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Just received 2 files for a 8 1/2x11 pamphlett... ai. files, all kinds of layers, nothing grouped or flattened, graphics at all kinds of resolutions, no fonts included, first page over 135Mb
... are these ppl nuts!!!
-------------------- Mike O'Neill
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value. - Arthur C. Clarke
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Yep, I never cease to be amazed. I lettered a trailer a couple weeks ago for a dealer for a grill company that is nation-wide... No problem, we'll be able to send you artwork, we have a graphics company that handles that.
Needed the logo to cut in vinyl... first off I get a .JPG to my request for a vector file. Then after explaining to them what I need, I get an .EPS file....
However, when I load it, it looks as if this designer has flunked out of Grampa Dan's "When to Use or Not Use Wiggly Lines" course...
So back to the .JPG they sent, some clean-up, trace myself and I have a good logo...
-------------------- Jon Jantz Snappysign.com jjantz21@gmail.com http://www.allcw.com Posts: 3395 | From: Atmore, AL | Registered: Nov 2005
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My mind wanders. And that's not a good thing, 'cause it's too small to be out there alone. Posts: 3129 | From: Tooele, UT | Registered: Mar 2005
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Another one you need to "train" Mike. I always wonder why people don't think about converting their fonts to outlines or think about service bureau output. Back in the day when we did commercial screen printing we had the same problems with hand done mechanicals... no bleeds or traps, bad registration, layers out of order. Nothing ever changes. I had a teacher who thought that every commercial artist should work in a print shop for 6 months before starting their careers.
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I used to work as a production designer at an ad agency, and spent a lot of my time making my boss's beautiful but messy designs printable. He liked working in Pagemaker, but everything we sent out of the shop was Quark Xpress. So, each of his layouts had to be rebuilt in Quark. It was good training for making things clean. Clean work is easy to edit, and clients always seemed to end up making changes.
My mind wanders. And that's not a good thing, 'cause it's too small to be out there alone. Posts: 3129 | From: Tooele, UT | Registered: Mar 2005
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I just received a 698 meg pdf for a digital print- had to shrink it back to 10 meg to be more manageable & look perfectly adequate.
but the time I wasted doing it...
That was from a graphic designer, too...
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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love it when they take a shi**y bmp off the web and turn it into an eps,,,WOW what an improvement. and of course the inevitable LATEST realease of CS12 or whatever they are on with no fonts turned into outlines
-------------------- You ever notice how easily accessible people are when they are requiring your services but once they get invoice you can't reach them anymore
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Every spring we have the graphic arts class from our local college in for a half day of showing off and teaching them what is a "clean" file for sign type output.
They are amazed at the difference in a file in outline mode rather than preview. I try to have a "cuttable" file for them to see along with the same file as it came to me with all the garbage designers use to make there logo "look" right. Half of them have never even seen outline mode. Yea, after 6 or so years of doing this the instructor should cover this basic stuff. I guess that's the difference in a "design" class and a technical oriented class.
Even though it is hard to take a day doing this, in the long run it pays off because a number of these kids end up working for local agencies and companies and they do show up at our door again and they generally know what we need to produce their graphics.
It's train them now or train them later.
-------------------- Bill Modzel Mod-Zel screen Printing Traverse city, MI modzel@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1356 | From: Traverse City, MI | Registered: Nov 1998
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Bill you're right and that is what you have to do with some designers and they usually understand that you are only trying to make their art turn out the best you can. But with some of these people, the problem is they are untrainable. The problem often is the "attitude" that they give you. And when they proceed into the whole conversation with, "Well I can't help it YOU can't figure out how to make it work." That is SO frustrating! Especially if it is nasty art to begin with. "Hey, I'm a big shot art director with a degree in marketing and I am obviously superior to you." is what they imply. Hey, here's a thought...how about if YOU learn how to design and do your job and quit being mean & insecure!!
-------------------- Jane Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, Il. 61764 815-844-7024 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 4102 | From: Pontiac, IL USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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I got a jpg the other day from a designer and when I asked him to please send me an eps of the design he took the same sized 12 dpi 2" jpg and exported it to eps and for some reason I ended up with a 45 mg white box with the 2" jpg in the bottom right hand corner- things that make you go hmmmmmmm
but he was considerably upset when I asked him to try again- "WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME? CAN"T I TELL HE IS BUSY????"
-------------------- Deri Russell Wildwood Signs Hanover, Ontario
You're just jealous 'cause the little voices only talk to me. Posts: 1904 | From: Hanover, Ontario, Canada | Registered: Dec 1998
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"Some are born to move the world, to live their fantasies. But most of us just dream about the things we'd like to be." - Rush Posts: 1192 | From: Washington, NJ | Registered: Feb 1999
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I think there are many great designers out there and like I said, MOST are fine to work with and know how to talk the code that makes sense to the computer guys. But there are those stubborn souls who insist that theirs is the only way and everyone else just isn't up to "their standards". I really think it's just insecurity. They don't know HOW to get it the way we need it and so they get defensive and blame it on us. But I have a feeling that is the way they are as a personality in all their dealings...we all know people like that. I think we should all have room to learn new things and share. The worst that could happen it that they LEARN something useful! It's really just something that they aren't aware of or don't know and rather than listen and try to learn, they get defensive and act badly.
I will admit, I know just enough to make me dangerous! I can talk to a customer for a while but if they start talking to me in code ("I need to send it as an attachment as a gif file imbedded in a word file") I just say "just a minute" and yell "Joe!" or "Ben!". I can admit I don't know but I will find someone who DOES know.
[ October 08, 2009, 11:39 AM: Message edited by: Jane Diaz ]
-------------------- Jane Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, Il. 61764 815-844-7024 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 4102 | From: Pontiac, IL USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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...and than there's the magic phrase. "We can use this file if the correct one isn't available but it will cost $xxx to recreate your artwork."
It's amazing what they can find when you provide them with a dollar sign.
-------------------- Bill Modzel Mod-Zel screen Printing Traverse city, MI modzel@sbcglobal.net Posts: 1356 | From: Traverse City, MI | Registered: Nov 1998
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Had the pleasure of dealing with a new graphic designer a couple of years back. He freely admitted he was pretty new to the game and got loads of advice from me. Some six months later, while at a friends wedding, I thought the wedding photographer looked familiar. It was the same guy who was a little embarrassed when I chatted him later and asked how the graphics thing was doing. My point is anyone can get a laptop and a cheap old version of some package and call themselves a graphic designer. It doesn't mean they are one though
-------------------- Kevin Gaffney Artistik Signs Kinnegad County Westmeath Ireland 044-75187 kevingaffney@eircom.net Posts: 628 | From: Ireland | Registered: Oct 2003
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Brent, You got me started ok, but we're singing to the choir folks. You Letterheads covered more than I know about solving the problem. Maybe, we can organize a workshop, and write a handbook on how to prepare files for other design professionals. Commercial art instruction has always been as lax in techinical instruction as it's been strong in design. Maybe the sign magazines will back this project-- they could sell the hand book and donate a percent to the Sign Museum. Did you hear that Tod? See, Brent you should'nt get me started!
-------------------- Mark Baty Mark 1 Studio 1980 SE Leeann Drive Waukee, IA 50263 Posts: 45 | From: Waukee, Iowa | Registered: Aug 2008
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Central Iowa is an insurance & publishing center. If you had a sign shop there you had to deal with a lot of art directors & designers. If one of them was really picky and wanted the best he would call Mark Baty. We used to have a lot of conversations about what a pain in the butt some of these guys were. Good idea about the book Mark!
![[Rolling On The Floor]](graemlins/rolf.gif)
How hard can that be? ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
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("I need to send it as an attachment as a gif file imbedded in a word file") I just say "just a minute" and yell "Joe!" or "Ben!". ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[I Don t Know]](graemlins/dunno.gif)
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