Album covers

[macrofone]

Any suggestions on software to use to design album covers please? I haven't done it before so really don't know what to use. And budget is obviously very small...

[Onomatopoeic]

Small budget?


http://www.gimp.org/

[rcarlberg]

Mac or PC? Look into DiscCover if you're Mac.

[ronmac]

Small budget?


http://www.gimp.org/

Gimp is primarily for photo manipulation; it's pixel-based. It's a Photoshop wannabe. Nothing wrong with that. I know some who use it and like it. But, it's not an app you would use to create an album cover that includes text or other vector-based graphics.

Mac or PC? Look into DiscCover if you're Mac.

These appear to be templates for home desktop printing.



This really depends on your concept. What are you looking to create? There is no one piece of graphics software that does it all. Pros use Adobe products like Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop, but they don't come cheap.

There are freeware products out there, but, once again, it depends on your concept. Photos and some illustrations would be done using Gimp and other pixel-based photo editing apps, whereas others would be used for the vector-based elements, like text, shapes, lines, etc.

I'm not up to speed with freeware, because I use the Adobe stuff.

So, what are you looking to create? And, what quantity are you looking at? Mass production, or just few for yourself? That's a factor, as well.

[JKL2000]

Paint.exe

End of discussion.

[ronmac]

Paint.exe

End of discussion.

Hardly. It's another photo editing tool. It is not a design or publishing tool, which should be used to create the art. It's pixel-based, like Gimp and Photoshop. It is not a graphic design app, which is what should be used in conjunction with the photo editing app, if necessary.

[bob_32_116]

I'm still waiting for the OP to respond and say just what kind of "designing" he has in mind. Pixel based drawing? Image manipulation, for doing stuff with existing images? Vector based graphics?

[Dave (in MA)]

Paint.exe

End of discussion.

C:\Windows>dir/s paint.exe
Volume in drive C is OSDisk
Volume Serial Number is 7018-97E7
File Not Found

What is this "Paint.exe" of which you speak?

[ronmac]

C:\Windows>dir/s paint.exe
Volume in drive C is OSDisk
Volume Serial Number is 7018-97E7
File Not Found

What is this "Paint.exe" of which you speak?

He's referring to Microsoft Paint. A free app for those who want to play.

[ronmac]

I'm still waiting for the OP to respond and say just what kind of "designing" he has in mind. Pixel based drawing? Image manipulation, for doing stuff with existing images? Vector based graphics?

Indeed. And, beyond that, who is doing the actual designing.

[Dave (in MA)]

He's referring to Microsoft Paint. A free app for those who want to play.

I know But the actual .exe name(s) are pbrush.exe and mspaint.exe.

[macrofone]

Thanks for the replies. I had heard of Gimp but DiscCover is new to me, seems good! And actually I do need to create more than just a couple covers, apparently these graphics will be use at a gig too, nothing big though. Quantity of albums will be less than hundred (mostly going for digital copies) and the graphics just include a couple of banners for the stage and a couple of posters. It will probably just be some photos of the band (from previous gigs) plus their name and some text, so very basic. The printer needs the files in quite specific ways though, so I need to make sure the application can save in the right format...? Printer is this http://print24.com/uk/product/banners/

[ronmac]

^^ Looks like they take pdf files, which is standard and most apps should be able to output. However, you better make sure the resolution is pretty high for the large format stuff. I glanced and saw dimensions, but I didn't see anything about image resolution.

Good luck.

[bob_32_116]

^^ Looks like they take pdf files, which is standard and most apps should be able to output. However, you better make sure the resolution is pretty high for the large format stuff. I glanced and saw dimensions, but I didn't see anything about image resolution.

Good luck.

I expect the output image resolution would depend on the printing hardware rather than the design software. The design would be defined, then the rendering process would generate and print the design at the required size.

The only time resolution would be an issue would be if you were importing an existing pixel-based image as part of the design.

[Onomatopoeic]

Freebie vector-based illustration. Text, vectors, curves, etc. Render to pixelmap file format then import into GIMP as a layer.


https://inkscape.org/en/download/

[ronmac]

I expect the output image resolution would depend on the printing hardware rather than the design software. The design would be defined, then the rendering process would generate and print the design at the required size.

The only time resolution would be an issue would be if you were importing an existing pixel-based image as part of the design.

Yes, resolution is pixels. Text and graphics, if done using the correct app, are vector-based and can scale infinitely. But, one mistake some make is thinking that you can simply increase the resolution of a photo and it will be fine. Not true. You cannot add something that's not there. Increasing resolution only adds pixels in between pixels and does not make the image any better or sharper.

My main point is that he has to have a high-res image to begin with. And for banners, they typically want AT LEAST 150-ppi at 100% scale.

[ronmac]

One VERY important point I should also make. Many people think that, if the image looks good on their computer screen, it will print well. Nothing could be further from the truth. A computer display is much more forgiving than the printed page. And I don't mean the ink jet printer.

For a website, images only need to be 72 ppi (pixels per inch), whereas a printed doc (brochures, ads, etc.) needs to be 300 ppi, four times larger than what you see on that screen. Large format output devices used for banners, trade show displays, etc., typically only need to be about 150 ppi (although, some places require higher-res), because the software used for output interpolates the image (adds pixels between pixels) and the final products are meant to be viewed from a distance, so they don't need to be ultra-sharp.

[Gruno]

One VERY important point I should also make. Many people think that, if the image looks good on their computer screen, it will print well. Nothing could be further from the truth. A computer display is much more forgiving than the printed page. And I don't mean the ink jet printer.

I'd say this is the #1 thing that clients do not seem to understand. I can't tell you how many I have dealt with who insist that the image is good enough for printing purposes:

-- "I'm looking at it now on my screen and I can see all the detail! Even when I print it on a sheet of paper it looks good. Yeah, I grabbed the image off the internet."

-- Ok, let me output it to a 4' x 12' banner and then see how you like it.

For a website, images only need to be 72 ppi (pixels per inch), whereas a printed doc (brochures, ads, etc.) needs to be 300 ppi, four times larger than what you see on that screen.

When we did the artwork for THUD, the printer requested 400dpi. I was beyond impressed with the final result. One page featured an image of a handwritten document done in marker with a few pencil notations. The pencil notations look like they were done after printing, it is so clear.

[ronmac]

When we did the artwork for THUD, the printer requested 400dpi. I was beyond impressed with the final result. One page featured an image of a handwritten document done in marker with a few pencil notations. The pencil notations look like they were done after printing, it is so clear.

That's definitely atypical, from my experience. Good for them, though. The guys I use ask for 150dpi, although, I give them more resolution than that.