in EJI(sm) require free registration or a paid subscription to access select registry entries. http://tc.eserver.org/20831.html http://tc.eserver.org/20831.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20752.html http://tc.eserver.org/20752.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/20476.html http://tc.eserver.org/20476.html The ultimate determinant of a good form is whether it enables you to get the information you want. To achieve this purpose, you must look at the form from the point of view of the person completing it. http://tc.eserver.org/19954.html http://tc.eserver.org/19954.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/19665.html http://tc.eserver.org/19665.html 'Blogs,' or Web logs, are the newest form of one-way and interactive online communication to hit the Internet. Most people would agree that a 'blog' is a regularly updated set of Web pages with a chronological set of thoughts and links. Starting around 1999, the blog movement has gained so much momentum that hundreds of thousands of Web logs and many different styles of blog now exist. http://tc.eserver.org/19468.html http://tc.eserver.org/19468.html Implementing structured authoring with XML allows organizations to create better content. The addition of hierarchy and metadata to content improves reuse and content management. These benefits, however, must be weighed against the time and money required to implement a structured authoring approach. The business case is compelling for larger writing organizations; they will be the first to adopt structured authoring. Over time, improvements in available tools will reduce the cost of implementing structured authoring and make it affordable for smaller organizations. http://tc.eserver.org/19411.html http://tc.eserver.org/19411.html There are about 1,000 usability-related articles published each year. My guess is that less than 5% ever have any practical, long-term value to most usability practitioners. In some cases, the topics being studied are of little interest to practitioners. In many cases the research results are simply too hard for practitioners to find. http://tc.eserver.org/19277.html http://tc.eserver.org/19277.html You need to ask a variety of questions before committing to a documentation medium. When balanced with market directives, a complete analysis of your user’s communication needs can identify the appropriate medium or media. This progression topic will develop a series of questions that lead to the right media solution for your product. http://tc.eserver.org/19196.html http://tc.eserver.org/19196.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/18958.html http://tc.eserver.org/18958.html The 'blue underline' has nothing to do with a link (or vice versa). Coloring links blue and underlining them has been some kind of convention in Web environments, but that has not even been standardized. Actually, if you have a useful browser, you can change default settings that your links will be displayed green and italicized. http://tc.eserver.org/18957.html http://tc.eserver.org/18957.html Acrobat Distiller will always produce better quality PDF's than PDFWriter - which is one reason why PDFWriter wasn't part of the standard installation in Acrobat 5 and is completely gone for Acrobat 6. Both tools add metadata to PDF files - PDFWriter only uses the old 'InfoDict' method, while Distiller does both that and the new XML-based metadata. http://tc.eserver.org/18959.html http://tc.eserver.org/18959.html Acrobat's annotations are a handy way to keep track of your thoughts as you review a PDF document. To get the most from this feature, try these tips. http://tc.eserver.org/18956.html http://tc.eserver.org/18956.html I have a 40-page PDF file that I 'd like to create several hyperlinks to -- each going to a different page within that document. http://tc.eserver.org/18955.html http://tc.eserver.org/18955.html How to generate 1 PDF file base on these 2 files but with only 1 page. If I am reading this correctly, you would like the contents of two separate/single page PDF files to be located within a single PDF file. http://tc.eserver.org/18831.html http://tc.eserver.org/18831.html Anyone who would like to publish a book should consider using Windows™ hypertext Help. Publishing in hypertext can help authors fulfill their creative urge. Conventional publishing methods can obstruct good writers from contributing to their respective field of interest. It is hard to get a book proposal accepted today. Competition is fierce, and writers must follow accepted protocols to have ideas considered. There is potential for writers who develop and produce Windows online Help systems. They are already 'experts' in a newly emerging technology. Using the Windows hypertext medium, writers can publish and sell their ideas without the hassles of the publishing industry. http://tc.eserver.org/18825.html http://tc.eserver.org/18825.html This page is my effort to discover and document how to transform the currently shipping FrameMaker 5.5.6 into a form that is actually usable and hopefully stable. http://tc.eserver.org/18824.html http://tc.eserver.org/18824.html This is my current model of the components which compose the FrameMaker 5.5.6 product, and their functions. Open to critique. All of the components marked in yellow are either included in the FM package, or at least supposed to be. http://tc.eserver.org/18638.html http://tc.eserver.org/18638.html The Open eBook Forum (OeBF) is the leading international trade and standards organization for the electronic publishing industry. Our members consist of hardware and software companies publishers, accessibility advocates, authors, users of electronic books, and related organizations whose common goals are to establish specifications and standards and to advance the competitiveness of the electronic publishing industry. The Forum's work will foster the development of applications and products that will benefit creators of content, makers of reading systems and consumers. http://tc.eserver.org/18519.html http://tc.eserver.org/18519.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/18321.html http://tc.eserver.org/18321.html 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? http://tc.eserver.org/18349.html http://tc.eserver.org/18349.html Creating eBooks that can be bought, downloaded, and viewed online has never been easier or more secure. In Adobe's How to Create Adobe PDF eBooks, you'll find the basic procedures and techniques you need to create eBooks in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Learn how to design good document templates for eBooks, convert your documents to Adobe PDF using recommended eBook job options, and optimize your Adobe PDF documents so that they display at their best in the free Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader. http://tc.eserver.org/18344.html http://tc.eserver.org/18344.html Want to make friends with your service bureau and printer? Just bring them perfect files every time. Use the Save for Service Provider plug-in built into Adobe® PageMaker® 7.0 , and you’ll never have to worry about last-minute calls from your service bureau or printer again. Here’s an example of how you can use this plug-in. http://tc.eserver.org/18343.html http://tc.eserver.org/18343.html Adobe® PageMaker® 7.0 includes more than 300 templates. Just open the Templates palette, select a category, choose a template, replace the placeholders with your content, and you’re done. You’ll get professional-looking results every time without fussing over special layouts or worrying about choosing appropriate fonts. http://tc.eserver.org/14860.html http://tc.eserver.org/14860.html In an era when paperless publishing makes people rush to deadline and take less time in the quality-control realm, we've created a Web full of hastily produced PDFs that are full of errors, take too long to download or are otherwise amateurish in nature. http://tc.eserver.org/14859.html http://tc.eserver.org/14859.html When you create named destinations, make sure that they are in the view that you want them to be when created because that is the view that will be applied when that named destination is called up later. Also, remember to use the Document Properties preferences to force Acrobat to use the preferences that were assigned to the document (as opposed to Acrobat's own viewing preferences). You may find that your file will open and view differently in every Acrobat application that is used if you do not save the document with your preferences. http://tc.eserver.org/14862.html http://tc.eserver.org/14862.html In this article, you'll add protection to your file so that no one can change its contents and so that unauthorized users can't open, use, or print the file. http://tc.eserver.org/14673.html http://tc.eserver.org/14673.html Walinskas provides several tips for creating readable and informative e-zines. http://tc.eserver.org/14162.html http://tc.eserver.org/14162.html Duotones are a combination of two grayscale images, using two negatives and two printing plates. Sometimes we see super print quality using two blacks, to add midtones or highlights to an image, or to extend an image's overall tonal range. Back in the '80s the Time-Life Photography series of books used Black and metalic Silver inks to produce probably some of the best high-grade black and white photographic images ever printed. They're no longer in print, but you can find them in most better public or university libraries. http://tc.eserver.org/14163.html http://tc.eserver.org/14163.html Short, frequently asked questions from the PS 911 call records, including: Vignetting, Color from B&W, Reduced files become Jagged, End of file Errors, Convert Layer to Grayscale, Lost Clone Tool, and others. http://tc.eserver.org/13674.html http://tc.eserver.org/13674.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/13581.html http://tc.eserver.org/13581.html Every product that human beings create has an impact on the environment. The questions is, to what degree? How long will it last, what damage is done in creating it, and what will happen when it is no longer needed? http://tc.eserver.org/12971.html http://tc.eserver.org/12971.html In January (2000), I asked about TechWhirlers' experiences as users of PDF documents online. The specific questions were: Do you notice a difference between reading PDF online and reading HTML online? Do you have a preference either way? If so, which one? Here's the summary or responses and a synopsis of further information I've been tracking down. I'm sorry it's taken so long: like many an unplanned project it got way out of hand. I've tried to restrict this message to issues of interest to the list; if I've failed please accept my apologies. http://tc.eserver.org/10864.html http://tc.eserver.org/10864.html This collection is a compilation of tips from many sources. As a sales rep for a commercial printer (Altman Printing Company), I have personally experienced most of these situations. If I had had something like this to give to each of my clients in the beginning, it sure would have made everyone's life a little easier!! Some of the tips below should be added to the back of your DTP Bible! If you don't follow some basic rules -- sooner or later you will realize: just because it comes up on your screen real pretty, and it prints to your laser printer just fine --- doesn't always mean that it is going to output correctly from a high-resolution imagesetter or print the same way!! http://tc.eserver.org/10823.html http://tc.eserver.org/10823.html If you present information in multiple media, with complementary information, that address multiple learning styles, you increase a reader’s interest and comprehension by 65%. http://tc.eserver.org/10827.html http://tc.eserver.org/10827.html Designing online documentation? You mean I can’t just take the word processing file and make it available on our network, or throw the document into a Windows Help file and ship it? Well, I would not recommend either of those options. You should take many things into consideration when you design an online document. http://tc.eserver.org/10828.html http://tc.eserver.org/10828.html Fixes and workarounds for Acrobat. http://tc.eserver.org/10822.html http://tc.eserver.org/10822.html A forum where Acrobat users can help each other get the best out of the product. http://tc.eserver.org/10753.html http://tc.eserver.org/10753.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/10752.html http://tc.eserver.org/10752.html 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.