The Designer's Apprentice: Automating Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign in Adobe Creative Suite 3 [Paperback]

Rick Ralston (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321495705 | ISBN-13: 978-0321495709 | Publication Date: August 23, 2007 | Edition: 1

Adobe Creative Suite 3 has fantastic tools for minimizing the drudgery of
graphics production work: The key is to make your computer and Photoshop,
Illustrator, and InDesign do rote tasks for you. And although the concept of
automation may sound intimidating, it doesn’t have to be. Learn what
automation is, why it’s as natural as breathing, and how it can take over
routine work, freeing you up to be creative.

·     Combine customer data with graphics for personalized communications

·     Customize hundreds or even thousands of illustrations or layouts in
one pass

·     Record tasks with macro-like Actions in Photoshop and Illustrator,
then reuse them with multiple files

·     Learn how scripting languages like AppleScript and JavaScript can
automate complex workflows, even ones with varying conditions 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rick Ralston started his graphic design career 15 years ago with The
Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta. He now develops automated systems and
provides technical support for the company's packaging graphics
group. He lives with his partner Julie and more animals than seems
strictly necessary in the beautiful wilds of Georgia. He also writes
an automation blog at www.theAutomatist.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Adobe Press; 1 edition (August 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321495705
• ISBN-13: 978-0321495709
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,531,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > Computers & Technology > Graphic Design > Adobe InDesign

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been deeper, June 27, 2010

By 

Tom Clary (Springfield, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Designer's Apprentice: Automating Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign in Adobe Creative Suite 3 (Paperback)

As it turned out, I was probably not the market this book was aimed at. I am already a programmer and understand the power of automation. I am dabbling in Photoshop and wanted to learn how to maximize what is offered by Adobe. A lot of the book is spent trying to convince the reader how wonderful automation is. Which may be more useful if the reader is an artist. In the end, it does give an overview of what is possible which provided things to dig deeper into to learn about. While not totally skipping Windows, the book is probably 75% Macintosh focused. One whole chapter was on an application that only is available on the Mac. Which as a Windows user, was totally useless. Still the style is readable and there is a lot of good information.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Automating repetitive tasks in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, January 6, 2008

By 

Hal Work (Eureka, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Designer's Apprentice: Automating Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign in Adobe Creative Suite 3 (Paperback)

The Designer's Apprentice:
Automating Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign in Adobe Creative Suite 3
by Rick Ralston
Adobe Press book published by Peachpit.
ISBN -13: 978-321495709
Reviewed by Diane Williams, member of the Eureka Photoshop Users Group, Jan 6, 2008

This book covers automating Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. I was mainly interested in actions for Photoshop. But I can see that when I am ready to work in Illustrator and InDesign this book will be the place to start. As Mr. Ralston points out actions are only the beginning of automating Photoshop. I have been hesitant to jump in and try some of the process that would make my work a bit quicker and less filled with drudgery but, with this book it is like having a teacher at the ready to help get you moving. If you come up against a road block, the tools to get moving are in the book. Plus what kind of tasks to automate and free your self from these repetitive boring tasks and get on with creativity.

"The Designer's Apprentice "is aimed at a professional's needs but I felt I benefited from many of the tips and hints in this book. The tutorials are step by step and easy to follow. The projects and scripts for this book can be downloaded so you can work on each project when you register the book at the website.

This is the kind of reference book you want to keep on your book shelf ready to use when you need it.