Mastering InDesign CS3 for Print Design and Production (Paperback)

by Pariah Burke (Author)
Key Phrases: body copy, topic levels, page control, Direct Selection, Story Editor, Quick Apply (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Mastering InDesign for Print Design and Production shows how experienced professionals with deadlines and billable hours use InDesign efficiently and effectively. Through the case studies and interviews, readers will find inspired to look beyond the over-emphasized basic features and into the depths of InDesign's utility for real-world print design.

Most InDesign books are written for beginners, and experienced users are frustrated by them. When you already know how to make, fill, and thread a text box, the entire first half of most InDesign books is useless. But this one doesn't dwell on the basics. Mastering InDesign for Print Design and Production fulfills the promise of the Mastering series, to provide real-world skills to professionals and students. Like all Mastering books, this one includes:

• A "by pros for pros" approach: The author is an active professional working in the field of graphic arts, layout, and design, writing for professionals who want to improve their skills or learn new skills.
• Real-world examples: Running throughout the text are examples of how the various skills are applied in real scenarios, described throughout the book in the form of examples and case studies from the author's own design and consulting work, as well as interviews with other designers using InDesign on the job.
• Skill-based teaching and hands-on exercises

Although the book has a comprehensive glossary, page one begins right away speaking to the core market—print professionals—in industry terms about industry challenges. This immediately lets experienced InDesign users know the book is about them. The approach is humorous, making the digestion and retention of complicated information easier for the reader through quips, anecdotes, and design- and print-geek humor. But at all times the book is true to its mission: Helping a professional do their job in InDesign without frustration, confusion, or aesthetic compromise.

From the Back Cover
Take Control of Your Designs and Production Workflow Using InDesign

Adobe's InDesign gives you more creative freedom than you've ever experienced in the world of professional layout and design. The problem is that learning how to work with this powerful software can be a difficult and frustrating process.

This comprehensive book goes beyond the basics, clearly showing you how to effectively use InDesign to meet your printing and prepress needs. It guides you through the new features and functionality of InDesign CS3 and helps you develop sophisticated solutions. With a solid focus on improving your efficiency and creative freedom, this book provides the expert guidance you need to master collaboration within workgroups; work efficiently with text, objects, and variable text; perfect your printed output; harness the power of InDesign transparency and effects tools, and much more.

Along with invaluable hands-on lessons and a healthy dose of advice from his 20 years in graphic arts, publishing, and print production, author Pariah S. Burke also provides you with numerous examples and case studies that will help you apply the skills you've learned to real-world situations.

Coverage includes:

• Setting up press-ready pages and spreads with bleed, slug, and live areas

• Placing and fitting images rapidly and accurately

• Working with attribute-level transparency and new Photoshop-like effects for eye-popping results

• Utilizing layers, guides, grids, templates, and libraries to speed the design process

• Ensuring that image color settings and proof colors match

• Maximizing productivity through reusable settings and assets

• Collaborating with editorial through InCopy assignments

• Collaborating with design peers through the Placed Pages Workflow

• Utilizing dynamic text and variables

• Handling common drawing tasks without Illustrator® or Photoshop®

• Trying out new design techniques using sample files from the companion Web site, www.sybex.com/go/MasteringInDesign

Learn How to Achieve Outstanding Design Results with InDesign CS3

Download Sample Files from Companion Web Site to Put Your Skills into Practice

Enhance Your Designs with Tables, Images, Objects, and More

Gain the Skills to Better Manage Color Creativity and Output

Find Answers to Your Complex Printing Challenges

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (August 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470114568
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #193,146 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a fine book for print pros, February 28, 2008

By	[e-mail] (SoCal, USA) - See all my reviews

I'm a sometimes InDesign user trying to hone my skills on real projects. This book is useful for me because it speaks to us print production and design people specifically. One gets the sense that the author has really spent time in the trenches using these tools under deadline, so he doesn't waste your time. It also has humor and a nice personal writing style that makes it bearable to actually read, (which is generally the exception and not the norm in technical books). To me there's nothing worse than a software book that bores ... it is an insult to the reader and thus the ultimate failure of any software title. this book also practices what it preaches: the page design is elegant and adheres to the rules of good design espoused in the text. This looks to be a well-edited series, I will definitely seek out other SYBEX Serious Skills titles. Hopefully they'll be as solid as this gem.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the beginner, July 10, 2008

By	dementad "dementad" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

I've used InDesign for three years, watched all the [...] videos, attend the local ID user group regularly, read MOGO, InDesignSecrets and the other weblogs on ID and... I still learned a lot of new things from this book. I'm studying to take the ID certification exam and I'm sure that this book will put me over the top for the print production stuff. It is an excellent resource for folks who have a good foundation in InDesign already. This is really not a beginner's book - grab this one after you know your way around ID fairly well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This was the best gift!, February 6, 2009

By	J. Katherine Stafford (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I work in Prepress and found Mastering InDesign CS3 to be the most helpful book out there. Anything I had questions on was easily answered. The instructions and illustrations as well as the humor are all well done.