Magazine Design Workflow Advice

[Houston_Guy@adobeforums.com]

[Houston_Guy@adobeforums.com]

Forgive me if this isn't the right place to post this, but I use InDesign daily and it seems like the only sensible place to post on here.

I design 3 separate magazines, all under one publisher. I get advertising artwork from my ad designers, submitted as .psd's. I get images and text that I then incorporate into a total design.

My question is really, are there any good resources for magazine designers? I'm looking to polish my workflow, and do things a bit more professionally but I'm not sure where to turn.

I'm hoping some folks in this forum are also magazine designers.

thanks!

[Buko@adobeforums.com]

How do you do it now?

[Houston_Guy@adobeforums.com]

Sorry I'm being vague, this is a huge topic I know.

Currently I start with a document that is the number of pages of the entire magazine, for example 88 pages or something. I build everything in there (not separate spreads). I recieve advertising art from my ad designers in the .psd format. I drop those in as I'm designing the pages. I get text and images from my editor. I convert all images to CMYK .psd's. I do have individual folders for each article, which has the original images and text in them as well as the new versions of the images (converted to CMYK, saved as .psd, color corrected, etc)

The other area of confusion for me is in styles. I wish I could find sort of a recommended set of styles to use. I'm good about using styles for everything but I've never understood how to properly name them, or what the best style group would be to use.

On the whole I'm really just wanting to get better at the workflow and I'm curious if there is any way to find out how the big fancy magazines are doing it.

I also need a solution for working with someone else remotely now (an employee) and I have no idea how I'm going to host the files or whatever so we're working on the same folder... ahh the confusion. But i know this is too much for this forum.,

[Bob Levine]

Sounds like you could use the services of a good consultant.

Bob

[Kenneth_Lasley@adobeforums.com]

I design magazines as well. My workflow starts with the editor and a production assistant. The editor turns in all type and images and the production employee groups this together by article and and images into appropriate file folder hosted on a remote server. The production assistant, myself and the editor get a quick page count from the line count and number of words. We then make a dummy pagination or dummy sheet guide for articles and ad placement. After we have determined the amount of pages, making sure that we have the correct amount of pages to be imposed for the press, My team steps in and does the design. We work from templates that have been setup for each magazine along with style sheets for paragraphs and character styles. We also have any images or symbols in a library for quick recall as well as little filler stuff to fill any empty space that might occur. Body text, headline text, author text, bylines, subheads and callout or pulquote text have all been preformatted and saved as style sheets. This makes it stramlined and uniformed for the magazine.

When the pages are all worked, a set of pdf proofs are made and sent to the editor and a proofreader. If changes are to be made, they take the PDF proofs and mark them with changes that need to be made. We then make all changes and send a final pdf proof set to the client. If the final pdf proofs are all okayed, we then make Press ready PDF files for the print vendor and send the press ready files to the printer along with a printed proof pulled from the press ready PDF files as well as we send our client the final press files for their final press file proof set.

We then receive proofs fron our printer either via minolta proofs or by online aproval such as InSite. The production assistant, the editor, the client and I all make final decision on the press files via a video conference call.

The whole process takes about a week and a half to two weeks. Covers and ads are worked in advance of the editorial. This makes the process fairly streamlined. I do agree with Bob, hire a good consultant to determine the best workflow. I have had my magazines for around 5 years, so our workflow has been a work in progress, but seems good now. Even though we are looking to improve it always.

Ken

[Houston_Guy@adobeforums.com]

Ken,
Thanks, this was very helpful. It's amazing really, I've got the identical workflow. I'm a one-man shop, so some steps are taken out but otherwise I do it all exactly the same. Maybe I don't need to be so concerned afterall.

Do you use an ftp server to host all of the files? Do you pay for a service or just use a server at your office or your clients office? My biggest challenge now I think is syncing everything with a new employee who will be taking over all of the design work and I will be overseeing all of that. But i need to be able to do daily backups at my office and have full access to the files. My project folders are usually a few gigabytes at a minimum, not to mention my global art folder, and other stuff I'd want to have on the server. But I don't know if there is a low-cost solution for this. Perhaps I'm better off having my employee connect directly to my Mac using the dropbox and just download and upload whatever he or she is working on.

thanks again. i feel better knowing you're on the same workflow. i'm not that interested in spending money on consultants, i know i can figure it all out on my own over time. i'm a consultant myself for other things, so i know how easily consultants can rip people off unfortunately.

[Bob Levine]

I did say a GOOD consultant. ;)

Bob

[Houston_Guy@adobeforums.com]

An oxymoron if there ever was one, but you're right.

[Anne-Marie Concepcion]

I bet you'd love the The InDesigner video podcasts. Each is a 10 to 15 minute video/voice tutorial on "applied InDesign."

The guy who does them, Michael Murphy, is the one-man-band art department for a 256 pp magazine. He shows how he uses InDesign features (nested styles, tables, anchored objects) to really speed up the production of the mag, giving him more time to experiment creatively. Many of the videos use actual magazine pages from whatever issue he's working on as the tutorial document.

You can watch the videos in your browser (they're larger than iPod videos) ...
<http://indesignsecrets.com/theindesigner>

AM

[Bob Levine]

Seconded. I've met him a couple of time at the NYC users group meetings
which brings up the next point...check out [url]www.indesignusergroup.com[/url]. If
there's one in your area I highly recommend joining.

Bob

[Houston_Guy@adobeforums.com]

AM/Bob– thank you so much. These are just the leads I needed. Haven't had a free moment to look yet but I'm going to devour these podcasts. I can't believe I didn't think of that. Sounds like the perfect thing for someone in my shoes. And I agree, going to some meetings would be great as well. thanks again, very much appreciated

[Richard_Sohanchyk@adobeforums.com]

I agree about the videos. Wonderful. I'm slowing working my way through them.

[Buko@adobeforums.com]

Well you really need to know what you want your look to be for starters.

I will then set up a template of the mag with all type styles column heads anything to do with the mag.

I will then save it in a new mag folder, along with column head folder, text folder, image folder, an ad folder, and a pdf folder.

I now have basic folder ready to duplicate that has everything in it for a new issue.

If I need to work with other layout people I will make up a folder with a five or 6 page version of the magazine( contains all styles & master pages) and all the basics they need for that one layout. When they are done I drag the pages into the master document.

[Kenneth_Lasley@adobeforums.com]

What are you saying Bob...lol! Seriously, I do have my own servers and they were pretty pricey. A one man shop probably could not justify the cost. I have a print facility where we do quick print, posters and such, that is where the servers are all located, we are fortunate enough to all be in a fiber to the facility and home area. Our servers run 24/7 and are backed up by a propane setup in case of power outages. Get into all that and you are talking quite a bit of money.

Ken

[Arnold_German@adobeforums.com]

Do you use an ftp server to host all of the files? Do you pay for a service
or just use a server at your office or your clients office?




If you have a powerful Mac with a big harddisk drive, you can turn that into an ftp server.

My biggest challenge now I think is syncing everything with a new employee
who will be taking over all of the design work and I will be overseeing
all of that.




You might want to look into InCopy, which I think comes with InDesign 4.

[Bob Levine]

> You might want to look into InCopy, which I think comes with InDesign 4.

It doesn't come with anything. It's standalone and must be purchased.

Bob

[Arnold_German@adobeforums.com]

Thanks Bob for that info.