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Designers
Working with Word-processing Programs
 ord-processing
applications are absolutely wonderful programs to use when you have to
write copy or perform other text-intensive tasks. They're a perfect means
of providing a designer with copy to be used in a professional design.
(Win points with a designer by providing them with an electronic file
as well as a printed copy of your finished text!)
That being said, please know that much of the formatting of your text
will be lost when it's imported into a page layout
program. Page-layout and word-processing programs are quite different
in how they work. Not only that but, some of your formatting can actually
impede working with the text in a page-layout program. When typing text
that will be imported into a page-layout, keep these tips in mind:
- Avoid importing logos, photos or drawings into your word-processing
documents. They won't transfer to a page-layout program. Instead, indicate
where the image should go via type. The image should be given to the
designer seperately and then imported directly into the page-layout
program.
- Don't rely on text stylizing like underlines, italics or initial caps.
They won't translate to a page-layout program. If someone else is designing
your piece, it's a good idea to give them a printed copy of your word-processing
document as well as an electronic file. That way, he/she can tell where
specific formatting is intended.
- If you've created a graphic in a word-processing program, you'll need
to recreate it in an image-editing or vector-drawing
program. If created correctly, the graphic will look far more professional
and won't cause prepress problems for the printer.
- And finally (I've saved the best for last): tables. I would suggest
avoiding the table features in word-processing programs. When you import
a text document that uses tables, the contents will be almost unrecognizable
(if the table data imports at all). It is often easier to type table
information from scratch than to try to salvage what has been imported.
A much preferable solution to creating a table is to create columns
of data by inserting single tabs between columns. Tabs transfer just
fine to a page-layout program and are much easier for the designer to
work with.
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