Tài liệu Corel Draw Pro

Tài liệu Corel Draw Pro

CorelDRAW ® Pro the entrepreneurial

magazine for CorelDRAW® users worldwide

February 2008

Custom Graphic Technology Web Ad

Geo Knight & Co Web Ad

Laser Reproductions Web Ad

N&R International Web Ad

Paramount Services Inc Web Ad

The Magic Touch USA-1 Web Ad

Universal Laser Systems Web AdADVERTISER INDEX

DEPARTMENTS

Click “Web” to go to advertiser’s website Click “Ad” to go to the ad in this issue Clicking the ad itself will go to website.

TRAINING: How to Use APPLICATIONS: How to Apply OPPORTUNITIES: How to Profit

5 Graphics News Wire

26Book Review: Color

Management for CorelDRAW

by David Milisock

10 Using CorelDRAW: Beauty

Masks: Using PHOTO-PAINT’s

Masking Tools to Perform Digital

Plastic Surgery by Bill Leek

20Sublimation Tip: Pressing

2-Sided Metal Tags by Steve

Thompson

22 Inside Screen Printing:

Four-Color Crayon Drawing:

Artwork by Jeff McDaniel

All-34 Marketing Secrets Murphy’s Law and Other Wisdom

GRAPHICS NEWS WIRE

February 2008 Product News Headlines:

Calendar (Web Link)

Check out the upcoming training classes and trade shows of interest to CorelDRAW users.

● New Unisub catalog released

● ASI president co-authors

management book

● MHM offers Film Positioning Unit

● Great Notions offers

embroidery-look printable designs

● PSI expands Home Décor line of sublimatable items

● Roland University offers new color workshop

● IKONICS Imaging introduces InfiniteMarbleTM

● Royal Apparel has new retro heather t-shirt

● Sawgrass adds Canadian Engravers Supply as Chromablast distributor

● SanMar launches Spring / Summer Arrivals catalog

● Blake & Hollister has new Pin Dot placket shirt

● Vastex upgrades DB Series Dryers

● Vastex releases 2008 equipment catalog

● Sierra Pacific has ladies’

sleeveless shirt

● Chouinard offers new ladies’

scoop-neck tank top

● SOS >From Texas has organic cotton youth t-shirts

● Laserbits adds maple shapes, coco combo and more

● Stahls’ ID Direct releases new catalog

● R.S Owens unveils 2008 catalog

● Transfer Express has Easy Print® soccer numbers

NEWS DETAILS

(Click Here)

About the Cover

THE FRONT SECTION

First, I copied the original image (downloaded from the internet) into CorelDrawX3

Then I drew the contour line of the car using the Freehand Tool to obtain exact

dimension and proportion I chose to draw first the front portion of the car – the

cross-like figure above the bumper Each rectangular object was drawn carefully Using the

Fill Tool, I rendered appropriate color by utilizing the preset fills and customizing until

the right color combination was obtained Its frame holding the cross-like figure was

rendered with Mesh, but only to a certain extent

After this was completed, I built the screen on its radiator First, I drew a separate

shape somewhere outside of the image to spare any unnecessary movements in

objects Then I created a small rounded rectangular object I copied one and had

it placed next to the first object I repeated this action until these small rectangular

shapes would be enough to cover the object supposedly where the radiator screen

would appear Using PowerClip, I placed these objects inside the container

But before doing so, I converted these rectangular shapes into Objects to maintain

the thickness of lines when resizing is applied, and also applied fountain fill to obtain

exact vanishing colors Then I positioned this into the front of the car and sent it to

back Next was the bumper It’s quite easy As you could very well see, it’s just a

rectangular shape, applying Fountain Fill in it and Interactive Drop Shadow

THE HOOD SECTION

For this one, I carefully traced the right shape of the hood There had been two

major shapes present in here the smaller section on the right which is darkened by

a shadow and the larger one in which the insignia appeared There was a lot of Mesh

manipulation involved in this particular section But before going for hours customizing

the Mesh, I applied appropriate color combinations for this – the vanishing orange

color into dark yellow

And then came the most intricate part of it all – manipulating the Mesh I would admit this has been the most difficult thing to do Tweaking with effect such as this would need careful attention to detail and tons and tons of patience Applying only the Gradient Fill and render vanishing would not give you stunning realistic visuals, only the Mesh could

So, with hours of painstakingly bringing to life these once dull objects, the hood came to appear real

Other effects like the three lines on its surface were done pretty easy – only the Interactive Transparency Tool was rendered on these

Meanwhile, the insignia was actually blurred

in the original I could not find anywhere online the same image with high resolution, so I assumed this figure may look like this one

The effects involved were Interactive Fill and Drop Shadow

THE HEADLIGHT SECTION

Like the insignia, the headlight image is also blurry You could not exactly figure out how it may look like up close By zooming out, you could see what the image would be like The shapes here were easy to draw and so were the effects I have manipulated the preset Fill Tool, and also the Interactive Transparency Tool for this

THE BODY SECTION

Basically, the shapes and objects involved in designing the main body were pretty simple There were not many curves to deal with Like the hood, there was a lot of Mesh being rendered in here, and for hours, I had to carefully make the surface smooth with precise application of color as well The insignia seen here isn’t recognizable, so

I instead put the Dodge name on it along with the logo

THE UPPER SECTION

The windshield had actually no transparency visible based on the original image, maybe partly because it was set on a black background Here, I set the transparency

in a way that the glass would appear a bit obvious, without necessarily compromising its transparent characteristic, thus showing what is inside of the car The seats were mostly done with Interactive Transparency Tool as well

THE HUBS AND TIRES SECTION

I had to trace the hubs and applied the color a bit lighter than the original Although this was simple, careful attention to the details was necessary Since one hub comprised several objects, the challenge was how you could arrange each object

in a way that it is placed on its appropriate layer Otherwise, one object would cover the other one, making the design simply distorted

Now for the tires, which were very tricky because you could not perfectly figure out how the ‘stripes’ or ‘cuts’ or basically the design of the tire would look It’s difficult

to see it due to its dark color So I copied the image, pasted on MS Photo Editor and adjusted the brightness so that I could see even the slightest hint of the way the tire is designed I had to crop the image in its tire area and brought it back to CorelDrawX3 and traced it It worked for me although it took me a hell of my time I copied the

Dodge Car Design

by Ramil Baylon

completed tire and hub and resized them and changed slightly the orientation.

ADD ONS

The flare effect was added on the highest possible points where the light would shine through Also, by customizing the Interactive Drop Shadow Tool, the car cast its shadow just right below on the ground

My name is Ramil

B Baylon, 32, single,

a professional Graphic Design Artist from Iloilo City, Philippines I finished my Bachelor

of Arts in Mass Communications in 1997 from University

of Iloilo I started working with the print media in the same

year after a short stint in radio broadcasting My first formal

employment was with the Daily INFORMER, one of Iloilo

City-based daily newspaper I was assigned to work first on

daily editorial cartoon, but after a few weeks I trained doing page layout using Adobe

Pagemaker and CorelDraw With my inherent talent and heart of being an artist and

passion in creative media, it took me just two weeks and I took over the position of

graphic artist but it was a very pressure-filled position with daily deadlines

After 3 years, former colleagues and I jointly founded the Visayan Daily

HEADLINES, now on its 8th year I am working here as Art Director Along the way,

I had some part time work with an advertising firm called SignWrite Advertising We

did graphic designs for sports cars and motorcycles and other outdoor ads We used

a printer-plotter to cut the stickers I also had a stint working in a card company,

which is where my skills in CorelDraw jumpstarted I designed hundreds of logos for

corporations and schools

Presently, I am still working as Art Director but contemplating in working abroad

From time to time, I am accepting freelance online design projects My most loved

design software is CorelDrawX3, but I also use Illustrator if necessary Other design

programs I am proficient with are CorelPhotoPaint, Freehand, Fireworks, Photoshop,

Pagemaker, QuarkXpress, FrontPage, and Powerpoint

I can be reached at (+63)(033) 328-5623 / 320-8076 (office numbers) or by email

at ramil_baylon@yahoo.com, imwilliambay@yahoo.com.ph

Here is a link to my work: http://www.flickr.com/photos/18223199@N04/

About the Cover

President: John H McDaniel Vice President: Judith McDaniel Executive Director: Michael R Neer Assoc Exec Director: Steven V Neer

A CDRP Corporate Office: Albany, OR

EDITOR / PUBLISHER – Michael R Neer

800-276-8428, 559-276-8494 Fax 559-276-8496

www.CorelDRAWPro.com editor@coreldrawpro.com

Subscriptions: Free to qualified individuals and

businesses Send change of address to the above

ACDRP Membership: $60/yr., See the website

for details Includes exclusive content and more.

Advertising: Request a Media Guide or download

it from www.CorelDRAWPro.com.

Writers: CorelDRAWPro accepts articles from

industry experts Email publisher for details.

© Copyright 2007 by ACDRP

All Rights Reserved

It seems that the theme of 2008 is turning out to be

Growth! Already in the first two months, we are starting to

see some exciting new opportunities start to develop for

CorelDRAWPro readers

Key to this theme is the launch of CorelDRAW X4 last

month which certainly opens the door to more productivity

with our graphics skills – and makes getting up to speed on

the new program a priority for most users

Inside this issue

We will continue to bring you regular articles that will

help use CorelDRAW X3 and get acquainted with X4 For

example, in this issue, you’ll find an excellent article by Bill

Leek on how to use masking to enhance a person’s look

in a photo Dave Demoret spells out for you how important

keyboard shortcuts are and why you’re “losing time” if you

don’t use them

Then John McDaniel starts a new series on CorelDRAW

Applied, where he explores how the new template process in

X4 can be used to make you more productive David Milisock

shows you why the new Tone Curve in X4 is so valuable,

and demonstrates a few ways to use it

Also in this issue are stories that show you how to

apply CorelDRAW to specific processes or help you expand

your knowledge of these profit centers – screenprinting,

sublimation, sandblasting, and engraving In fact, Deborah

Sexton reviews All-Inclusive Screen Printing equipment

Finally, we have Donna Gray discussing how to prepare

your business for a visit from the unpredictable Murphy, and

Otis Veteto reports on the 50th anniversary of Awards by Kay

in Sacramento

On the road

Plans are underway for the 2008 version of the Making

Money with CorelDRAW Road Show The format has been

changed to offer a full afternoon of Lecture Training with

Demo (LTD.cdr) on the new CorelDRAW X4 program for

a nominal fee Plus, the Making Money with CorelDRAW seminar is being revised and sponsors will be displaying new products This is a great opportunity to see how X4 works and identify ways to expand your graphics skills for profit

The Road Show will be presented by Corel Training Partners John & Judy McDaniel in 36 cities nationwide The dates are still being finalized but these are the first choice

of cities that will be visited

The Spring Tour will be from April through July, and will visit these cities: Sacramento, Anaheim/Orange Co., Phoenix, El Paso, Houston, Mobile, Tampa, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington DC/ Baltimore area, Philadelphia, Boston, Rochester / Buffalo area, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Spokane, and Portland

The Fall Tour will be from September through November and will visit these cities: Seattle, Boise, Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, St Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, Nashville, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Baton Rouge, San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth area, Tucson, Los Angeles, and San Francisco / San Jose area

The 2008 sponsors are still being finalized, but the

2007 sponsors included the following companies: Artwork Source, Brother Intl., Colorado Heirloom, Conde Systems, Corel Corp., Epilog Laser, Geo Knight & Co., IKONICS Imaging, Imprintor, JBL Graphics, Johnson Plastics, Laser Reproductions, LaserSketch, Media Blast, Permanent Impressions, Printa Systems, Stahls ID Direct, Toujours, Trotec Laser, Universal Laser Systems, and Vapor Apparel

It’s going to be a good year for exploring new opportunities for growth Start your education with the articles

in this issue, and we hope we’ll see you on the Road later this year!

Using CorelDRAW® Training

By Bill Leek

Beauty Masks:

Using PHOTO-PAINT’s Masking

Tools To Perform Digital Plastic Surgery

I rarely receive a photo from a client that can’t be improved with a variety of

digital retouching techniques This is particularly true with portrait photos Corel

PHOTO-PAINT® comes with a varied assortment of retouching tools The key is to

use the tools subtly and selectively Just as in real life plastic surgery, we do not want

to drastically change a person’s appearance Plastic surgery, when overdone, can

produce disturbing results We do not want to lose our subject’s overall appearance

and personality When digital plastic surgery is done right, the subject should say,

“That’s a great picture of me!”

In this article we will use the BRUSH MASK in conjunction with several other tools

to retouch a woman’s face Our subject is middle aged with a blotchy red complexion

(too much Texas sun) and some wrinkles that need to be smoothed out We will also

add a little sparkle to her earring to add interest

Definitions

Before we go forward a few definitions are in order:

MASK: A mask is applied to an image during editing to protect or select the

underlying pixels of the image In this example, we will apply the mask tool to

areas we want to modify The remaining pixels shaded in red will be protected from

adjustments

BRUSH MASK: The brush mask tool allows us to paint the areas we want to

alter in this example Brush types and size can be adjusted The brush mask can

be painted in both + and – modes to add or subtract brush strokes

ALPHA CHANNEL: Multiple masks can be saved and reloaded in the same image

We save the images as Alpha Channels Each Alpha Channel can be saved with a

distinct name In our example we will save 3 Alpha Channels

INVERT: Allows us to swap the selected and protected areas

FEATHERING: Feathering gradually increases the transparency of the pixels

along the edge of the editable area to soften the transition between the editable and

protected areas

REMOVE HOLES: Fills in areas of the painted mask that have been missed by the paintbrush We can completely paint the outline of the mask and then use this selection to fill in the mask This is a great time saver

Now, Let’s Get Started!

WRINKLE REMOVAL:

Open up the OBJECT sub menu Drag the BACKGROUND layer to the CREATE NEW OBJECT button to create a new object layer above the background We will always apply masks to object layers…not the background image

Select The BRUSH MASK TOOL from the LEFT TOOL BAR In this example, we selected a round brush with a size of 25 pixels

Choose + brush mode Carefully paint over the areas around and under the eye, cheeks, mouth and neck as shown in the illustration The mask brush will reveal the underlying pixels and remove the red transparency mask If

we select too large an area we can come back with the – brush to deselect those pixels

At this point we can click on MASK on the upper menu bar, then select MASK OUTLINE, then FEATHER Feather the mask a few pixels (10-15) with AVERAGE mode selected

Before and After Images

Using CorelDRAW®

Next click on MASK, then SAVE, then select SAVE AS CHANNEL Save this mask as an alpha channel named WRINKLE REMOVAL We can always reload this mask in the future and make adjustments to it

To remove the selected pixels we will use Gaussian Blur Click on EFFECTS on the upper menu bar, then select BLUR and then choose GAUSSIAN BLUR In the Gaussian blur dialog box, adjust the radius control while observing the preview image Start with just a small radius and watch the wrinkles disappear When happy with the results, click OK

Select MASK again from the upper menu bar, then pick remove The red transparency mask will disappear and the entire image will be displayed with the wrinkles reduced in the selected areas This step is done If it is necessary to go back and make more adjustments, we can load the wrinkle removal alpha channel at any time

RED FACE ADJUSTMENT

We need to reduce the red in the woman’s face without changing the bright red clothing in the image

First we will select the BRUSH MASK tool and specify a slightly smaller brush diameter Click on the + mode and then draw an outline of the mask around the face and the neck

Next click on MASK on the upper menu bar, then select MASK OUTLINE and then REMOVE HOLES This will automatically paint in the mask area inside the outline and expose the underlying pixels.Click on the – button in the brush mask control box and deselect any unwanted areas When finished, feather the mask and save it as an Alpha Channel named RED FACE REDUCTION

We will now click on ADJUST from the top menu bar and then select HUE / SATURATION / LIGHTNESS In the dialog box, select the RED channel Move the SATURATION slider to the left to

a setting of about -25 to -30 The HUE slider can also be adjusted slightly to set the optimum effect Click on OK

Next click on MASK from the top menu bar, then select REMOVE The red mask will be removed and woman’s complexion should more closely match that of the little girl

THE TOUCH-UP BRUSH

The TOUCH-UP BRUSH can be selected from the LEFT TOOL BAR This tool allows you to blend away skin imperfections and slight wrinkles and is great for making final retouching adjustments to an image The MEDIUM strength setting seems to work well

Simply brush over skin imperfections and gently blend them away ►

Using CorelDRAW®

THE SPARKLING EARRING

This is the easiest step Zoom

in on the earring Select the earring

using a small diameter brush mask

setting Save the mask as a

channel called EARRING

Click on ADJUST, then HUE

/ SATURATION / LIGHTNESS,

and then select the YELLOW

channel Increase the HUE,

SATURATION and LIGHTNESS

sliders to brighten up the earring

Then click OK

Sharpening the selected earring will add some more

sparkle Select EFFECTS from the TOP MENU BAR Next

select SHARPEN and then UNSHARP MASK Using a very low THRESHOLD SETTING (less than 9), increase the PERCENTAGE SLIDER until you see the desired effect Then click OK

We can now remove the mask and we are finished with our retouching exercise

SAVING YOUR IMAGE

If you want to retain your saved ALPHA CHANNEL masks, save the image in the program’s CPT file format You will also wish to flatten the object layers with the background and save the finished image as a TIF or JPG file

Conclusions

These retouching techniques can greatly add to the value

of your work They just take a few moments’ effort These articles are brief by necessity I will continue to add similar articles that I hope will help you with everyday problems I’d appreciate your input If there are specific areas you want to cover, I can address them in future articles

Have a great Spring Season!!

Bill Leek is a color consultant for JBL Graphics in Houston,

TX, and has over 30 years experience in computer engineering and graphics design He has developed several lines of color imprintable products, and does testing on a variety of products for different manufacturers He can be reached at support@jblgraphics.com or 281-970-6677.

Using CorelDRAW® Training

By Dave Demoret, Contributing writer

Function Keys & Hot Keys

Using Your Keyboard

WHY?

I get along just fine with my mouse and the pull-down menus!

I don’t want to have to memorize all those key strokes

You need a lot of experience to know which keys to hit

These are common excuses for not using the function keys and hot keys That’s

the simple truth Most people (yeah, probably you) are afraid of using the key board

to do anything else but type in the fonts I see you shaking your head

Listen, if you are in the business to make money you need every single advantage

you can get However, this is not just another little “trick or tip” in Corel Using the

keyboard is a HUGE advantage AND can make a substantial impact on your daily

work schedule as well as you bottom line profit !!

First Step Made Easy

Allow me to make this simple for those who are intimidated by the keyboard Don’t Try To Memorize The simple fact

is that if you will just read you will automatically begin using the function keys and hot keys, without any noticeable effort !

Take a look at the down menu shown here

pull-Select a function you might use on a daily basis Now look to the right side of the column for a shortcut key If you see one, like F4 or Ctrl+Z, just take a second to read it Realize that these are given to you

each time you mouse your way to these pull-down menus Without anymore effort than that,you will find that in a short time you will think…’I need to undo what I just did…Oh, Ctrl+Z’

Still Need to Know Why?

Okay, here is why and the advantage to using the keyboard

Let’s take the common step of ‘copy’ & ‘paste’ Many people do this several times

a day This is the usual procedure and I’m going to do this step by step

1 Move your mouse to select the object

2 Left click on object

3 Move mouse to Edit on Menu Bar

4 Left click on Edit

5 Move mouse to Copy

6 Left click on Copy

7 Move mouse to Edit on Menu Bar again

8 Left click on Edit

9 Move mouse to Paste

10 Left click on Paste

11 Move mouse to object

12 Left click and drag object to placeHere is the difference using the keyboard

1 Move your mouse to select the object

2 Hit Ctrl+C

3 Hit Ctrl+V

4 Left click and drag object to placeThat’s it I just save myself 8, count ‘em, eight steps Ahh, so what? It only takes

a second to do it with a mouse

Sorry, it’s a little more than that Actually, I’ve timed myself several times to see how much time I’ve saved and when I tell people that if they take my workshops that I can save them as much as 30 to 50% of their design time, I’m not kidding Any course you take will help you cut your design time but using the keyboard is where it’s at

Using CorelDRAW® Training

The time for this one task is this:

Using the mouse to copy and paste takes 6-7 seconds if

you’re on your game It can take up to 9-10 seconds

Using the keyboard takes 2-3 seconds if you’re on your

game and 3-5 if you think about it

Again, this doesn’t sound like a lot but, given that you do

this several times a day and several times per design, this is a

lot of time If you begin using the keyboard on a constant basis

you will save time in almost all your tasks If you break this

down to a percentage, you will see that 6-7 seconds –vs- 2-3

seconds is as much or better than 50% savings in time Same

with 9-10 –vs- 6-7 Again 50% or better!

One of the nice ancillary benefits of using the keyboard that

I’ve noticed in myself and others is that once you start using

it regularly you are less intimidated by designs and you will

be much more confident in using CorelDRAW for any graphic

application

BOTTOM LINE

This is what we are all concerned about if we are in

business to make a profit I’ve seen many people increase

their designing speed and reduce the amount of time spent on

the computer This translates into more time spent on other

things like production, getting the books or paperwork done,

and even more time with family, or leisure time

One gentleman, after taking a workshop, came up to me

and said this: ‘Dave, I have a staff of graphic artists and we

can do everything you did here today, but you just showed me

how to do in 20 to 30 minutes what takes us an hour or more

Do you know how much time savings that is? I could have paid

twice what you charged for this class and been happy.’

There was nothing special about his workshop Nothing

special in what or how I taught, other than stressing and using

throughout the workshop the need and the uses for utilizing the

keyboard Function Keys and Hot Keys can save you enough

time to affect your profit

TIME IS MONEY

Whether you think you are getting paid for your art or design

time or not, someone pays for this time It either comes out

of your customer’s pocket or yours, whether you charge them for it or not

I once had a person tell me that they would not pay for the art time I was charging Their reason was this: ‘When I go

to the newspaper and place an ad, they don’t charge for art!’

Again, sorry, but they do They just don’t show it on the bill

as a separate charge They have to pay the illustrators and it isn’t coming out of the profits without being passed on to the customer

If you are a mom & pop shop and you don’t think you’re charging for your art or design time, you are If you don’t have it built into the bill, you’re losing profit Therefore it is coming out

of your pocket It a screen printer didn’t charge for art, screen making, & prep time (to cut it short) he couldn’t afford to be in business Neither can you

So how is the guy down the street able to charge less than

me when I don’t charge art fees? Hidden or shown? Simple, he

is either not making much profit and will soon be out of business (relatively speaking) or, he is using his keyboard !!! LOL

Of course, there are a lot of reasons he might be less expensive but in this day of speed and low-cost items, again I stress, the importance of using every advantage you can get

Using the keyboard, function keys and quick (or hot keys) is one that will help you in many ways

Dave Demoret, founded Prolink Graphic Services to help

people understand and profit from learning CorelDRAW He has been in both the Flat Graphics Industry and the Decorating Graphics Industry over the past 30 years He has written several articles for Screen Graphics Magazine on Color

Control & Matching in the past Dave has used CorelDRAW®

since version 3 and became a CorelDRAW Training Partner

in 2006 During the past 5 years he has been conducting workshops all over the U.S and is the author of several Video CDs & Instructional CDs on CorelDRAW Dave continues to conduct workshops in the U.S & also worldwide online He can be reached at 765-DO COLOR (362-6567) or by email at daved@prolinkgs.com

CORELDRAW APPLIED

Last time we provided an overview of what’s new

in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 This time we’ll start

exploring some of the new features that we like and

think you might find helpful

But, we’re not going to just explain a feature, and

let you figure out how it might be useful In the many

Creating & Using Templates

years that we’ve been helping folks figure out “How do I get CorelDRAW to …” (fill in the blank) The questions we’ve answered have been primarily focused on applications

One of the most frequent objections we’ve heard about manuals is; “I know the tools are explained in the manual, but that doesn’t help me.” The other issue with manuals is terminology “What is the tool called that I need?” When you are first starting out, what you may need to know can be buried behind layers of terminology you are not familiar with To find what you need to know may take reading the entire manual

What we’ve found is that most people need to know how to do a job that’s due soon, perhaps tomorrow!

We all seem to be controlled by the TYRANNY of the

URGENT! To get the job done, you need to know the

tools to use, and how they work! So we’ll try to make the tools in CorelDRAW and PHOTO-PAINT relevant

to the types of jobs you face

To that end, over the years, we’ve collected a number

of questions from our students in classes and emails

We’ll include answers to some of those FAQs in future articles We would also welcome any questions you might have If you would like to ask something, please email your question to JHMcDaniel@CorelDRAWhelp

com We don’t promise that we’ll answer all of your questions in print, but we are interested in topics you would like to see addressed

One final point before we get started exploring templates We will primarily show how to accomplish tasks in X4; however, in some cases, if there are differences, we’ll show how the same tasks can also

be accomplished in older versions We won’t go back beyond 12 Most people we’ve talked with are using X3; a few are still using 12 So we’ll cover those versions in addition to X4

Picture 1: The New from Template

dialog screen for X3.

Picture 2: The New from Template screen for X4 It

has been greatly enhanced, allowing you to see all

templates that you have created.

Starting a New Project with a Template

Templates have existed in CorelDRAW for a number of versions They are designed to speed up your workflow Rather than having to create everything

in your layout from scratch, they give you a framework that you can modify and perhaps some inspiration for your own creation

In some cases, templates are also useful to show customers alternate possibilities It can help them arrive

at a decision For many years, we had customers visit our store looking for an award plaque and not quite knowing what they wanted to say That prompted us to

create the Words for Plaques CD and Manual which

provides suggested plaque layouts by category Once your customer makes a decision, then the template provides a base graphic you can modify to get the job

done [Editor’s Note: Words for Plaques is available

in the CorelDRAWPro Bookstore.]

►

CORELDRAW APPLIED

If you are just starting out with CorelDRAW, explore the stock templates that are

available In most versions, you can access templates from the welcome screen, or

from the file menu, by clicking on New from Template

Picture 1 shows the New from Template dialog screen for X3, version 12 is

similar This screen consists of tabs that are arranged by template category The

Browse tab opens an Explorer screen that allows you to access your hard drive or

other storage medium to locate CorelDRAW (.cdr) or CorelDRAW Template files

(.cdt) that you may have created In essence any CorelDRAW file may be used as a

template That’s true in all versions including X4

Picture 2 shows the New from Template screen for X4 As you can see it has

been greatly enhanced It allows you to see all templates, templates by type, or by

industry It also allows you to access templates that you have created, see picture 3

To make use of layouts that we had previously created, before we had templates,

we simply opened a file, made our changes, and then saved it under a different file

name This procedure is short and useful as long as you can remember what file you

need and you also remember to use Save As There have been a number of times

I’ve overwritten a file I didn’t want to by clicking Save instead of Save As

Starting with versions 12 and X3, we have made a concerted effort to save files

as templates for layouts we knew we wanted to use again To create a template

in versions 12 or X3, once you have your layout completed, click on File/Save As;

and select CDT – CorelDRAW Template from the drop-down list See picture 4

Templates can be multi-page documents So you can save

a company’s awards for this year as a template for next year, complete with run instructions

Templates in X4

Going back to X4, you’ll notice

in picture 3 I’ve created my own categories engraving and t-shirts In X4 I can create as many categories as I’d like I can create categories for product types or perhaps customers

When I want to find a template,

I can use the search box in the upper left corner to narrow my choices This will help me in the

Picture 4: To create a template in versions

12 or X3, once you have your layout

completed, click on File/Save As;

and select CDT – CorelDRAW Template

from the drop-down list.

CORELDRAW APPLIED

future after I’ve created lots of templates

I can also save notes along with the template

X4 allows me to save notes that might remind me of

tips, or help anyone else in my company that uses this

template These notes might be how to run the job,

i.e power and speed settings for a laser; or perhaps

temperature and time settings for a heat-press transfer

I might also include run times that can be used in

pricing

To create a template in X4 we have a new Save

as Template short-cut command available on the file

menu This calls the Save dialog screen and sets the

file type to template, see picture 5 Then when you

click on save, you get the Template Properties Dialog

Screen, see picture 6 This is where you can set the

category and add any notes you want After you’ve run

the job, if you want to change or add more notes, like

run times, simply open the template and save it again

as a template replacing the original

Using templates can be a great time saver no

matter what version you’re using The new template

structure in X4 can help you organize and streamline

your work

Picture 5: To create a template in X4 use the new

Save as Template short-cut command This calls the

Save dialog screen and sets the file type to template.

Judy and John McDaniel are owners of JHM

Marketing in Albany, OR JHM provides consulting and training services for the industry They have been using CorelDRAW since 1989 and teaching it for engraving, sandblasting, sublimation, etc since 1991

They can be reached by phone at 541-967-4271, via SKYPE (user name JHMcDaniel), or via email at JHMcDaniel@CorelDRAWhelp.com See full bio on the Writers Page.

Picture 6: When you click on save in X4, you

get the Template Properties Dialog Screen

This is where you can set the category and

add any notes you want

INSIDE COLOR

The New Tone Curve in

The discussion on RAW in the last two articles and the discussion of tone curves must go hand in hand One cannot correct

an image without individual control over the RGB or LAB channels in a tone curve

The largest downfall I see in any RAW converter is that NONE OF THEM allows control of the three channels during the conversion process

The concept is to balance the gray scale at the bottom of the Munsell card that you see in the right middle of each capture By gray balance I mean equal RGB components of each square from white at left to dark gray at right, or specific LAB values for each square The bottom image #1 is the RAW capture from a Phase capture back, converted to an RGB image using the Phase RAW converter that comes with the camera

Incidentally, the eyedropper readings

of the TIF capture straight from the camera matched the RAW conversion point for point There were no more than 2 points of variation between the 3 channels of each gray swatch By that I mean the far right gray swatch reads, R35, G35 and B37

All the gray and white swatches shared similar readings; this is an amazingly well balanced capture

With that said, look at capture #2 and

#3 The #2 image is the Phase RAW to

Phase tungsten RGB conversion correctly gray balanced, and #3 is the Phase RAW conversion converted to LAB, gray balanced and converted to Adobe RGB Notice how #2 and #3 display nearly identical, while #1 is significantly different

This captured subject, wood paneling, is a difficult subject It was captured in

a sophisticated studio with a very expensive camera, lens and lighting equipment However a mere 2-point variation of the gray balance has created the shift that you see here from #1 to #2 and #3 Can you imagine what is happening to RAW conversions where you have no ability to balance the gray completely across the entire gamut?The truth be told, we get images in from cameras that range in price significantly, from a high of $30,000 to a low of $100 We also get images in from photographers who have skill sets that range just as wide The problems are mostly the same the images need to be balanced for correct color first, so we can adjust for color the client likes second

This is where the shoot-RAW-it’s-better mindset goes awry A good TIF capture that can be gray balanced has a serious chance of being a great image A RAW conversion that has the gray balance screwed up beyond repair will NEVER be a great image

The new tone curve

This is where the new tone curve in Corel PHOTO-PAINT X4 comes into play Whether you use RAW, JPG or TIF as your captures, you will use the tone curve to correct the color

Here, in the screen shot, we see the new tone curve in X4 In PHOTO-PAINT X3 and X4 it is under the Adjust menu, but the new curve is only in X4

INSIDE COLOR

Notice that the grid is now defaulted to a pattern

of 10 squares, about 25 points per square This can

be altered by holding the ALT key down and clicking

the grid; it will temporarily go back to a 4-square grid

pattern I prefer the 10-square pattern as I find it easy

to be more accurate

The new eyedropper tool found at the bottom right of

the grid allows you to click on the image and identify the

exact area of the RGB, R, G, or B curve that you wish

to edit I use the curve this way: I open the Image Info

docker, (Windows, Docker, Info) With the eyedropper

tool, I select a point of the image I want to edit; I then click

the curve at other points on the curve, making sure that

the X, Y reading remains identical for each new control point I then return to the first edit point, selected with the eyedropper tool, and make color corrections I can read the before and after reading in the Info docker I continue this until the image is balanced according to the Info docker

In the wreath image, we see this in practice The top image is from a $99 digital camera The bottom left

is the image with a proper sRGB gray balance Notice the changes in the wreath and the Munsell card The card shows the bottom left image has a proper gray balance and the image truly does reflect the cheap corporate wreath that was captured However the end user preferred the bottom right image with the 3/4 tone enhanced

Using the above procedures with the eyedropper tool and the Info docker this took 4 minutes This new feature will be very useful for those who do on-site captures and prints, such as garments, mugs, and other promotional printing

As we can see, only a couple points on the RGB or LAB curves separate the quality of captures But now you can use the new eyedropper tool in the new tone curve to your advantage to improve not only your images but most importantly your profit margins

A prime example of this is much more easily seen when we are correcting images that are dominated by white and areas of high contrast The first image is of a restored 100-year-old blower from a local company, and the second is a quick 2-minute correction of that image using the new tone curve eyedropper tool to read the swatches of the Munsell gray-to-white swatches only in sRGB Then I used the tone curve to adjust the reading

to match the sRGB reading that the Munsell card should have for each swatch

The white walls, the colored swatches, and the black and silver machine make a clear demonstration of how well properly adjusting the gray balance works Neither the white paint on the walls nor the silver blower stand has any tints to them The white is a clean white, no red, green, or blue tint The same can be said for the silver

on the stand Also there is subtle shading in the black

on the high resolution version of the image, allowing us

to read the model number cast into the housing These new tone curve and eyedropper tools are certainly enough reason to upgrade to the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 The procedures and the tool make

a couple-minute job out of a poor image

Next month we will talk about the support in X4 for the Adobe Color Engine (ACE), black point compensation (BPC), relative colorimetric and perceptual rendering intents Maybe I’ll call the article – the perceived BS about BPC – Is it relative to our conversions?

David Milisock is president of Custom Graphic

Technologies Inc in Washington Boro, PA He has been in the print production business since 1975, and specializes in professional support for the CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite He can be reached at 717-509-3523 or davidmilisock@comcast.net