uneven text box

P
Posted By
Peter
Apr 17, 2006
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How can I make a text box in an uneven shape, like a rectangle with one of the corners cut off?

Thanks,

Peter

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K
Kingdom
Apr 17, 2006
"Peter" wrote in news:1145289502.753914.48040 @e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com:

How can I make a text box in an uneven shape, like a rectangle with one of the corners cut off?

Thanks,

Peter

Duh! layer one shape graphic, layer 2 text?


‘Mirror mirror on the wall who is the prettiest of them all?’ ‘Snow White you dirty bitch and don’t you forget it!’
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Peter
Apr 17, 2006
What I mean is so the text is fit within the shape. Say like if you wanted your text layed out in the shape of a triangle.

Peter
J
js
Apr 17, 2006
"Peter" wrote in message
How can I make a text box in an uneven shape, like a rectangle with one of the corners cut off?

Go to the main pallet and choose SHAPES. Then Polygon. At the top of the screen, type in "3" as the number of points. Then hold down SHIFT as you draw – this creates a triangle in equal proportions.

Then go to the layers pallet. Click on the right side of the vertical link symbol to select it, then go to the Layer menu item and click ‘create clipping path’. You should now see a black outline of your triangle. Select the Text tool (using centered alignment), touch inside the triangle and type away. The clipping path will constrain the type to the interior of the triangle.

You should be able to do this with any shape after making a clipping path of it.
J
js
Apr 17, 2006
I could have made a more elegant triangle using smaller type. Play with justification, different shapes. It’s a rather effective tool.

Here’s the quick and crude example:
http://course1.winona.edu/jstafford/triangle.gif
J
js
Apr 17, 2006
J
js
Apr 17, 2006
And a common use: http://course1.winona.edu/jstafford/balloon.gif (inelegant, quick n dirty)
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peter
Apr 17, 2006
JS, thanks for your answer. I can’t seem to find "create clipping path’. I am looking in the layer pull down menu at the top. I have PS 7, if that matters.

Thanks again,

Peter
T
Tacit
Apr 18, 2006
In article ,
"peter" wrote:

JS, thanks for your answer. I can’t seem to find "create clipping path’. I am looking in the layer pull down menu at the top. I have PS 7, if that matters.

It is not in the Layer pull down menu.

Look closely at the Layers palette. In the right hand side, near the top, you will see a triangle. This is a flyout menu. That’s where you’ll find many layer-specific commands, including commands to make a clipping group.

However, I do not believe this will do what you want it to do. You can not make a text box of an arbitrary shape in Photoshop. For this, the proper tool is a page layout program like Adobe Indesign or a drawing program like Adobe Illustrator, not an image editing program like Adobe Photoshop.


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2
2
Apr 18, 2006
"tacit" wrote

Look closely at the Layers palette. In the right hand side, near the top, you will see a triangle. This is a flyout menu. That’s where you’ll find many layer-specific commands, including commands to make a clipping group.

Okay, it must have moved with CS and CS2. It’s in the pull-down there.

However, I do not believe this will do what you want it to do. You can not make a text box of an arbitrary shape in Photoshop.

Again, you must be speaking of a version earlier than CS. If the arbitrary thing is a SHAPE, or a closed PATH, you certainly can. I don’t know about earlier versions.

Made from a closed path.: http://course1.winona.edu/jstafford/oh_yea.gif

Made using a shape: http://course1.winona.edu/jstafford/umbrella.gif

So, is it a new feature of V8 or later?
AM
Andrew Morton
Apr 18, 2006
Peter wrote:
How can I make a text box in an uneven shape, like a rectangle with one of the corners cut off?

Press enter at appropriate points in the text (maybe manually hyphenating it), then adjust the tracking and kerning in the character palette to tidy it. Photoshop isn’t really meant for setting type.

Andrew
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peter
Apr 18, 2006
I was originally inclined to lay this out in CorelDraw, as I am very familiar with it already. The problem is, when I am on the last step, exporting it to a TIFF that I can give to a printing company, it seems like I lose some quality. An example would be if I have some text with a hairline outline. It looks great when printed out of CorelDraw, but when I export to TIFF and print out of photoshop, the outline is barely visible. Anyway, thanks to all.

Peter
JR
John Rampling
Apr 18, 2006
Instead of exporting it from Corel Draw in TIFF format you should be able to export it as a Photoshop file. Look at your Save file options.

"peter" wrote in message
I was originally inclined to lay this out in CorelDraw, as I am very familiar with it already. The problem is, when I am on the last step, exporting it to a TIFF that I can give to a printing company, it seems like I lose some quality. An example would be if I have some text with a hairline outline. It looks great when printed out of CorelDraw, but when I export to TIFF and print out of photoshop, the outline is barely visible. Anyway, thanks to all.

Peter
J
js
Apr 18, 2006
"Andrew Morton" wrote in message
Peter wrote:
How can I make a text box in an uneven shape, like a rectangle with one of the corners cut off?

Press enter at appropriate points in the text (maybe manually hyphenating it), then adjust the tracking and kerning in the character palette to tidy it.

That’s just plain nutz.
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peter
Apr 18, 2006
Yes, John, I do have that option. Are you pretty confident that this exported file will have the same quality as one I created in PS?

Thanks!

Peter
J
js
Apr 18, 2006
"peter" wrote in message
Yes, John, I do have that option. Are you pretty confident that this exported file will have the same quality as one I created in PS?

Sorry. I can only guess what you are talking about because I can’t see the post you are referring to.

If you save a file in CS/PS format it will have the quality you give it when you make it. If you save it in TIFF format, it’s just as good. If you make the PSD or TIFF tiny, nothing will make it look better when it is larger. If you save it as a JPEG or GIF it will suffer the usual degradation typical of each.

Try it: create a PS file of, say, 10×8" at 300spi. Do your thing. Print it.
P
peter
Apr 19, 2006
Thanks, JS.

Peter
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Tacit
Apr 19, 2006
In article ,
"peter" wrote:

I was originally inclined to lay this out in CorelDraw, as I am very familiar with it already. The problem is, when I am on the last step, exporting it to a TIFF that I can give to a printing company, it seems like I lose some quality.

Yes, that is correct.

NEVER give a printing company final artwork as a TIFF or other raster (pixel) file. Give oyur printing company the CorelDRAW file, or export as an EPS. TIFF *is not* an appropriate page format for print. (It is an appropriate image format for pictures that you will print on press, but not for text.)


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T
Tacit
Apr 19, 2006
In article ,
"peter" wrote:

Yes, John, I do have that option. Are you pretty confident that this exported file will have the same quality as one I created in PS?

Yes, which is to say, crap.

Photoshop format, TIFF, and so on are not the way you should be delivering your files to a printer.

To deliver files for press, use the original format (such as QuarkXPress, InDesign, Corel, and so on) together with all fonts and placed images, or create a press-ready PDF, or create an EPS. Formats such as TIFF and Photoshop are not suitable for delivering the output of a page layout or drawing program.

Your printer should be able to give you this information.


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2
2
Apr 19, 2006
"tacit" wrote in message
In article ,
"peter" wrote:

Yes, John, I do have that option. Are you pretty confident that this exported file will have the same quality as one I created in PS?

Yes, which is to say, crap.

Photoshop format, TIFF, and so on are not the way you should be delivering your files to a printer.

If he said it was going out to a press printer, then I missed it.
P
peter
Apr 19, 2006
Ok, Tacit, good to know. What about a magazine ad which asks for a 300 dpi or better TIFF? Would you be comfortable creating it in CorelDraw and then exporting to TIFF?

Thanks,

Peter
I
iehsmith
Apr 19, 2006
On 4/18/06 7:36 PM, peter commented:

Ok, Tacit, good to know. What about a magazine ad which asks for a 300 dpi or better TIFF? Would you be comfortable creating it in CorelDraw and then exporting to TIFF?

Thanks,

Peter

Ideally, any raster illustrations/photos would be 300ppi/up, CMYK or grayscale TIFF. (Is ths a process color or grayscale ad?) Then you should import/place the images into a layout or vector draw program document to layout your ad and text. The text should be keept live, or if necessary, converted to outline. Then the finished ad should be exported as EPS or PDF with fonts and images embedded; or, send them the ad document along with all images and fonts.

If you have to do the entire thing in a TIFF/raster for some reason, then I’d go atleast 600ppi. I’d use black text for anything 12pts and below.

How is this magazine printed? I’m wondering why they asked for a 300dpi TIFF. Is it printed on newsprint? You may need to ask them more questions.

inez
AM
Andrew Morton
Apr 19, 2006
js wrote:
"Andrew Morton" wrote in message
Peter wrote:
How can I make a text box in an uneven shape, like a rectangle with one of the corners cut off?

Press enter at appropriate points in the text (maybe manually hyphenating it), then adjust the tracking and kerning in the character palette to tidy it.

That’s just plain nutz.

There was just no way to get salt into it 🙂

I couldn’t get your clipping path method to work in PS CS2 on Windows – were you using Illustrator?

Go to the main pallet and choose SHAPES. Then Polygon.

I assume that means the polygon tool in the tool palette.

At the top of
the screen, type in "3" as the number of points. Then hold down SHIFT as you draw – this creates a triangle in equal proportions.

OK so far, except the triangle is equilateral whatever you do – the shift key constrains the angle at which it is drawn.

Then go to the layers pallet. Click on the right side of the vertical link symbol to select it,

"It" being what, precisely? If you meant the shape, then that just deselected it.

then go to the Layer menu item and click
‘create clipping path’.

No such option; the nearest thing offered is ‘create clipping mask’, which is greyed out.

And I can’t find anything in the help about constraining text within an arbitrary shape.

Andrew
P
Peter
Apr 19, 2006
Yes, you are right. It does say a PDF is preferable. I have only opened PDF’s, never actually created one. If you wouldn’t mind, can you walk me through creating one from a CorelDraw file. Should I export to TIFF or EPS, then open in Acrobat and save? What about from Photoshop? Just open the file in Acrobat and save? Thanks you so much for your help.

Peter
JM
John McWilliams
Apr 19, 2006
Peter wrote:
Yes, you are right. It does say a PDF is preferable. I have only opened PDF’s, never actually created one. If you wouldn’t mind, can you walk me through creating one from a CorelDraw file. Should I export to TIFF or EPS, then open in Acrobat and save? What about from Photoshop? Just open the file in Acrobat and save? Thanks you so much for your help.

From Photoshop you can export directly to PDF format. Sorry, don’t know Jack re Corel.

And, Peter, it really helps when folks quote just enough of what they’re replying to… [as most have replied to your inquiries.]


John McWilliams
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Tacit
Apr 20, 2006
In article ,
"peter" wrote:

Ok, Tacit, good to know. What about a magazine ad which asks for a 300 dpi or better TIFF? Would you be comfortable creating it in CorelDraw and then exporting to TIFF?

No.

Never give a professional printer a flat, pixel-based file as a TIFF.

No reputable magazine will tell you to give them an ad as a TIFF. They will tell you that any pictures you use in the ad should be TIFF files or EPS files, but the *ad itself* should not.

A TIFF file is made of pixels. If you put type in an ad and then export to TIFF, the type is broken up into pixels. That means all your text will print fuzzy.

Send the magazine the original Corel files, or an EPS, or a press-ready PDF. If your job has text on it, never send it in a graphic format like TIFF.


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P
peter
Apr 20, 2006
tacit wrote:
No.

Never give a professional printer a flat, pixel-based file as a TIFF.
No reputable magazine will tell you to give them an ad as a TIFF. They will tell you that any pictures you use in the ad should be TIFF files or EPS files, but the *ad itself* should not.

A TIFF file is made of pixels. If you put type in an ad and then export to TIFF, the type is broken up into pixels. That means all your text will print fuzzy.

Send the magazine the original Corel files, or an EPS, or a press-ready PDF. If your job has text on it, never send it in a graphic format like TIFF.


Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html
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Ok, would exporting from Corel to EPS format be satisfactory to send? Forgive me, I have not used EPS much.

Thanks,

Peter
T
Tacit
Apr 20, 2006
In article ,
"Peter" wrote:

Yes, you are right. It does say a PDF is preferable. I have only opened PDF’s, never actually created one. If you wouldn’t mind, can you walk me through creating one from a CorelDraw file. Should I export to TIFF or EPS, then open in Acrobat and save?

Do not export to TIFF. They want a PDF because they do not want you to break up your text into pixels. If you export to TIFF, your text will be broken up into pixels; turning the TIFF into an EPS will not change it back. Giving them a PDF made from a TIFF is no better than giving them a TIFF.


Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html
Nanohazard, Geek shirts, and more: http://www.villaintees.com
I
iehsmith
Apr 20, 2006
On 4/19/06 8:05 PM, tacit commented:

In article ,
"Peter" wrote:

Yes, you are right. It does say a PDF is preferable. I have only opened PDF’s, never actually created one. If you wouldn’t mind, can you walk me through creating one from a CorelDraw file. Should I export to TIFF or EPS, then open in Acrobat and save?

Do not export to TIFF. They want a PDF because they do not want you to break up your text into pixels. If you export to TIFF, your text will be broken up into pixels; turning the TIFF into an EPS will not change it back. Giving them a PDF made from a TIFF is no better than giving them a TIFF.

Tacit,
He’s asking/guessing how to create a PDF from CorelDraw. I’ve never used Corel so I have no idea. Can CorelDraw export an EPS appropriate for print? It may also be the case that the magazine may not be able to do anything with native cdr files.

Peter,
it sounds as though you don’t have a full/pro version of Acrobat, just the Reader; is this correct?
P
peter
Apr 20, 2006
Tacit,
He’s asking/guessing how to create a PDF from CorelDraw. I’ve never used Corel so I have no idea. Can CorelDraw export an EPS appropriate for print? It may also be the case that the magazine may not be able to do anything with native cdr files.

Peter,
it sounds as though you don’t have a full/pro version of Acrobat, just the Reader; is this correct?

Yes, that is correct. I exported an EPS from Corel, and then opened it with Corel, and it was still composed of several objects and fonts. But what program would the printing company use to open the EPS? I’d like to use the same program so I know what they are getting.

Thanks,

Peter
JM
John McWilliams
Apr 20, 2006
peter wrote:
Tacit,
He’s asking/guessing how to create a PDF from CorelDraw. I’ve never used Corel so I have no idea. Can CorelDraw export an EPS appropriate for print? It may also be the case that the magazine may not be able to do anything with native cdr files.

Peter,
it sounds as though you don’t have a full/pro version of Acrobat, just the Reader; is this correct?

Yes, that is correct. I exported an EPS from Corel, and then opened it with Corel, and it was still composed of several objects and fonts. But what program would the printing company use to open the EPS? I’d like to use the same program so I know what they are getting.
What does the Printer say?

[My guess is that they’re very familiar with EPS files, and it mayn’t matter what they use.]


John McWilliams
TM
Tim Monk
Apr 21, 2006
On 4/20/06 2:43 PM, "peter" wrote:

Peter,
it sounds as though you don’t have a full/pro version of Acrobat, just the Reader; is this correct?

Yes, that is correct. I exported an EPS from Corel, and then opened it with Corel, and it was still composed of several objects and fonts.

This is exactly how a vector drawing application like CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator is supposed to behave. The problem occurs when you send that file off to another computer for output. If the fonts and graphics aren’t included (or embedded), the file is useless on another machine. But you definitely don’t want to send a Tiff for the reasons explained by Tacit and others. Your best bet is to either send the native CorelDraw file along with all fonts used and all images used, or send them a PDF created to their specifications.

But what program would the printing company use to open the EPS? I’d like to use the same program so I know what they are getting.

They probably wouldn’t open an EPS if it were the final output file. They’d more than likely interpret the EPS directly into their workflow. If you really want to see what the printer is probably going to produce, you should be using Acrobat to create a PDF from your file regardless of the application used to create it. You need a full/pro version of Acrobat if you do this.

Learn to use Acrobat’s Preflight function. Generating a PDF doesn’t mean you have a printable file. You should consult with the folks on the receiving end before you do anything further.

If they continue to ask for a Tiff, ask them why. Report what they tell you here. I’m curious. 😉

Hope that helps

Tim
T
Tacit
Apr 21, 2006
In article ,
"peter" wrote:

Yes, that is correct. I exported an EPS from Corel, and then opened it with Corel, and it was still composed of several objects and fonts. But what program would the printing company use to open the EPS? I’d like to use the same program so I know what they are getting.

The printing company most likely will not "open" the EPS; instead, they will place it in a page layout program to send it to the imagesetter, or just send the EPS directly.

If you would like to use the same tools that professional print shops use, that would most likely mean Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and either QuarkXPress or Adobe Indesign.


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J
js
Apr 21, 2006
"tacit" wrote in message
If you would like to use the same tools that professional print shops use, that would most likely mean Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and either QuarkXPress or Adobe Indesign.

Just curious as to how many people have s*it canned Quark. My mate’s a layout and design person and her place finally retired it last year (still stuck with it for some clients) and the local university got rid of it after struggling with their vicious anti-customer service and licensing bull for years.
P
peter
Apr 21, 2006
The printing company most likely will not "open" the EPS; instead, they will place it in a page layout program to send it to the imagesetter, or just send the EPS directly.

If you would like to use the same tools that professional print shops use, that would most likely mean Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and either QuarkXPress or Adobe Indesign.

Ok, well do you feel a file created in CorelDraw and exported to EPS will give them what they need to print?

Thanks,

Peter
T
Tacit
Apr 22, 2006
In article ,
"peter" wrote:

Ok, well do you feel a file created in CorelDraw and exported to EPS will give them what they need to print?

Yes.


Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html
Nanohazard, Geek shirts, and more: http://www.villaintees.com
P
peter
Apr 22, 2006
tacit wrote:
In article ,
"peter" wrote:

Ok, well do you feel a file created in CorelDraw and exported to EPS will give them what they need to print?

Yes.


Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html
Nanohazard, Geek shirts, and more: http://www.villaintees.com

Good, thanks!

Peter
T
Tacit
Apr 22, 2006
In article ,
"js" wrote:

Just curious as to how many people have s*it canned Quark. My mate’s a layout and design person and her place finally retired it last year (still stuck with it for some clients) and the local university got rid of it after struggling with their vicious anti-customer service and licensing bull for years.

I have!

I’ve been using Quark since the early 90s. I started with PageMaker 1.0, and when Quark came out, it was so far superior to PageMaker that I (and everyone else with any sense) abandoned PM and jumped to Quark. overnight, Quark stole the entire professional print industry.

When InDesign 1.0 came out, I got a copy, played with it a bit, and said "Oh, how cute. Adobe’s trying to compete with Quark, isn’t that amusing?"

Then I got the entire Adobe Creative Suite, with InDesign CS, and damn. InDesign is to Quark what Quark was to PageMaker; it’s so far superior there’s little comparison. At this point, I rarely fire up Quark any more, and only for legacy jobs I have not yet converted.


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J
jeffc
Apr 22, 2006
js wrote:
I could have made a more elegant triangle using smaller type. Play with justification, different shapes. It’s a rather effective tool.
Here’s the quick and crude example:
http://course1.winona.edu/jstafford/triangle.gif

Going back to one of your earlier questions about how you make a PDF file from Corel, have you ever looked at the File menu? It’s got this option thingy on it called "Publish to PDF" and it makes really really good PDF files 🙂

Seriously, that’s how to do it from Corel (I have V12). I work with a local printer who prefers PDF files, so I do all my stuff in Corel, then save it as a PDF using the option above and email it to them. Never have any problems, but there are a few options within the menu item that you need to check carefully, probably in conjunction with your printing company.

At least this way you can stick with Corel, which you’re apparently comfortable with.

GG
P
peter
Apr 22, 2006
Going back to one of your earlier questions about how you make a PDF file from Corel, have you ever looked at the File menu? It’s got this option thingy on it called "Publish to PDF" and it makes really really good PDF files 🙂

Seriously, that’s how to do it from Corel (I have V12). I work with a local printer who prefers PDF files, so I do all my stuff in Corel, then save it as a PDF using the option above and email it to them. Never have any problems, but there are a few options within the menu item that you need to check carefully, probably in conjunction with your printing company.
At least this way you can stick with Corel, which you’re apparently comfortable with.

GG

Oh Ok, Gordon, that’s good to know.

Thanks,

Peter

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