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Help: Graphics Manipulation For Dummies? - Need suggestions

by laird
5 replies
Here's the deal:

I'd like to offer marketing collateral to a specific niche in the form of a subscription service. I have numerous items ranging from sell sheets to postcards to door hangers all in either InDesign or layered PSD format I've made over the years.

Based on my image licenses, I can provide them to end clients so long as the image itself isn't editable. (Eg, I will have to provide flattened files to the subscribers).

97% of my target market is PC-based. I'm on a mac.

I want the subscriber base to be able to either a) Edit existing product copy or b) have a blank slate to include their own copy AND allow them to add their company logo and contact information in designated areas.

The subscriber must be able to save the document with these self-made edits/additions and the end document must maintain their offset/digital print resolution.

Suggestion on how I can manage this? What file format options should I be looking at as well as client-end manipulation solutions?

I'm going to guess 99.9% of the subscribers don't have a clue regarding design and will prefer ease of manipulation over anything else.

Thanks well-in-advance.

Del
#dummies #graphics #manipulation #suggestions
  • Profile picture of the author JoshuaG
    Not sure what you are asking.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pat Ordenes
    I guess you can provide a PSD file that can be opened in GIMP for editing.
    That's one solution. Otherwise perhaps a flat image with space to place text, accompanied with your finished version to use as a reference could work also.
    To be honest though, if you are supplying this material to people with limited capabilities in this sort of skill set, I'd suggest strongly advising to get the files edited by a professional. You'll find most of these people will do the best they can, but in the process, they will massacre the collateral you've provided.
    Maybe work out a deal with someone that can do the work for them for very cheap, to help them keep costs down.

    As far as resolution, as long as your providing material at 300dpi, it should be fine, though you may have to explain about bleed and trim, etc... that's yet another little bump on the road I guess...
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    >GRAPHICS WSO<
    All kinds of GRAPHICS (ebook covers, headers, etc...) done professionally and guaranteed!
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    • Profile picture of the author laird
      Originally Posted by Pat Ordenes View Post

      I guess you can provide a PSD file that can be opened in GIMP for editing.

      That's one solution. Otherwise perhaps a flat image with space to place text, accompanied with your finished version to use as a reference could work also.

      To be honest though, if you are supplying this material to people with limited capabilities in this sort of skill set, I'd suggest strongly advising to get the files edited by a professional. You'll find most of these people will do the best they can, but in the process, they will massacre the collateral you've provided.

      Maybe work out a deal with someone that can do the work for them for very cheap, to help them keep costs down.

      As far as resolution, as long as your providing material at 300dpi, it should be fine, though you may have to explain about bleed and trim, etc... that's yet another little bump on the road I guess...
      Pat:

      Good response. I'd definitely be providing a document with bleed and trim pre-set in the downloadable documents but based on my research, nobody has a really nice system down - unless they've developed their own PDF web-based manipulation system like some of the digital postcard houses do.

      One similar service to what I want to offer provides the documents in Publisher and Word formats for PC users and iWork and inDesign for Mac users...but I'm fairly certain they're not compliant with their image licensing.

      Del
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  • Profile picture of the author Kelly Verge
    Flatten the image. Add placeholder layers for the text and logo. Save as PSD.

    That's what I'd do.
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    • Profile picture of the author laird
      Originally Posted by Kelly Verge View Post

      Flatten the image. Add placeholder layers for the text and logo. Save as PSD.

      That's what I'd do.
      Yeah...that's what I was thinking...or offer it as a TIFF along with premade blank templates to drop the images into depending on the application in question.

      Wish there was a plug-n-play pdf web-based generation solution that didn't cost an arm-and-a-leg that allowed subscribers to do their customizations online and download the edited product.

      Del
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