| After recording your album, having it mastered and | | | | would like to use for print must be 300 DPI (dots per |
| pressed, you head over to your disc duplication | | | | inch) or higher. DPI refers to the density of pixel |
| facility's website to place your order. Reading up on | | | | information in a photograph. |
| the ordering process you notice that you have the | | | | B. Color Mode - |
| option to have artwork printed on the disc face, and | | | | There are two basic modes of color: RGB and CMYK. |
| can also have tray card and insert artwork printed. | | | | All you need to know really is that all print artwork |
| This is a great idea, as it allows you to give your | | | | must be created as a CMYK document, as this refers |
| project a more professional look and feel. You can | | | | to the colors of ink that a printer uses to recreate |
| either hire a print designer, who will hopefully already | | | | your artwork. If you create your artwork as an RGB |
| know all of the proceeding information. Or you can | | | | document, the printed document will most likely shift |
| have a go at it yourself, utilizing one of the many | | | | in color. For more info on this, please refer to my last |
| different graphics creation programs available. If you | | | | article. What do you need to start a CD duplication |
| are choosing to create your own artwork, read on. | | | | project? |
| There are many different programs out there that | | | | 2. Vector Graphics |
| can be used to create print artwork. One of the | | | | Also known as geometric modeling, this form of |
| more popular programs is Adobe Illustrator. Adobe | | | | graphic uses geometrical primitives such as points, |
| Illustrator is a vector based drawing program, | | | | curves, and lines to represent images. Instead of |
| available for both PC and Macintosh computers. You | | | | displaying blocks of color to represent a photo vector |
| could also use, CorelDRAW, Paint Shop Pro, or even | | | | images rely on set points to determine the outline of |
| Adobe Photoshop. I will go into a little bit more detail | | | | an object, using mathematical formulas to determine |
| about what the differences are between some of | | | | the curve of the lines between said set points. |
| these programs later on in this article, and why some | | | | Vector graphics are ideal for simple or composite |
| of them are better suited for print design. Here is a | | | | drawings that do not need to achieve photo-realism. I |
| list of 3 terms you should be familiar with before | | | | suggest that you used vector objects for all of your |
| starting your artwork project. | | | | artwork's areas that are not photos. |
| 1. Raster Graphics | | | | 3. DPI |
| Raster graphics are also known as bitmap graphics. | | | | Dots per inch, (DPI) is the number of individual dots |
| This form of graphics image is a data file or structure | | | | of ink a printer can produce within a one-inch space. |
| representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or | | | | This translates as, the higher the DPI, the sharper |
| blocks of color, on a computer monitor, or other | | | | the image. Although, most commercial printers will tell |
| display device. Think of a raster images as a | | | | you that anything over 300DPI would be considered |
| checkers board, with each square (pixel) on the | | | | "print-quality". I recommend that you make sure that |
| board displaying a different color. This collection of | | | | your artwork is at least 300DPI, with 600DPI being |
| colored dots (pixels), in turn form the full picture. The | | | | the optimal setting for your artwork. |
| quality of a raster image is determined by the total | | | | After all this technical mumbo-jumbo, you're probably |
| number of pixels (resolution), and the amount of | | | | scratching your head, still unsure of what program to |
| information in each pixel. Raster graphics are practical | | | | use to create your artwork. The truth is you can use |
| for photographs and photo-realistic images because | | | | pretty much any graphics program to create your |
| of the way that they display images. Pretty much all | | | | artwork, providing that you correctly set the DPI and |
| photos you will find on the internet, and all photos | | | | color mode of your document. Personally, I usually |
| you take with your digital camera will be raster | | | | use a combination of Adobe Photoshop & |
| images. You may want to use photographs for your | | | | Illustrator to do all of my print artwork. I edit all |
| CD or DVD's artwork, but you must mind a few | | | | bitmap images in Photoshop and create all of my |
| certain things: | | | | vector content in Illustrator, combining the two in |
| A. DPI - | | | | Illustrator. My advice is now that you have the basic |
| I will go into this a bit further in the "DPI" section of | | | | background knowledge, experiment to figure out |
| this article. In a nutshell, any photograph that you | | | | what works best for you! |