CONTENTS
========
1. AN OPENTYPE PROBLEM
2. INPULSE AD MANAGEMENT
3. INDESIGN UPDATER
4. MORE ON JPEG FILE PROBLEMS
5. PLACING MULTI-PAGE PDF FILES
6. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
7. UTILITIES/UPDATES
8. HINTS
9. SOURCES OF INFORMATION
10. LAST WORD
Firstly, greetings to all our subscribers with this, the last issue of Format for the year 2000. Best wishes for 2001.
1. AN OPENTYPE PROBLEM
======================
We've sung the praises of Open Type as a new type format in previous issues of Format, but the way it has been implemented in Windows 2000 has created problems for some users of PageMaker and QuarkXpress.
The problem shows up when printing -- where fonts do not appear as they should, often with Courier substituting for the required font.
We haven't been able to tie down a font expert since we became aware of this just before Christmas, but it seems that it can be solved by replacing the problem fonts with the older TrueType versions of the fonts giving trouble. Type 1 fonts have no problems.
The trouble seems to have occurred with new system installations of Windows 2000, so we suspect that upgrades of the operating system may leave existing versions of the fonts (which include all the standard Office and Windows fonts).
It will be a pity if OpenType gets a bad name before it establishes all its advantages (of which being able to transfer across platforms is just one), and it may be that the Win2000 fonts are in fact the old TrueType fonts in an OpenType wrapper, which was mentioned in the OpenType specifications.
There is an FAQ about OpenType on the Microsoft site but it starts with the point that it hasn't been updated since 1997. However, one question and answer combination is worth quoting, in the hope that, with a few glitches such as that referred to above, it will turn out to be true in the long run:
Q. Will my fonts just work with new releases of Windows? Do I have to do some kind of funny upgrade? Will things break? Will the fonts be identical between Windows 95 and Windows NT or will there be incompatibilities?
A. Fonts just work. There is no need to upgrade, and fonts will be identical between Windows NT and Windows 95.
2. INPULSE AD MANAGEMENT
========================
One of the newspaper systems which we usually regard as being a little on the high-end for this newsletter, has nevertheless incorporated Adobe InDesign and the InDesign styles plugin "Smart Styles" from WoodWing Software.
These form part of Press Computer Systems' new InPulse advertisement management system. InPulse supports both Macintosh and Windows based InDesign 1.5 clients using browser-based technologies for administration and management. InPulse uses Microsoft's SQL Server and COM technologies running under Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000 server.
With the Smart Styles plug-in all formatting options for a page item, including different text styles can be set automatically using a page item from the Style Library as an example.
InPulse will store Smart Styles libraries within its database. Depending on user logon the correct Smart Styles will be available for the user to format complete advertisements in a single action.
Stan Dziuba, managing director at PCS, says the combination lets them "build powerful newspaper solutions".
Press Computer Systems Ltd is based in the UK and their customers include the Guardian, Independent, and Mirror groups. Their web site is at <http://www.pcspcs.com> but the only reference we could find to anything other than working with QXP and Creator was the news release we have quoted from above.
Details on Smart Styles are at <http://www.WoodWing.com>
4. MORE ON JPEG FILE PROBLEMS
=============================
Angela Urquhart writes from Canada: "Just a few comments on your piece on JPEG files and digital cameras. I have an Agfa ephoto 1680. I have experienced the same as you describe when re-saving JPEG files from my digital camera to use in a publication. But there is something else users might want to check before actually downloading their photos from the camera to their computer.
"My Agfa-provided software which is called Agfa Photowise has an additional feature which claims will 'up' the resolution of your photograph if you used the highest resolution setting on the camera.
"They call it a JPEG enhancer or something like that. If you see any option for that within your software and plan to use your photos for professional print jobs, do not select this option. From what I can tell it just does the same thing as a JPEG file does when it re-saves, except that it expands the pixels area instead of compressing the information.
"The file size increases, your photo appears a lot larger, and you think 'wonderful!'. Upon using this feature several times on a set of photos and then using one as a cover shot for our magazine, the photo turned out terribly! The image looked as if someone dragged it through the mud.
"Upon receiving back the film from this job I was able to see the CMYK separations from this image. I took each separation and placed it upon the light table and there were large squares (about 1/3 inch square) all over each separation within the image.
"Strangely enough, placing each piece back together, the squares themselves were not apparent. But my service bureau told me that they seemed to think this is what contributed to the 'muddy" look.
"The photo in question, to give you some more description, had a man's face in it. The man's looked to be of Irish (caucasian) decent, however when we received our magazine back, he looked like he'd just spent a month in the sun in Africa.
"Further examination using Photoshop to view each separate color channel did reveal the squares in the same manner as did the film. I haven't used the JPEG enhancer since then, and the photos seem much clearer."
5. PLACING MULTI-PAGE PDF FILES
===============================
Placing multiple-page PDFs seem to cause heartaches for many in publishing. In recent days we've seen reports of a problem with the QuarkXPress PDF filter that if you update links, the links may update to the first page of the PDF rather than to the chosen page. It was an error found by others but not reproducible by all.
In PageMaker the PDF filter can't be scripted, so if you have a lot of reproductions from multiple page PDFs, it may be easier to export as EPS files from Acrobat. This will create a separate EPS for each page, with a consistent naming format that should enable the placing process to be scripted.
6. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
========================
We were asked about a QuarkXPress email list. Details are at: <http://www.xpressobar.com>. We warn that the regular members, while good and quick at solving QXP problems, are also quick to throw insults at each other. It takes a little time to get used to this (and even to understand some of the posts), but it is perhaps the best source of answers on QXP.
-----
Hope Cartwright asked about PageMaker: "We are trying to place an eps graphic into text blocks or frames and set the leading or spacing so that additional graphics can be placed at later time to update and flow the images automatically. At this point we can place the graphics but are unable to set the proper spacing. This is an extremely huge catalog and this would avoid hiring another individual for the constant updating and maintenance."
We replied: We've found that with in-line graphics it can be worth setting up a style to use for graphics. While we would not normally use auto leading, it is useful for this purpose and it may be necessary to set it at something either just above or below 100%.
We've probably faced similar problems in using in-line graphics with classified ads, and it usually involves setting up several different styles for different kinds of in-line graphics, and also considering other settings such as keep-together, keep with next etc.
It may also be useful to consider whether some PageMaker scripts would help.
-----
David Mazoff wrote to us: "I've got a real problem. My printer guy uses a new Toshiba 2460 digital copier to do our newsletter, which is an Adobe pdf. When he goes to print it on Booklet Ledger (11 x 17) the gutters are all weird. We have tried everything, and I mean everything. I have no problem printing it out on my Lexmark Optra T610, in a variety of shapes and sizes (but my printer won't take 11 x 17). Toshiba has been of no help at all. Anyone out there know how to set the form so the four 8.1/2 x 11 page pdf prints on both sides of the 11 x 17 and with proper margins?"
We replied: We are not sure if we understand correctly, but how are you converting the 8.5 x 11 pages to print as pairs? It may be that this is being done by the printer driver and in that case my immediate thought is that the printer driver for the Toshiba may include a setting of "fit to page" which could be causing the PDF to be printed to the printable area even though it already includes margins.
A test may be to print a test PDF made to a smaller page size and check whether this prints correctly.
It may be worth comparing the result with importing each page of the PDF into a page layout program such as PageMaker or QuarkXPress and placing them on an 11 x 17 page, to see if the results are the same.
Another option would be to use an Acrobat plugin for the page imposition -- something such as Quite Imposing. There should be a trial version on the <http://www.quite.com> website. (Incidentally, there aren't many companies which give a free upgrade to the next version of a plugin, but Quite gives a free download of the Acrobat 4 version if you bought the Acrobat 3 version. Owner Aandi Inston has even been known to answer postscript and PDF questions from people who haven't bought anything from him.)
Yet another choice might be to create 11 x 17 pages in the original page layout program and see if this has the same result.
However this didn't solve David's problem and he replied: "If we send the 8.1/2 x 11 to the Toshiba, everything prints fine. Pages are centred, margins are correct. But no matter what we do--fit to page, not fit to page, pretend it's A3, etc--the 11 x 17 shifts the centre gutter in opposite directions on the 2 page spread.
"With my Lexmark, I can define forms, on my printer guy's Toshiba, I can't, otherwise I could tell it to shift the alignment. Any other ideas?"
-----
Julie at World Publishing wrote: "Sorry to bother you Gordon - you're the only expert I know! We've got a PageMaker 6.0 doc that we can't get open - it crashes with different messages, but won't open at all. We tried opening it in 6.5 and in InDesign with no luck. It was ready to go and is a 20pp newspaper. There is no back up. We're going to try rebooting the server. It's ready to pdf - is there anything you know of that we can do?"
We replied: Among other things to try are moving all linked files so that it will not find them and will open, hopefully, with the missing links dialog.
The above may also be worth trying with opening it in 6.5 (InDesign won't open a PM6.0 file anyway).
You may also like to try working through some of the other suggestions in the "troubleshooting damaged PM documents" file at: <http://www.makingpages.org/pagemaker/tspmdoc.html>
-----
Mike Condor writes: "Like Lynette (Format44), I had a problem with the build booklet plugin. The answer was, of course, an empty text box. I solved it by opening the original page on which the error message appeared, then Select All. The empty text box should be obvious and it is simple to delete it."
-----
Michael Woolf wrote from New Zealand: "I doubt if you and I are related but the name's the same!
"I'm something of a computer bunny - trying to use PaceMaker 6.5 to produce a bi-monthly magazine for magicians. Please forgive me if these are silly questions.
"1 I can't place text from MS Word 97.
"2 I can't place graphics from other applications.
"This has just happened - I have been able to do this for several months.
"I have reloaded PaceMaker but it doesn't help, and a helpful friend has given me a way around the problem involving either the 'Insert Object' or 'Paste Special' commands - but this is rather cumbersome."
We replied: If you are on Windows you can check the installed filter versions by holding control as you click on Help>About...
One of ours has version 1.1 of "MS Word 6-7" for both Macintosh and Windows, and ver 1.4 of "MS Word97: again for both platforms in addition to separate filters for "MS Word for Windows 2.0" and "Microsoft Word for DOS". It would seem the filters themselves sort out which is right for which file.
It may be worth deleting (or renaming for safety) the filters configuration file (Pm65filt.cnf in Windows, in the language folder) and seeing if it will rebuild one that works.
The other problem sounds like a configuration file problem too -- and may also be the filter configuration file.
-----
Peter Gadsby of Taree, Australia wrote in reply to the suggestion in Format44 that "If you turn on read tags irrespective of whether the text is tagged or not, then PM does not import Word styles (a major cause of BRIs)"
He states: "Well!!! I don't know what a BRI is, but what a useful revelation that was! Major irritations sometimes have the simplest solutions."
7. UTILITIES/UPDATES
====================
If you are wondering what utility to use for solving problems on Macs, then the debate seems to be between Nortons, TechTool Pro and Disk Warrior -- with the latter gaining the nod at <http://sciencequest.org/support/computers/mac/repair_topics/top_tools.html>. This is a good site to see what other tools are available for the Mac and what they do well. Among them is one we have been seeing some good reports on, DiskRescue, an 800k program for Macs from <http://www.wildbits.com/rescue/>. Cost is US$39 but you can try it first.
-----
If you're on a Windows based computer, you can download ZoneAlarm, a program which will warn when any attempt is made to contact your computer while you are online, and you will probably be as surprised as we were to find out just how many times this happens. The program is free for personal and non-profit use. From <http://www.zonelabs.com/>
8. HINTS
========
In QuarkXPress, Get Picture, when the picture in question is a PDF file, and when a library is open, causes XPress to freeze. Closing any libraries before clicking on Get Picture solves the problem.
-----
We've mentioned this before, but it deserves another mention until we get our revised website on line with an easier guide to previous hints. In PageMaker, the best way of creating a caption with a picture when text has to run around both, is to group the picture and caption, then apply text wrap to the group. To run text around a breakout quote or similar, group the item (yes, a group of one!) and then apply text wrap. Tony Hirtenstein of the UK commented "What a brilliant idea!" when we answered his query with this suggestion. Sadly we can't take the credit for the idea, only for passing it on.
------
There have been some comments on various lists of what to do with broken Jaz drives, especially when the only suggestion from Iomega is "buy a new drive".
Someone suggested that on internal drives you can find a little brass worm gear that when rotated a few times is likely to put another part back into place. Another correspondent confirmed it also worked on externals.
-----
In InDesign force a paragraph back to a paragraph style after trying local changes with Option (or Alt) and clicking on the style. with ALT you respect changes made in the paragraph with the character styles, with ALT SHIFT you remove every change.
9. SOURCES OF INFORMATION
=========================
"Lapsing Into a Comma: A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print and How to Avoid Them," is a useful editorial reference by Bill Walsh. See his site at <http://www.theslot.com>
-----
Many publications have still to establish more than perhaps a token website. A concept-to-Web tutorial is available in the online searchable pricing database at <http://www.brennerbooks.com>. The tutorial describes how to estimate the cost of a complete web project. The full detail is not free, as it provides an online version of their books on publishing costing, but there are some good pointers in the free area. Also on the site is a useful free guide to "Pricing Color Proofs".
-----
The long awaited "Real World Adobe InDesign 1.5" by Olav Martin Kvern, has finally been published. Peachpit Press.
-----
Reuters have created a Showcase NewsML site which shows how a NewsML document could be used to reference multiple related stories, pictures and video in a particular news "Event". At the moment it is updated a couple of times a day.
The showcase website is at <http://about.reuters.com/newsshowcase> Take a look at the "NewsML in Action" pages and see if this gives you any ideas. Click on the View NewsML link to see the NewsML files the pages were created from.
We've also had it suggested that the best XML model for newspapers would be NITF rather than NewsML. The documentation is at <http://www.NITF.org>.
-----
A good general graphics and DTP info site: <http://www.designer-info.com>
-----
For users of InDesign, as well as the InDesign talk mailing list at <http://www.listsearch.com/indesigntalk.lasso?manage>, on which you'll find some of the major power users of the program, there is what at least one user has described as a more "beginner-like" list with details at <http://www.egroups.com/group/adobe-indesign>
10. LAST WORD
=============
A recent email we received began: "I saw some obvious typos on your webpage...<http://www.worsleypress.com/pubprod/Magbook.htm>"
The email went on to point out that we had twice spelled organization as organisation.
We hope most people even new to publishing realise <sic> that there is considerable variation in spelling around the world. On our website we generally follow Australian spelling which is closer to UK than US style.
In Format, we generally leave spelling as it is from correspondents and other sources unless it is obviously wrong.
We also make our own misteaks.
-----
The question was simple: "I was working away and suddenly my paste function won't work -- help, please!"
The answer equally simple: "Save, RIGHT NOW!!! Exit and reboot. You're crashing... but gently. Head it off at the pass."
Most DTP software seems to suffer from its own specific examples of signposts that warn of what is ahead.
But special thanks to Craig Faichney for the "gentle crash" term which we plan to use as if it was our own.
Gordon Woolf
The Worsley Press
Hastings, Australia.
====================