Just putting the finishing touches on my portfolio, and i plan to be printing them in the next couple days. I've set it up so that each spread is an 11"x17", which will then be folded in the middle.
When I was printing off a different, unrelated project yesterday in our print lab, I was getting a lot of issues in formatting this. To save time, I thought I would save one copy with the 11x17's, and one with each 11x17 cut into a pair of 8.5"x11"s (so if problems arise in printing I have both options, whatever is easier for the print guy). Does anyone know of a streamlined way to do this in Illustrator or InDesign? The help would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
I'm not sure about Illustrator but you can set it up fairly easily in InDesign. Just create your pages as 8.5"x11" and then use the "print booklet" option to set it up as a 2-up saddle stitch or perfect bound depending on how you are going to bind it.
Just as a suggestion through personal experience, take into account how the spread will meet in the center. If you are going with a typical binding (like a traditional book) you will need to ensure that the 2 pages meet in the spine so that the images match up. I.E: you'll need to leave a little extra room towards the inside of each page.
If I'm not mistaken, Lulu.com has a template for InDesign that takes this into account
edit: derp...just noticed that the original Brian mentioned that as well!
Maybe as a disclaimer I should add that I've never actually used this feature of InDesign before. I just know that it is there.
That said, I will be doing a small 'teaser portfolio' with a saddle stitch here shortly. Usually for my portfolios I've just printed each page individually (front and back) and then had them bound at the local copy/print shop. I'm doing the saddle stitch for this next one because I want it to be something that I can print, fold, and staple for the binding quickly rather than take it in to the print shop and spend the money for a binding option I don't really like anyway (ie. spiral or comb).
You could also alter the artboard in Illustrator, making two 8-1/2 by 11 artboards to replace the one 11X17, but that would take forever to do for each spread (if you have a lot of them), I think InDesign is the best method.
Thanks all for the suggestions; I plan to try them all and see what one works best. Kamueku, yours sounds like exactly what I was looking for.
To give a bit more detail, I am simply going to fold all of the sheets right in the middle, and then use either a typical sewn/stitch binding by hand, or just simply drive staples through the spine. This has worked well for me in the pas, so I don't think I'll have to leave additional room.
I did mine in Illustrator and Tile Printing to PDF worked well. If you're having them printed at a Repro place, make sure you have at least a 1/4" border or else you get charged for full bleed. And even though it's been said "Mind the Gap".
Jan 9, 12 6:32 pm ·
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Illustrator Question: Cutting 11x17's into a pair of 8.5x11's
Hey guys,
Just putting the finishing touches on my portfolio, and i plan to be printing them in the next couple days. I've set it up so that each spread is an 11"x17", which will then be folded in the middle.
When I was printing off a different, unrelated project yesterday in our print lab, I was getting a lot of issues in formatting this. To save time, I thought I would save one copy with the 11x17's, and one with each 11x17 cut into a pair of 8.5"x11"s (so if problems arise in printing I have both options, whatever is easier for the print guy). Does anyone know of a streamlined way to do this in Illustrator or InDesign? The help would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
-BenC
I'm not sure about Illustrator but you can set it up fairly easily in InDesign. Just create your pages as 8.5"x11" and then use the "print booklet" option to set it up as a 2-up saddle stitch or perfect bound depending on how you are going to bind it.
InDesign help link explaining it (it's for CS4 but I'm sure it would be similar for CS5 or whatever version you're using)
Just as a suggestion through personal experience, take into account how the spread will meet in the center. If you are going with a typical binding (like a traditional book) you will need to ensure that the 2 pages meet in the spine so that the images match up. I.E: you'll need to leave a little extra room towards the inside of each page.
If I'm not mistaken, Lulu.com has a template for InDesign that takes this into account
edit: derp...just noticed that the original Brian mentioned that as well!
Maybe as a disclaimer I should add that I've never actually used this feature of InDesign before. I just know that it is there.
That said, I will be doing a small 'teaser portfolio' with a saddle stitch here shortly. Usually for my portfolios I've just printed each page individually (front and back) and then had them bound at the local copy/print shop. I'm doing the saddle stitch for this next one because I want it to be something that I can print, fold, and staple for the binding quickly rather than take it in to the print shop and spend the money for a binding option I don't really like anyway (ie. spiral or comb).
You could also alter the artboard in Illustrator, making two 8-1/2 by 11 artboards to replace the one 11X17, but that would take forever to do for each spread (if you have a lot of them), I think InDesign is the best method.
In Illustrator you can tile print to PDF, which means a 11x17 becomes cut in half with 2 8.5x11 automatically.
Thanks all for the suggestions; I plan to try them all and see what one works best. Kamueku, yours sounds like exactly what I was looking for.
To give a bit more detail, I am simply going to fold all of the sheets right in the middle, and then use either a typical sewn/stitch binding by hand, or just simply drive staples through the spine. This has worked well for me in the pas, so I don't think I'll have to leave additional room.
Thanks again.
-Ben
I did mine in Illustrator and Tile Printing to PDF worked well. If you're having them printed at a Repro place, make sure you have at least a 1/4" border or else you get charged for full bleed. And even though it's been said "Mind the Gap".
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