Getting Your Admin Staff Trained On InDesign
Graphic designers are increasingly adopting InDesign as their preferred page layout tool and are constantly singing its praises. I've personally been conducted numerous conversion courses for designers keen to make the switch from QuarkXPress to InDesign. However, as a trainer, I have noticed another trend: the widespread adoption of InDesign by corporations keen to have their own staff produce in-house documents which have hitherto been outsourced. Running training courses for this new type of user accounts for a significant amount of the InDesign training that I offer.
When attending a training course on InDesign, general users need more than an explanation of how to use the various tools and functions of the software. They need to learn about the page layout arena and how it differs from familiar programs like Microsoft Word. They need an overview of the typographical controls offered by InDesign, an explanation of how to specify colour for print and how to work with images.
InDesign is closely linked with postscript, an extremely accurate page description language used by numerous output devices. As such, it offers a great deal of accuracy in positioning and dimensioning elements on the page. Delegates should be made aware of the tools which make this accuracy possible. They should learn how to used guides and grids, including the baseline grid. They should at least come away knowing how to establish alignment and symmetry between the elements on the page.
The terminology used in InDesign often harks back to the pre-electronic typographic age and is often confusing to the general user. It's important to clarify these terms, perhaps by offering users a bit of background information and, wherever possible, by making comparisons with similar features in familiar software. For example, we might compare leading in InDesign with line spacing in Microsoft Word.
Because InDesign provides so much flexibility in transforming imported images, the average user often goes too far and ends up resizing images either up or down by significant factors. The trainer should explain that resizing up or down by more than 10% or so is not a good idea since this can cause artefacts to appear when the image is printed.
Another frequent cause of confusion is the colour terminology used in InDesign. The general user will need to be taught three main things hers. Firstly, the difference between the CMYK and RGB colour spaces. Secondly, how a colour print job will be separated into four different plates. And, thirdly, the difference between a spot and a process colour.
InDesign is meant to be used to create high quality output. Regardless of their background, new users must have it drummed into them how important it is to pre-flight documents, resolve errors and then package the job ready to be sent off to a printing company. They also need to learn how to produce a high- resolution PDF file.
Tagged with: Computer Training • Graphic Design • Learn How • Microsoft • Microsoft Word • Software • Training Course