Signs of the Times - October 2013 - (Page 44)

SOFTWARE UPDATE By Theresa Jackson Theresa Jackson operates Orchard View Color (Escondido, CA) and has more than 20 years’ experience in prepress, graphic design, color management and photography. Email her at Theresa@orchardviewcolor.com Illustrator Multiple Artboards You can have up to 100 artboards in a single Illustrator file. Adobe first introduced multiple artboards with Illustrator CS4. It’s easy to confuse multiple artboards with pages, similar to those you find in InDesign® or Microsoft Word®, but it’s best to think of each artboard as an individual sheet, like separate pieces of paper that you can draw or design on. Artboards can be resized, rearranged and reordered, and you can add or delete them as you work. Further, you can generate up to 100 artboards within a single Illustrator file, with any combination of artboard dimensions. Designing with multiple artboards is a great way to save time and stay organized. How to create multiple artboards Keep in mind that Illustrator’s maximum (canvas) workspace is 227 x 227 in., and you can’t set an artboard’s size larger than the canvas, or set any combination of multiple artboards to extend past the canvas size restriction. In addition, the artboard tool allows you to move artboards and their content anywhere on the canvas. Option 1: Specify the number of artboards when you create a new document. All artboards will be at your specified size, and arranged and spaced according to the infor- mation you provided in the new document dialog box (Fig. 1). Option 2: Use the artboard tool to add new artboards to an existing document. Select the artboard tool; click anywhere on the canvas, and then drag out a new artboard to any size. You can resize the artboard in the toolbar (at the top of the workspace). The “canvas” is Illustrator’s workspace. Think of it as your desk, and the artboards as sheets of paper on the desk. Zoom all the way out to see the boundaries – a dark gray box – of the canvas. Option 3: Duplicate an existing artboard by Option or Alt-Click, and drag to duplicate the selected artboard and all of its contents. Option 4: Use the artboard panel (Window>Artboards) to create a new artboard or duplicate an existing one. Click the Page icon to create a new artboard (directly to the right) at the same size as the previous one. Or, drag an existing artboard from the list to the page icon, to duplicate it and all of its contents. (Fig. 2) artboard to another. For example, the alignment tool works across artboards, so you can quickly align graphics across multiple designs. Further, all fonts, color swatches and color profiles are contained in a single document, which ensures consistent project output. I find this especially useful when designing with Pantone Color Swatches. If your project requires bleed art, know that all artboards within a single document share the same bleed dimensions. Working in a single document, with multiple artboards, ensures every design has exactly the same color swatches. (Before CS6, the default-color definition for Pantone® was CMYK. In Illustrator CS6 and CC, the default definition for Pantone® spot colors is LAB. If your project includes new designs mixed with older files, it’s possible to end up with different colors.) Workflow examples I prefer a multiple-artboard workflow for projects that contain several, The benefits of multiple artboards Multiple artboards are a great way to stay organized, because all similar designs can be contained in a single document. In addition, it’s easy to share and move elements from one Fig. 1: Use the New Document box to specify the number of documents. 44 SIGNS OF THE TIMES / OCTOBER 2013 / www.signweb.com Fig. 2: Use the Artboards panel to create or duplicate artboards. Fig. 3: Use the Illustrator Options box to create a PDF-compatible file. http://www.signweb.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - October 2013

Signs of the Times - October 2013
Contents
ST Update
Technology Update
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Electric
LED Update
Software Update
Technology Review - Mimaki’s JFX500-2131 flatbed and UJV500-160 UV printers
Technology Review - Seiko’s UV Jetrix 1212FK and KX5/KX5R flatbed printers
New Products
Rollin’ for the Lucky Seven!
The Inaugural Readers’ Choice Awards
Smart Lighting
The SGIA Preview
Industry News
Enter the ST Intl. Sign Contest!
Advertising index
Editorially speaking

Signs of the Times - October 2013