True to my promise of supporting the different types of Printing I have released 2 new Tutorials. The first Tutorial shows how to design a simple Logo using Curved Type and basic Illustration. It is the sort of design that suite Screen Printing and Spot Color Printing. You can find this Tutorial at http://www.inkscapetutorials.net/html/tutorial6.html

The Second Tutorial shows a simple and yet very accurate way of turning a Multi- Color Vector illustration into Separations suitable for Screen printing and Spot Color printing.  The Tutorial also explains how to set Traps and Bleeds. You can find this Tutorial at http://www.inkscapetutorials.net/html/tutorial7.html

There is an Excellent article on how Screen Printing works and what is needed to create artwork at our Sister Site Desktoptips. http://www.desktoptips.net/html/SilkScreen.html

The intention of this blog is to help people who are using Inkscape, with the idea of providing as much support across the field as I can. I am  a qualified Graphic Designer who has worked in the Promotional Industry and Publishing Industry for over 30 years. During that time I worked as an Artist, Illustrator, Photographer, Cartoonist, Art Director, Production Manager, Owner Printer and a Teacher of Desktop Publishing. I have also written training manuals on Desktop Publishing used by various teaching organizations and books on Desktop Publishing sold on the General market. I have been involved in Offset Printing, Pre-Press, Screen Printing, Digital Printing and Sublimation Printing. All of which I have had practical ‘hands on’ experience. A great deal of this information is passed on for free at my site http://www.desktoptips.net There is also a lot of general background information on all the Different Types of Printing at this site. More Importantly this site also contains support for Open Software programs such as The GIMP, and Scribus. I also write articles on Inkscape at my site called http://www.desktoppublishingnews.net

There are many Tutorials and lessons out there in cyberspace on Inkscape and I will certainly be providing an ever growing range of these at http://www.inkscapetutorials.net. My main aim is to provide support for the different Printing methods. It is important to learn how to use a program to provide specific artwork to meet the requirements of a Printer. For instance preparing artwork for a Screen Printer is vastly different than preparing art for a Sublimation Printer. There is a difference between Direct Digital Printing and Offset Printing. This Blog will hopefully serve as a forum for people where I can explain some of the traps and provide some answers.

My background over the years has seen me using Corel Draw and Illustrator a great deal, because these two products are the industry standards. Illustrator for the Offset Publishing Industry: Corel Draw for The Promotional Industry: I have written Books and Taught these two programs for more years than I care to mention. When Inkscape came along it was like a breath of fresh air! at last someone had designed a program and actually worked with a real Artist who uses these programs. The ergonomics and usability of Inkscape are second to none. An artist should use as many Tools as he can to expand his Palette. Each program has it’s strengths. An Artist should always be on the Lookout for new Programs, Ideas and Techniques…..always keep an open mind and never lock yourself into using just one program, that’s a slow death for the creative mind. I love Photoshop, but I also love The GIMP and have been teaching it, writing about it and using it every day for years. Vive la difference! (excuse my bad French)

I use Inkscape now proffessionally for more than half of the Desktop Publishing Tasks I need to complete in a day, and this is growing more and more. It is now my preferred choice for complex (and simple) Vector Illustration. It is also now my exclusive choice for Web Design. Inkscape is still growing, it still does have limitations, but I have found there are usually simple work arounds to solve these.

Lastly I must say this. Computer Programs are like artists Tools, a fine good quality brush not only allows you to produce quality work, but it helps you to gain confidence and work comfortably. Getting a good result from some programs is an unpleasant exhausting experience and this shows in the work you produce. I have found that Inkscape has ‘Lifted’ my work because I enjoy using it and that says a lot for the guys who designed the program.