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HELP!!! How do I make a brochure?


C

Cloak amp; Dagger

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I created some projects in Photoshop 7. It isn't great award winning work, however, I was proud of it because I didn't really think it would ever look that good.

So, I e-mailed just a few of them to church members who had an e-mail address, this also included the pastor and his wife. Well, my pastor really liked my work a lot and he wanted to know if I could make brochures for the church. [stuned]

Does anyone know how to make a brochure? I work in both Photoshop 7 and Illustrator 10, however, I am more familiar with Photoshop than I am Illustrator but I am willing to utilize both to get the job done.

The problem is that I have never done this. I have always created a new image and just made it up as I went along. I have never had to concern myself with things like ppi or dpi; RGB or CMYK; offsetting subjects; etc., etc., etc..

Anyway, I thought I would throw this problem into the ring and see what the forum members say about making a brochure. If it sounds like something I can pull off I can tell the pastor that I accept his offer. If it sounds like something that is over my head I will just tell him he would be better off with some post-its and a box of crayons. :\
 
Well... some of it depends on if you will be going to offset press with the project, but basically construction of a brochure isn't too hard.

What kind of brochure are you looking to produce? If you are talking about a simple tri-fold, then it's very easy to build with a combination of Illustrator and Photoshop:

Build any graphics and work with any photos you want to use in Photoshop, then import them into Illustrator. In Illustrator you need to build guides so you know where the folds in the brochure will be and layout your graphics and content within those guides. You will have to build the front and back separately.

If you are talking about a booklet style brochure (multiple pages) then you are going to have a harder time of it without using something like InDesign or *shudder* Quark. PS and IL aren't really made for multiple page layout. It's not impossible, for some smaller multiple page layouts, I've built them in Illustrator before, but Illustrator doesn't handle page flow very well and doesn't have any actual features that handle it, so you'll be basically hacking something together.

Everything hinges on the type of layout you're doing, the type of content, the type of output (inkjet printed from home, color copies at kinkos, or actual offset press), and your level of experience.

As always... more info = better answer :)
 
\:] Well, I guess it would be a simple tri-fold or even something less sophisticated. The present church brochure isn't even that complexed. However, he said he wanted me to design other kinds of brochures for the church so I am assuming that they are not going to be more sophisticated than the church's weekly brochure, because, it is a small church.

However, knowing about that limitation is news I can use. I wouldn't want to agree to do something that my programs can't pull off.

As far as printing goes I don't know how that will be handled. [confused] I do have an ink jet printer. However, I would prefer to use Kinko's if possible. The church exists on a budget. If Kinko's is not in the budget then it will be my ink jet printer.

My level of experience? Zip. Only the projects that I e-mailed to them. Plus a couple that I didn't. [honesty]
 
Well, a couple pieces of advice and then it's really your call.

1. It's pretty easy to compile a project that is for one sheet of paper with the programs you have currently (i.e. one sheet front or front and back). This includes single sheet, two sided, tri-folds, etc.

2. Inkjets are more expensive than kinkos usually. Especially if you are talking about lots of color. You need to decide how it will be output before you start, it will influence how you construct the project considerably.

It sounds like you shouldn't have too much trouble with the project. If they already like your work, I doubt you'll have much issue pleasing the client. Think of it as a learning project. Jump in and see what happens, the worst that will happen is that you need to ask for help. :)
 
Well, it sounds like Kinkos is my best solution for printing out the brochures then. As far as the type of brochure that is unknown, the present one is like......Hmmm \:] ....One sheet of paper that is folded in half and printed on front and back, and front and back. [confused] If that even made sense.

Why don't you explain how to create the brochures that can be created with Photoshop 7 and Illustrator 10 and I will explain to my pastor what the exisiting limitations will be. If he is wanting something more sophisticated then he will know right up front that isn't going to be possible.

The only additional information that I have to give you that might help is that he was wanting nice pictures or art work on them.

I haven't even contacted him about it yet, because, I want to see if this is really going to be beyond my abilities. \:]
 
Get hold of any leaflet and look at how it is set out when flattened.

Note where the front cover lies on the page.

Get a sheet of A4 and fold it into a mock up, noting the direction of the folds.
Pencil in the content with blocks. Indicate images, text, straplines etc.

Set up Illustrator to landscape, put in guides to split page into three.
Put in rectangles to accurately position all the blocks to match your pencil template.

Insert your images and text. Delete or hide the guide rectangles.
Make a new page, as before, and set up the reverse side.
Print a copy of each page. Paste together back to back.
Fold up to make sure that the cover page is in the right place and that the leaflet opens and reads correctly.

Important: Get someone else to proof-read the details and spelling. Never proof read for yourself.

Correct any errors and reprint new masters.
Get approval from your customer.
Send to print.

If using a commercial press printer, for economy you could use just one or possibly two *spot* colours, instead of full CMYK.
Some printers can offer colour photocopying for small runs.

As ever, check with the print company for specific details and requirements.

This ends Rantin Al's crash course in DTP.

Al.
 
Why don't you explain how to create the brochures that can be created
Click to expand...
:bustagut: :D [stuned] :bustagut:

Sorry... just struck me as funny. "Please explain .... everything in existence". It's an honest question, but it's not going to get you anywhere. There are tons of possibilities for how to build a brochure. You are limited by your imagination and skills. The best thing to do is go out and look at other people's work. Start picking up brochures everywhere and study them. There are some standard ways to do things, but you really need to think up ideas for your own project and base it on your own content.

That said, I've done this project before (small church brochures). I'd put money on the fact that if you come up with something that is presentable and clean, they will be happy with it. There's no better way to find out a lot about building brochures really quickly than to just jump in and try. Build some samples and post them here if you need. R.A. has given you some good solid information and I've laid out the basics. Give it a shot, we can't hold your hand and do this for you, but we'll all be here to help if you get stuck.
 
Mindbender,

You miss understood my statement. [confused]

I didn't want anyone coming up with the ideas. I have a good imagination for that part and I never like to share that job with someone. [honesty]

I was only concerned about the settings that I need to make for this to turn out correctly (i.e. RGB or CMYK; File Size and Paper Size; dpi and/or ppi; measurements so that it all prints proportionately).

The creating part is no problem. It is the setup that I know nothing about. [confused]

However, if this I interpreted Ratin Al's post correctly. I think he just answered my question. So, I thank you both for your help in this matter and I will apply it to see how it turns out. :)
 
I was only concerned about the settings that I need to make for this to turn out correctly
Click to expand...
I see where you were coming from, the statement just struck me as funny... anyway... When dealing with print work, the FIRST thing you need to do is figure out what your output will be. The reason this is important is it determines how you build your files. If you build in CMYK assuming that you will be going to offset press with it... then later decide it's only going to be done on inkjet or color copier, then you are going to have washed out ugly RGB images and will either have to live with that or rebuild things in RGB. So if you know your output, you can determine how to build your artwork. If you are dealing with inkjet or color copiers, use RGB, they are built to do the CMYK conversions in the machine. If you are doing any other kind of reproduction... talk to the printshop! They will tell you what kind of files, what color mode, and what profiles to use for the document. This will save you tons of headaches and problems in the long run.

Have fun. :)
 
Well, after carefully thinking it over I decided to tell my pastor that I really wasn't qualified for the job. I did tell him that I could make a mock brochure as a test to see if everything will turn out correctly, if it looks good in print I would show it to him and let him decide if I was the person for the job. \:]

Anyway, he just replied and said don't worry about that you got the job. :}

I don't know if this is going to be a paying job or a volunteer job. However, if it is volunteer that doesn't matter because I need the experience. :\

Now, just in case he decides to place me on a salary and asks me what is my fee, I need to know what the going rate is. What do I charge for such a job? Keep in mind that I am not a top of the line Photoshop professional and I am not deserving of a top of the line salary. 8))
 
There is no "set" fee for "not pro-quality" Photoshop brochure design.

Fees vary. Charge what you think is a good price for your time and effort. Negotiate if you choose to.

Some would charge $25, some would charge $200. Some would do it for free as a community or church service. Some would do it for a letter of recommendation.

Whatever you do or don't charge, be sure to make a contract, so that everyone involved is playing from the same rulebook, with the same understandings.

DO a Web search for the suggestions that pique your interest (including church brochure design). www.dogpile.com is the #1 search engine selected by PC magazine, and is quite helpful.
Congratulations and good luck on the job!
 
Depending on how it is going to be fold (right over middle and then left over right), then you'll have to consider making the right side a tad smaller than the left side. Or otherwise it won't fold correctly.

Believe me, I've seen it happen at my work (I'm a print operator for a DocuColor 2045, Danka C1750, IS70, Docutech 6100 and 6135). If you divide it like 33/33/33 (all percentages), then it won't fold correctly. The upper side will keep springing open and that is not something you want. Instead, make it something like 34/34/32. Preferably, if working in millimeters, it should probably be around 99.25/99.25/98.5 (if the size of the sheet is 210*297). This should give you a minimal difference between the 3 sides, plus it should fold really nice and flat.

Would you be doing the folding yourself or would you let this Kinko's company do it? (I'm not familiar with American companies, seeing as I'm from The Netherlands). If you let them do it, then you should really tell them how to fold it.
 
Insanium,

I don't know for sure if Kinko's will take care of print production in the end. It will really depend on the church budget and how far the pastor wants to go with the idea. [confused]

If it was up to me, it would be Kinko's and I would have them print the brochures on linen paper. [excited]
 
Before you rule out offset printing, I would contact a couple of the local printshops and get price quotes. If you're doing a low color output, you could end up saving money by having it professionally printed, and they would know how to deal with folds and such.
 
OK. Now I have another problem. I created something in Photoshop 7 and then improted it into Illustrator 10. Well my creation, which looked fine in Photoshop, has jagged edges in Illustrator. [confused]

Is this problem normal, or is this a problem that needs to be fixed? If it needs to be fixed then how do I fix it. \:] [confused] 8))
 
Could you be a bit more specific on the something?
i.e. File type, resolution, RGB or CMYK, dimensions.
Is it placed or linked? Have you scaled the image?
A screenshot section of the problem can help as well.

Al.
 
Rantin Al,

Uhhhhh??..... \:]

Let me get back to you on all of that later. Problem one: The pastor did not speak with me today/Sunday. So, I don't know if he changed his mind about me, or if he wasn't going to speak with me about this job until a more convenient time. Problem two: Judging from the content of his letter I get the feeling that he wasn't wanting me to design the brochure, instead I think he just wanted me to be responcible for the photos and the artwork. If that is the case then I wouldn't even need to be concerned with designing the entire brochure.

However, this little experience has taught me a lesson. I really need InDesign. If I ever get an offer that requires a sophisticated brochure design I don't want to be caught unprepared. I need all of my wagons in a circle. [honesty]
 
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