[OPLINLIST] Graphics & PR Question Answered

Tue Sep 30 16:49:10 EDT 2014

You guys are fast! All invites are spoken for.
However, the folks signing up should receive some invites as well, so maybe pay it forward? :)

Thanks!

____________________________________________________________
Jennifer Coventry
Youth Services
Newcomerstown Public Library
123 East Main Street
Newcomerstown, OH 43832
Phone: 740-498-8228  x1002
Fax: 740-498-8221

http://www.nctlib.org
Facebook: nctlib
Twitter: nctlib

This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

From: oplinlist-bounces at lists.oplin.org [mailto:oplinlist-bounces at lists.oplin.org] On Behalf Of Jennifer Coventry
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 4:39 PM
To: Laura Klein; oplinlist at lists.oplin.org
Subject: Re: [OPLINLIST] Graphics & PR Question Answered

I have 4 more Canva invites that I will pass along to anyone interested in the order they are received.  I am attaching some flyers I made using Canva (in lower image quality so the attachments aren't huge), so that you can get some idea of what you can do. These are much more sleek and professional looking than anything I could make with publisher. Keep in mind that I have ZERO design experience!

Jen

____________________________________________________________
Jennifer Coventry
Youth Services
Newcomerstown Public Library
123 East Main Street
Newcomerstown, OH 43832
Phone: 740-498-8228  x1002
Fax: 740-498-8221

http://www.nctlib.org
Facebook: nctlib
Twitter: nctlib

This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

From: oplinlist-bounces at lists.oplin.org<mailto:oplinlist-bounces at lists.oplin.org> [mailto:oplinlist-bounces at lists.oplin.org] On Behalf Of Laura Klein
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 2:17 PM
To: oplinlist at lists.oplin.org<mailto:oplinlist at lists.oplin.org>
Subject: [OPLINLIST] Graphics & PR Question Answered

Thanks to all who answered my question about what software you use for PR!  Answers are compiled below.  The very last one mentions possible invites for a FREE beta version of software (thanks to Jennifer Coventry), so please see her contact info if interested.

Laura A. Klein
Children's Services & Public Relations Manager
Massillon Public Library
208 Lincoln Way East, Massillon, OH  44646
330-832-5037 or 330-832-9831, ext. 319
Fax:  330-830-2182
kleinla at massillonlibrary.org<mailto:kleinla at massillonlibrary.org>
www.massillonlibrary.org<http://www.massillonlibrary.org/>

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I love Publisher. If you don't have photoshop,  Paint.net is a free program that is great for simple graphic modifications. We also have two copies of Adobe Photoshop elements that we purchased from Tech Soup at a huge discount.

Safe place to download Paint.net from:
http://download.cnet.com/1770-20_4-0.html?query=paint.net&platform=Windows%2CMac%2CiOS%2CAndroid%2CWebware%2CMobile&searchtype=downloads

I'm no graphic designer, but as usual with librarians, I design as needed. I like to use Paint.NET (a software name, but not the web address), which is a nice open-source image editing program, and an alternative to GIMP. It has an easier learning curve than GIMP, and allows for multiple layers, variable opacity, and other tricks to quickly make nice graphics. I've done things for printed materials, digital signage, and web development with Paint.NET. I also love a little tool called Pixie, an applet you can run on your desktop, which will tell you the precise color of any pixel your cursor hovers over. This can be a great design help, for creating nicely coordinated color palettes. Pixie displays the color of the pixel in a larger swatch, together with the HEX, RGB, CMYK, and HSV description of the color; this means it can help you establish an accurate color palette for materials that will be printed by a commercial printing service, among other things. For a more professional look than the standard Microsoft fonts, I gather open-source fonts from the Internet, and use them for printed materials; a browser plug-in like WhatFont can help you determine the identity of a font you like when you see it online.

Print Shop, Print Master, MS Publisher or MS Word.

I use a combination of PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop Elements, and Adobe Acrobat. I usually write everything in Word and then copy/paste. I take my own pictures with a point & shoot camera (hoping to get a new one soon that's not a DSLR but better than what I have now). I also use photos/graphics that can be reused having copyright/license issues.

We use Microsoft Publisher.

We use Word, Publisher, Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop for promotional materials.  Techsoup is the place to go to get the Adobe products.  You will want to get CS6 - that generally gives you the whole suite.

We use Microsoft Publisher for simple pieces, and QuarkExpress for the high-end (i.e. our newsletter) stuff. Most professional printers prefer to receive jobs designed in Quark or Indesign. Some won't even accept work done on Publisher, unless you can provide it in PDF format. It all depends on the printer and what kind of presses they use. My rule of thumb is that if I know it will be printed out-of-house, I go with Quark. If we're printing in-house, I lean towards Publisher (all staff have Publisher on their workstations, so this just makes it easier to share documents).

We send our press releases and text information out in Word format, since it is pretty universally acceptable. Newsletters, signs, brochures, and other graphics-heavy pieces are built with the Adobe Creative Suite: InDesign and Photoshop. If we need to send out the digital files, we usually create a PDF.

I was a graphic designer in a past life, so these are the programs I've worked with for many years. There will definitely be a learning curve for someone that has no experience with these programs. You may want to contact your local community college for an intern, or even pay a design instructor to come get you started.

We use mail chimp for the big blasts but eventbrite for smaller groups share we want to capture emails.
We create a few paper "posters" but primarily use digital graphics to publicize our events and services. To make our content, both digital and paper, we use MS Publisher 2007. It works pretty well and meets our current needs.
One problem we are running into, however, is finding graphic images for use in our publications. Since Microsoft came out with their newer versions, I've found they have limited the images available for the 2007 version. I've looked into a couple of sites that have graphics for purchase, but I felt they were very pricey.
Where or what do you use as a source for graphic and stock photo images?

We use Adobe InDesign to create the pieces that are mailed to the community and Photoshop to create the in-house flyers.

We use Microsoft Publisher primarily.
I made a point of getting a version that included it when we upgrade our MS office software on staff systems a few years back.

I use Microsoft Publisher and Paint.Net for the most part.

Canva is a really great FREE graphic design program for those of us who aren't graphic designers. It's easy to use and makes professional looking flyers, posters, etc.
I believe it's still in beta so you need an invite to sign up. If you're interested in checking it out, I still have invites. :)Jennifer Coventry
Youth Services
Newcomerstown Public Library
123 East Main Street
Newcomerstown, OH 43832
Phone: 740-498-8228  x1002
Fax: 740-498-8221
jcoventry at nctlib.org<mailto:jcoventry at nctlib.org>

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