Faculty of Architecture and Planning

Digital Settings

File Management

  • Keep all of your original images in one folder.
  • Keep all of your adjusted images in another folder.
  • Keep all of your document files in two nested folders: DOCUMENT folder > ADJUSTED IMAGES folder.
  • Keep two backup copies of your files in different places
  • To avoid losing your computer files due to hardware failure, accident, or theft, Dalhousie's IT department describes best practices to use.

File Sharing

  • If you need to send or receive a large file, you can use your OneDrive account. WeTransfer and DropBox are other free options.

Settings

Photoshop Settings

  • Save all images in TIFF format (not JPEG), without compression, so that image quality will not diminish if the files are resaved.
  • Save tonal images in Grayscale mode, 8-bit.
  • Save colour images in RGB mode, 8-bit.
  • Resolution for grayscale images and colour images: 200 pixels per inch, at the final image size (e.g., for a 6" x 6" final image: 1200 x 1200 pixels).
  • To avoid "jaggies" in monochrome line drawings, use a higher resolution: 600 pixels per inch, at the final image size (e.g., for a 6" x 6" final image size: 3600 x 3600 pixels).
  • Don't retain multiple layers unless you are continuing to work on different parts of an image; flatten each image into a single layer to minimize its file size and printing time.
  • If colour accuracy is important, see Ken Kam to calibrate the colour balance of your monitor before you start making colour adjustments in Photoshop; confirm that your colour settings are accurate by making a few test prints.

InDesign Settings

  • Don't copy and paste images into an InDesign file; instead, use the Place command to create external links to TIFF files in your Adjusted Images folder.
  • Use InDesign only for layout; change image settings (image size, levels, contrast, etc.) in Photoshop before placing an image into InDesign.
  • Don't place a large image into InDesign and then shrink it, as the file size would remain large and slow down the printing. Instead, reduce the image size in Photoshop before placing it in InDesign.

PDF Settings

  • In InDesign, use File > Export to save your file as a PDF for printing.
  • Use the correct PDF settings for Compression and Output - see page 2 in Digital Tips.
  • When printing a PDF, retain the 100% page size by setting Page Scaling to "none."