Forms, Folds, and Sizes: All the Details Graphic Designers Need to Know but Can Never Find (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Copyright is defined as the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, and sell a literary, musical, or artistic work..." (more)
Key Phrases: raised impression, spot varnish, reflectance value, United States, Packaging Styles, Robert Lewis Stevenson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Forms, Folds & Sizes will be the book that is always next to a designer?s computer. Completely practical with only the most needed information, this book will provide designers with all the little details that can make or break a design such as how much space to leave in the gutter when designing barrel folds, how to layout a template for a box and the ratios of each part, metric conversion charts, standard envelope sizes in the USA, Europe, Canada and Asia, etc. This hardworking handbook will be 2-color with a durable soft vinyl cover.

About the Author

Poppy Evans is an award-winning writer and graphic designer who lives in Park Hills Kentucky, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the former art director of Screen Printing and American Music Teacher magazines, and former managing editor of HOW magazine. Since shifting into design-related writing and editing in 1989, her writing achievements include eleven books and over 200 articles that have appeared in Print, HOW, Step Inside Design and other design trade magazines. Her most recent books include The Graphic Designer's Ultimate Resource Directory, Fresh Ideas in Photoshop, Your Perfect Home-Based Studio, Graphic Design Makeovers, the Designer's Survival Manual, and Extraordinary Graphic for Unusual Surfaces. Poppy also teaches design-related courses at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Rockport Publishers (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592530540
• ISBN-13: 978-1592530540
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #254,517 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

101 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't be FOOLED like I was: an overpriced piece of junk, February 22, 2007

By	Erik Fleischer - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read so many positive reviews that I thought I just couldn't go wrong buying this book. Boy, was I mistaken. I have yet to find one truly useful bit of information in this book, and I'm no life-long veteran in the trade.

But lest you, fellow buyer, dismiss me as some silly impulsive reviewer, let's have some random facts.

1. Fully 90 of the 250 pages of actual content are devoted to process colour tables.

2. Twenty-two pages are devoted to "samples" of "text typefaces". The "samples" are 12-point alphabets and lining figures (no accented characters or punctuation). Among the 60 or so "text typefaces" included are such staples of book/magazine typography as Friz Quadrata, Eras and American Typewriter.

3. Chapter 9, "Packaging Styles", brings 18 pages filled with line drawings of boxes, cartons and such. Not a single illustration is accompanied by actual dimensions or even proportions. Knock yourself out trying to replicate a "six-sided carton with push-in closure". (Hey, isn't this the book that claims to contain "details on all the things you can never find"?)

4. Several pages are filled with such valuable, useful and current information as the proper abbreviation for Soviet Union.

5. You want to learn a little more about imposition so you can have an intelligent conversation with your local printer? Sorry: "imposition" is not even in this book's index.

But maybe I really am just an old crank. So many other people swear by the usefulness of this book! I'm sure they're not friends of the author.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great tool for print novices and veterans, August 26, 2005

By	PAC - See all my reviews

In a nutshell, I love it. Forms, Folds and Sizes provides all the basics facts and figures that designers and production staff need for developing and sending materials off to print. Don't remember exactly what a standard size is for an item....just look it up. Need a quick template for a pocket folder - flip to page 84. Want to know what type of paper will emboss the best...it's in here.
With an extensive glossary of terms...you'll never be at a loss for words with your print vendor.
If there's a designer, production person or recent art school grad in your life.....make this their next gift.
There I said it and I'm glad.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I for one am impressed., May 12, 2006

By	S. Carrick (Georgia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a freelance graphic and layout designer, I find myself asking why I didn't buy this book sooner (like while I was in college). The book covers many areas in depth that may not have sunk in while in school.

What I really loved about the book, is there are a couple of sections on business reply mail standards, along with printed media barcode standards and measurements. Having this information in hand, certainly saves me from making any additional trips to the post office to double check that my work is within specs for BRM's.

I certainly recommend this book for any graphics student, or as a quick reference source for active professionals library. Although I prefer "Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color" the CMYK processed color finder is a pretty decent color source/index for student projects.