Technology: Q & A
– by Kevin Slimp
kevin@kevinslimp.com
8-x-10-apr1
Wow. My email is full of questions from readers these days. Some days I just can’t respond to all of them, so let me take a crack at a few of them here.
From Sandy in Tennessee:
Hey Kevin,
I’ve got a question for you, as usual. I am looking at purchasing two Mac Pros for the office, plus a Mac Pro laptop. I noticed there is about $500 difference between a Mac Pro 2.8 GHz quad core Xeon processor and a Mac Pro 2.8 GHz 2-quad core Xeon processor. Is it worth paying the extra money for the two quad core processor for laying out pages?
Sandy, Let me make your day. You don’t need either of the Mac Pro desktop computers. Mac Pros are awfully nice, but they’re probably overkill for designing pages. Your designers will be just as happy with iMacs (go ahead and get the larger monitor version, since you’ll have money to spare) and you’ll save about $1,500 on each computer. Oh, feel free to send any leftover cash as a donation to the Institute of Newspaper Technology.
From Lisa in South Dakota:
Hi Kevin,
We are trying to build a Web site for our community guides. What program do I need to create Web documents with pages that flip?
Lisa, There are lots of services available online to accomplish this task. I’ve found them ranging in cost from $5 (US) per page up to $10,000 (US) for an application that creates this effect for you. However, if all you’re looking for is a way to create an online document with pages that flip, you can do that in InDesign CS4. It’s as easy as opening the InDesign document and exporting it as a Flash (SWF) file.
From Alyse in Pennsylvania:
Hello Kevin,
I have a problem that I’m sure you can help me solve. I need to convert publisher files to PDF. Is there any software out there that can do this on a Mac? Your wealth of knowledge on this subject is most appreciated.
Alyse, I like that “wealth of knowledge” bit, Alyse. Thanks. The easiest way to accomplish this task would be to use PdfOnline.com. This is a free service which allows you to upload your Publisher file and receive the corresponding PDF in your email within a few minutes.
From Terry in Oklahoma:
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the great advice you’ve given me in the past. I need your advice again. I’m having a difficult time finding a free or cheap image compressor that I can use to reduce the size of images that I have already compressed in Photoshop. Can you point me in the right direction?
Terry, a company called iRedsoft used to sell a shareware program called MacImageResizer that was a nifty tool for reducing the size of JPEG images significantly. A free version was available at the time, which allowed you to resize images after looking at a pop-up ad for the paid version. iRedsoft no longer sells this utility, but I found the free version still available for download at http://www.tucows.com/preview/206512. It works like a charm to reduce the size of JPEG images.
From Debbie in Arkansas:
Hi Kevin,
I desperately need some help. My computer is really slow. I’m afraid I’m going to lose it and throw it out the window one day! I’m using a PowerBook G4 and running Leopard (OS X.5). It takes around 7-8 minutes for Quark to open. The print dialog box takes around 2 minutes to open when I’m printing for the first time. Everything is so slow. Do you have any suggestions?
I’d go with your first instinct, Debbie and throw the PowerBook out the window. I could ask you how much RAM you have on the computer and suggest that you could add more, but I’m guessing this PowerBook has served its purpose. The alternative would be to remove the Leopard operating system and reinstall an earlier OS.
From Lis in Indiana:
Hey Kevin,
Using CS3 InDesign, we seem to be having a lot of trouble with drop shadows in our ads. The background colors are blocked out or boxes appear around elements with special effects. Any idea what is causing this? We use AdTracker which converts EPS files into PDF. Could this be the problem or is it a setting in InDesign? Thanks for your help.
Try this, Lis. Create your ad in InDesign as you have been. When you’re finished, select the entire page and copy it (Edit>Copy). Next, go to Photoshop and create a new document. You wont have to be concerned with the size. Photoshop will create a document with the same specifications as the page you copied in InDesign. Set the resolution to 200 in Photoshop when creating the new file. With the blank file open in Photoshop, select Edit>Paste. You’ll see your InDesign ad, drop shadows and all, pasted onto the Photoshop document as a “smart object.” It will look like it has an “x” going through it. Double click on the smart object and save the file as an EPS file. Finally, run the EPS file through Acrobat Distiller and you’ll have an ad with special effects, but no unwanted l.