[OPLINLIST] Graphics & PR Question Answered

Tue Sep 30 16:55:13 EDT 2014

When I visited Canva this afternoon, it let me sign up for an account
without an invite. Thanks for the tip, Jennifer and Laura - Canva looks like
a fantastic service!

Jessica D. Dooley

Adams County Public Library

From: oplinlist-bounces at lists.oplin.org
[mailto:oplinlist-bounces at lists.oplin.org] On Behalf Of Jennifer Coventry
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 4:49 PM
To: oplinlist at lists.oplin.org
Subject: Re: [OPLINLIST] Graphics & PR Question Answered

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? J 

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> 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> 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 Laura Klein
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 2:17 PM
To: 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

kleinl <mailto:kleinla at massillonlibrary.org> a at massillonlibrary.org

 <http://www.massillonlibrary.org/> www.massillonlibrary.org

"I'm of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who
crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved."

     -Barbara Kingsolver

Follow Us on Twitter & Facebook!

 <blocked::blocked::blocked::http://twitter.com/mlibrary>
http://twitter.com/mlibrary

 <blocked::blocked::http://www.facebook.com/massillonlibrary>
http://www.facebook.com/massillonlibrary

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
<http://download.cnet.com/1770-20_4-0.html?query=paint.net&platform=Windows%
2CMac%2CiOS%2CAndroid%2CWebware%2CMobile&searchtype=downloads>
&platform=Windows%2CMac%2CiOS%2CAndroid%2CWebware%2CMobile&searchtype=downlo
ads

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. JJennifer 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

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