Scanning, Graphics and DTP

Overview of the SSRU Graphics workstation

SSRU has a scanner connected to the free computer in G2. There is also a graphics workstation in the room assigned to our Publications and Administrative Officer that provides the following services. With this machine it is possible to

• Raster and Vector graphics manipulation (Photos, Logos, Drawings, Web)
• Desktop Publishing (Arranging text and graphics on the printed page)

Print output includes RGB for in-house color printing, or CMYK for pre-press. Document output can be to PDF, and graphics output can be to just about anything.

Available software

The following specialist software is installed

• Adobe Acrobat Pro 7(Create PDFs from any application – Office2007 can save to PDF by default)
• Adobe Photoshop CS (High-end raster graphics manipulation - CPT alternate)
• Adobe ImageReady (Web specific graphics - a bit like Fireworks, but probably not needed)
• Adobe InDesign (DTP)
• Windows Fax and Scan (scan documents)

Preparing and planning your work

• Graphics and DTP are always time-consuming and there will be some last-minute problems to iron out. Make sure that you plan ahead to alleviate this.
• Look at the overall task and choose the right tools for the job. The IT and the Publications officers will be able to guide your choices, most of the software you might need is already installed on every workstation (Microsoft Publisher and Paint.Net are the programs you will probably need).
• Avoid saving images in jpeg format as quality is lost each time you save it to disk, degrading the image more and more each time.
• Check that the scanner glass, the mouse and the screen are clean before you start, if the scanner is not detected simply turn it off and on again.

(Last Updated: September 2010)