Print Questions

[SJDodd]

Hello Scrapgirls! I am in the final stages of a calendar layout. I used a template for the bottom portion, which is the month part. I added a drop shadow to the entire template, which looked fine when viewed on the PC. However, when printed, it looks *very* blurry, not nice drop shadows.

 

I wondered if anyone else has printed calendars and what their preference was - drop shadows or none, and if so, what is the trick?

 

TIA - I look forward to your input!!

 

Oh, also, some of the pages have "journals" on them, and those that do, I added a drop shadow to the text. Same kind of look, blurry. Is it because there should not be any drop shadows in text journaling?

 

This is my first project!

 

Sandy

[KBT]

Drop shadows are such a tough thing! What program are you using??

 

In Photoshop Elements (5 and higher I think!), and I believe in CS, when you add a drop shadow as a layer style, you will see a little sunshine looking thing on the layer itself in your layer pallet. If you click on it, you should be able to adjust the size of the shadow- distance, opacity and size and the color as well.

 

Typically, I will really zoom in on an element and then adjust the drop shadow. You will be amazed at how small it needs to be to look realistic. A good general rule is to keep it well under 10 in size and distance. I also generally drop the opacity as my personal preference (but I am NOT a shadow expert by any means!) The bigger they are, the seemingly thicker the thing is that you are shadowing. For example, cardstock would have a thicker shadow than paper. Text typically does not have a drop shadow- it doesn't in "real" life I will however give my text a little bevel (as if I used a gel pen or glitter pen for some added ummph.)

 

HTH

[SJDodd]

Thank you so much - that is part of the problem! The paper is nice thick paper and the drop shadow is nice (not!) big thick shadow - not what I want!!

 

I am going back over all my drop shadows and will look at the numbers you suggested, and perhaps adjust the opacity as well.

 

Knowing to take the shadow off the text is key!

 

Sandy

[KBT]

One other key time saver I found was this...

 

Once you adjust your drop shadow to how you like it, you can then right click on the layer and copy the layer style. You can then add the layer style to all of the other elements with the same "weight" and adjust just the color of the shadow if you like. Works really great if you have a grouping of flowers or things together or an alpha or a bunch of staples etc...

 

HTH!

[needadietcoke]

Kim's got you on the right track! I don't usually use a drop shadows with text. . . except for maybe a title. It can make it hard to read.

[fit2walk]

Kim's tip is one I use all the time. Once I get the shadow the way I like it, I right click on the pallette, Copy Layer Style, then click on each layer that needs the same shadow and pick Paste Layer Style (I think that's how they're named). That can be a real time saver if you have a few elements that need a shadow.

 

Another tip I've read is that your shadow color shouldn't always be the default of black. Double click on the fx on the right-hand side of the layer and a box will open up. To the right of the size choice will be a small box that is black (hard to see if you're using PSE6). If you click on that, a color pallette will open and you can change the color of the shadow. HTH.