DESKTOP PUBLISHING CURRICULUM
Computers in Business
Biddeford Regional Center of Technology
Richard Dutremble
COURSE DESCRIPTION & GOALS
This course is designed to give students a thorough understanding of page layout
design concepts while mastering the use of industry-standard desktop publishing
software. Concepts and techniques introduced in class will be applied by the
students while creating many different business documents. Examples of these
documents include flyers, posters, brochures, newsletters, booklets, pamphlets,
business cards, note cards, etc.
Students will begin creating these items for fictitious companies, but will quickly
progress to applying their expertise to the creation of documents for the Center of
Technology and other non-profit community organizations. Students will be
expected to not only work on the document creation aspect related to this type of
business, but will also develop interpersonal business experience when working
on school and community members’ projects. Students will be expected to reach
beyond the classroom walls, and meet and collaborate with these individuals,
working towards an agreeable final product.
ACTION PLAN/TOPICS TO BE COVERED
I.
Introduction to Desktop Publishing
a. Documents
i. Flyers, signs, posters
ii. Brochures, booklets, pamphlets
iii. Business cards, note cards
b. DTP Concepts and Layout and Design Rules and Techniques
II.
Exploring the software (InDesign/PageMaker) workspace
a. Change Views & Navigation
b. Work with/Exploring Toolbox and Palettes
III.
Working with Text
a. Format Text
i. Using Character Palette
ii. Understanding Leading, Horizontal & Vertical Scale
iii. Kerning & Tracking Text
iv. Super- & Subscript
b. Formatting Paragraphs
c. Create and Apply Styles (Text & Paragraph)
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d. Editing Text
i. Find/Change Command
ii. Check Spelling
IV.
Documents
a. Create a New Document
i. Understanding Guides
ii. Margin and Guide Settings
iii. Columns
iv. Using the Transform Palette
v. Using the Control Palette
b. Understanding Master Pages
i. Creating Automatic Page Numbering
ii. Inserting White Space Between Characters
iii. Inserting Em Dashes and En Dashes
iv. Creating Master Page based on another Master
c. Apply Master Pages to Document Pages
d. Place Text and Thread Text
e. Modifying Master Page Items on Document Pages
f. Create New Sections and Wrap Text around a Frame
V.
Working with Frames
a. Page Objects
i. Applying Fills and Strokes
ii. Using the Step and Repeat Command
iii. Aligning & Distributing Objects
b. Stack and Layer Objects
i. Understanding Stacking Order
ii. Understanding & Working with Layers
iii. Manipulating Layers and Objects
iv. Selecting Artwork on Layers
v. Selecting Objects Behind Other Objects
c. Working with Graphics Frames
i. Placing Graphics in Documents
ii. Understanding Graphic Frame vs. THE Graphic
iii. Difference Between Selection Tool and Direct Selection Tool
iv. Moving a Graphic Within a Graphics Frame
v. Resizing a Graphic
vi. Using the Fitting Commands
vii. Wrapping Text Around an Imported PhotoShop Graphic
d. Working with Text Frames
i. Semi-Autoflowing Text
ii. Autoflowing Text
iii. Inserting a Column Break
iv. Inserting a “Continued on page…” Notation
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VI.
Working with Color
a. Process Colors
i. Understanding Process Colors
ii. Tints
iii. Creating Tint Swatches
iv. Unnamed Colors
b. Applying Colors
i. Applying Color to Objects
ii. Applying Color to Text
iii. Modifying & Deleting Swatches
c. Working with Spot Colors
i. Understanding and Creating Spot Colors
ii. Importing Graphics with Spot Colors
d. Working with Gradients
i. Creating and Applying Gradients
ii. Modifying a Gradient Fill
VII.
Placing and Linking Graphics
a. The Links Palette
i. Understanding Preview Files
ii. Using the Link Info Dialog Box
iii. Managing Links to Placed Graphics
iv. Updating Missing & Modified Files
v. Managing Links to Placed Text Files
b. Placing Vector Graphics
c. Placing Bitmap Graphics
i. Resolution Issues in Relation to InDesign
ii. Removing a White Background from Placed Graphic
iii. Loading Alpha Channels & Clipping Paths
iv. Placing Graphics with a Feathered Edge
v. Placing Graphics with a Transparent Background
d. Using Libraries
VIII.
Creating Graphics
a. Using the Pen Tool
i. Adding Anchor Points and Using the Direct Selection Tool
ii. Drawing Curved Segments
iii. Changing the Shape of a Path
iv. Converting Anchor Points
b. Reshape Frames and Apply Stroke Effects
i. Reshaping Frames
ii. Defining Strokes
iii. Defining Joins and Caps
iv. Defining the Miter Limit
v. Creating a Dashed Stroke
c. Work with Polygons and Compound Paths
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d. Work with Advanced Features
i. Corner Effects
ii. Drop Shadows
iii. Positioning Type on a Line
iv. Converting Text to Outlines
IX.
Working with Transparency
a. Define & Colorize a Grayscale Image
b. Work with Opacity and Feathering
c. Work with Blending Modes
d. Apply Transparency to Placed Graphics
X.
Working with Tabs and Tables
a. Using Tabs
i. Using Differing Tab Alignments
ii. Using Text Insets
iii. Adding Rules Above or Below Paragraphs
b. Create and Format a Table
i. Applying Strokes and Fills to a Table
c. Format Text in a Table
i. Modifying a Table to Fit Text
ii. Insetting Text Within a Cell
d. Place Graphics in a Table
XI.
Making Books, Tables of Contents, and Indexes
a. Creating a Book File
b. Adding Documents to a Book Palette
c. Creating the Table of Contents
i. Using Paragraph Styles to Create a Table of Contents
ii. Maintaining Consistent Styles Between Documents in a Book
d. Creating an Index
i. Generating a Cross-reference Index Entry
ii. Sorting Index Entries
XII.
Exploring Advanced Techniques
a. Using the Pathfinder Palette
b. Creating New Stroke Styles
i. Creating a Dashed Stroke Style
ii. Dotted Stroke Creation
iii. Striped Stroke Creation
c. Creating Mixed Ink Swatches
i. The Need for Mixed Inks
ii. Creating a Mixed Ink Swatch and Group
d. Working with Nested Styles
i. Understanding and Applying Nested Styles
ii. Using the End Nested Style Here Command
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e. Working with Object Styles
XIII.
Preparing, Packaging, and Exporting Documents
a. Bleeds, Slugs, and Printer’s Marks
i. Creating Bleeds
ii. Creating Slugs
iii. Previewing and Printing Bleeds, Slugs, and Printer’s Marks
b. Using the Ink Manager & Preview Color Separations
c. Preflight and Package a Document
d. Export a Document
SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS COMPLETED
Signs and Informational flyers for Center of Technology Events & News
Business Cards for Center of Technology Staff
Center of Technology Course of Studies Guide
TJ’s Pizza/Dutch Elm Golf Tournament Booklets/Programs
EverAfter Mustang Rescue Tri-fold Brochures and Newsletters
COT Annual Banquet Newsletters, Programs, Tickets, and Certificates
Biddeford High School Swim/Dive Team Programs
MATERIALS AND RESOURCES USED
SOFTWARE:
Adobe PageMaker 7.0
Adobe InDesign CS2
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Publisher
TEXTBOOK:
Adobe InDesign Classroom in a Book
Adobe PageMaker 7.0 User Guide
Adobe InDesign CS2 Revealed
OTHER MATERIALS:
Various Flyers, Brochures, Newsletters, etc. collected by instructor and
used as samples and for duplication/replication purposes.
ASSESSMENT PLAN/EVALUATION PROCESS
Student grades will be calculated as follows:
Daily Class Assignments/Exploratory Work
School & Community Projects
Business Responsibility/Work Ethic/Participation
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3/9/16
30%
40%
30%
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