The end of one year and the beginning of a new year seem to make me a little reflective. In the past three weeks, I’ve found myself in 13 states. Traveling has allowed m.... Read More

Latest versions of Photoshop include use of artificial intelligence   By now, you would think I’ve learned not to write things that will get me in trouble. So, be.... Read More

A funny thing happened to me in Denver a few days ago while I was in town to speak at the Colorado Press Association Convention. I had just finished my fourth presentation of.... Read More

Simple changes invite readers to pick up your paper   Younger readers might not know what I'm writing about when I mention Facebook "memories." Still, most of you are f.... Read More

Kevin shares ideas to prevent font and photo errors   My friend, Kari, wrote to me from her newspaper in Indiana this morning. Her message reminded me of the questions.... Read More

As I listen to the July 4 fireworks outside my window, my thoughts revolve around the newspaper colleagues I’ve met over the past few weeks and the lessons I’ve le.... Read More

If you regularly read my columns, you know that I write about focus groups quite often. Don't worry. I'm not writing bout focus groups today. However, I want to discuss anothe.... Read More

It dawned on me this morning that my schedule changes significantly from day to day. There are always some things that have to get done most days. Regardless of what else is o.... Read More

It has been one of those days. You’ve had them. It began with a website that wasn’t working like it was supposed to. When you have a website that lists items for.... Read More

Earlier this month, I traveled about an hour from my home to conduct focus groups for a weekly newspaper in Tennessee. Focus groups come in all sizes and shapes. This particul.... Read More

I’m seeing good things of late. People are starting to come out to conventions and training sessions again. Newspapers tell me they’re starting to refill positions that were c.... Read More

I ran into Paul Niemann at a newspaper conference in Missouri a few months ago. It seems that Paul has made a living writing a series called Red, White & True Mysteries for ne.... Read More

Wendy MacDonald, with Family Features, has been after me for years to take a look at their products for newspapers. I’ve seen their booth at dozens of newspaper conferences ov.... Read More

My inbox has been especially full lately. That makes it harder to answer every question personally, but I try to answer as many questions as I can. Let me share a few I’ve rec.... Read More

It was about two years ago when Rob Heller mentioned that we should start offering Soundslides classes at the Institute of Newspaper Technology. He explained that it was the e.... Read More

Charles, a newspaper designer from Kentucky, just sent a question via Facebook asking how to convert files from his Sony camcorder to a format he could use in Adobe Premier CS.... Read More

Each year, I release a list of hardware and software recommendations for newspapers. With newspapers spending less this year, I’ve trimmed this list to items which tend.... Read More

Many of you know that I direct a training program for newspaper designers, publishers and I.T. related staff called the Institute of Newspaper Technology. The schedule for.... Read More

I’ll never forget my first business. It was a publishing company. I came up with the idea and shared it with a friend during a water skiing outing on Thanksgiving Day 1988. Ye.... Read More

As we say in Tennessee, we are smack dab in the middle of convention season. Here in the states, most press associations conduct their conventions sometime between late Januar.... Read More

Three new design-related books caught my eye in recent weeks: Mac OS X Support Essentials (Peachpit Press 2005), by Owen Linzmayer, has been fully updated for Mac OS X 10.4.... Read More

Calibrating monitors is the first step in accomplishing accurate color throughout a newspaper. I receive more requests for help with monitor calibration than for anything else.... Read More

OK. I need to sit down. I just had one of those ?Oh, wow!? moments that computer folks have from time to time. Unfortunately, ?Oh, wow!? moments have become less common as we?.... Read More

I

It never fails. After six or so hours of Photoshop or InDesign training, the students - usually newspaper designers - start putting away their outlines and pens. Knowing the e.... Read More

Wow! What a response to my previous column concerning color settings in Photoshop. I received messages and invitations from publishers around the globe. Apparently, a lot of n.... Read More

If you visit my office any time soon, you might have to step over the boxes. The recent release of Creative Suite 2, along with the upcoming release of Quark 7.0, has produced.... Read More

When you spend your life teaching classes most of the time, it

One of the most powerful tools a newspaper designer has to work with these days - and one of the most ignored - is the Camera Raw plug-in available in Photoshop. Released as a.... Read More

Adobe began shipping the first copies of Creative Suite 2 in May and newspapers have a vested interest in this latest crop of design tools. Eighteen months have passed since.... Read More