Designing book in Adobe InDesign

Has anyone ever designed a book in InDesign instead of Using Booksmart? I found bookmark to be very limiting, and wanted to create my layouts in InDesign, but first I wanted to hear the opinions of other people who have done this process. My concern is exporting from InDesign as high print quality PDF files but I noticed BookSmart does not accept PDF files for some reason. Due to this I have to do an additional step of converting PDF files to JPEG files and in the process of converting files into different formats, I’m afraid that the quality of the text/type and image created in InDesign may be lost once converted into JPEG and then ripped even further during the printing process. Any thoughts on this? Anyone?

Hello Tony,

I did see that thread, however, that did not answer my question. My question is more to do with the end results in doing this "converting process" from InDesign to PDF’s to Photoshop to JPEGs to BookSmart to Printing. I can convert my files no problem, but to be more specific, I wanted to know if anyone had previously done this, and what were the results when you got your printed book?What is the text quality like? Image quality?

You’re welcome. I look forward to seeing your post in a few weeks (months?) reporting on how your book turned out.

..........Tony

Did you go direct from InDesign tdirect o  jpg/png Leah? Or did you go the InDesign -> PDF -> Photoshop -> jpg/png route?

I’ve been watching the InDesign related threads as I was awondering about getting InDesign as I’m doing more page layouts in Photoshop and that is taking too long. There seem to be mixed messages in the forums.

.........Tony

Hi Amelia;

Like Tony, I have been taking a passing interest in the "InDesign" discussions, but I’m having real difficulty getting my head around a fundamental question…

Perhaps, as an experienced InDesign user, you can enlighten the dim…

I can’t understand why you would want to take a JPEG image, import it into InDesign, convert it to PDF and then re-convert it to JPEG (or PNG) in PhotoShop!

I just can’t see how that can’t result in a quality loss along the way!

I’m guessing that InDesign can also take on-board TIFF files, but the fundamental question still remains, why convert a TIFF to PDF, and then back to JPEG?

My gut instinct is always to keep the files as TIFF files for as long as possible, and only convert to JPEG at the last moment as a one-time exchange!

Grateful for your reply…

Cheers;

Lee

Hi Amelia;

Thanks for that… The "link to" image file of course is the logical way to go, and is a great resource saver… one that BookSmart could do with implementing…

I understand the "why" you need to convert to PDF, but, I’ve done a little more homework on the subject… It appears that InDesign CS3 allows you to export the pages files directly to JPEG, so that saves the PDF step…

But what about TIFF files? Do you have any experience with using those in InDesign?

Lee

Hi Lee-
I can’t speak to TIFF files per se, but I know that InDesign will link to them just like JPG files so you would be fine. The bulk of my images are JPGs and when I need to fix something I do it in photoshop. In Design can link to the PSD file just the same. And a page can have multiple types of files linked. CS2 can also make JPG files- but I prefer the PNG files which it can’t make.
Amelia

Hi Lee-
When I set up my InDesign file I set the specs to the exact size at 300dpi. Then when I exported to PDF I set my compression panel to none (you’re given the choice for color images, grayscale images and monochrome images individually). I did keep the “crop image data to frames” checked (that discards the parts of your image that you’ve cropped out using the frame and makes the file smaller).
My logic is that the file is set up to the exact requirements of Blurb and I’m not asking InDesign (when making the PDF), nor Photoshop (when making the PNGs) nor BookSmart (when uploading the data) to do any sort of compression. I have no idea if my logic is correct or not- but I’m happy with my results.

I agree that InDesign is pricy. That’s why I’m still on CS2!
Are you familiar with lynda dot com? They have great educational/ training videos on all kinds of software. Many of the titles have free chapters (ones that you can watch without becoming a member). You could probably get a fairly good overview of InDesign by checking out some of the free videos there.

Amelia

I normally use TIFF files when working InDesign simply because its a bit more flexible when working with images placed from photoshop. TIFF files allow you to have a bit of more control over your photoshop image files since it maintains your working layers in Photoshop seperate without disrupting the original image. If at any point you need to edit or change something to your image you can simply go back to the TIFF file layers and later update the link in InDesign.  Keep in mind that InDesign doesn’t embed your TIFF files, it only places them, in other words, it links them to your InDesign file. The embbeding happens when you export from InDesign to High Quality PDF files. In my mind, any time you export a file and its translated to a different format, digital data can be lost, resulting in a lesser quality than that of the oringinal image.

But if you’re planning to work with InDesign, it will come in handy if you’re planning on creating custom layouts not offered by Booksmart. Since BookSmart layouts are offered as tamplates, there is only so much you can do with it. If you really wanted to create a unique book, and you don’t want to end up with a template layout that a lot of people will use, then InDesign is the way to go. However if you’re simply creating a book with mostly full and cropped images, then you’re better off using BookSmart since the software will do everything for you.

In my case, I wanted to create a page layout and arrange structured columns on a custom grid for text treatment and flexibility. This is something that BookSmart does not allow you to do as the software only offers basic text layout treatments. My book is still in the works, but I’m concerned that the"vector" text quality originated with InDesign will lose quality when raterized from PDF to JPEGS. If you’ve ever tried doing text in Photoshop, you will notice that if you zoom in enough, the text eventually becomes "pixelated". When using "vector" text generated by softwares such as Illustrator or InDesign, you’ll notice that no matter how much you zoom in, text always remains sharp and crisp, and no pixelation is generated.

Anyways, I will give it a shot once my book is done, do all the necessary file convertions, and print one out to see the results.

David

Thanks for sharing you experience with the quality of your book, it sure encourages me to give it a shot myself.

I’ve been looking at InDesign over the last few days and am interested in taking the plunge.  Is anyone able to tell me whether text will roll over from page to page (MS word style)?  In other words could it actually be used to write a book in?

Thanks for that JJ – I’ve downloaded the one month trial and started saving my pennies.

aop27,

Congrats on your decision to invest Adobe InDesign.

However, I would like to make a little clarification about the difference between MS Word and Adobe InDesign. When you compare MS Word to Adobe InDesign, it is not that they can compare.

MS Word is a word processing application, while Adobe InDesign IS a layout-design application. As you notice, it is widely used by creative professionals use Adobe InDesign for designing high-end professional layout application. I would think it is probably a deep learning experience for you.

I used to use Adobe PageMaker for years. When Adobe introduced InDesign a couple years ago, and I took a look at InDesign and fell in love with it and switched to InDesign from PageMaker and didn’t look back since then. I know it can be quite very fluid, yet quite powerful layout app. But it serves you well to achieve beautiful output for your book.

Have fun working and learning the ropes of InDesign. You know where to ask for some help, right here. But if for some reason, you also can get some help at Adobe User-to-User InDesign forums as well. Lynda dot com is quite nice, too.

Cheers,
Brian {a passionate Blurbarian}

You are most welcome, aop27.

Cheers, Brian {a passionate Blurbarian}

I designed 90% of my 440 page book in Paint Shop Pro using blank canvases fitting the necessary resolution for my book size. In my case 2888 pixels x 2475 pixels a page . I built every page from a blank transparent template using these dimensions and set the DPi to 300DPi minimum. I then saved each page as a JPEG in Paint shop ,saving at the highest quality allowed. I then just imported these pages as JPEGSs to Booksmart.
I tend to use the full image page template with slight border in picture page options then colour match the border to my designed page to hide border.This allows an unoticeable safety buffer for trimming on imported pages.The results are fab with both text and images, rarely any jpeg artefacts or trouble with quality. If I want to add page numbers on my imported full pages I use the full text page with image behind it option, this also has a border that you can RGB colour match to your externally designed page for a safe trim area. I only add page number at page foot and nothing else:)
Its a fab option for freedom of design while fitting the blurb software

@ JJ

 Hi, I tried your approach using InDesign CS4 and exporting directly into jpeg files, but in Booksmart (I have not yet tried ordering a book) text appears quiet unsharp, even in 12 pt. No problem with 14pt bold however. Was there any difference in the way your text appeared on the screen in Booksmart and how it appeared in the printed book ? Or does this have something to do with the choice of fonts (depending on which font you choose it appears more or less sharper ?) ? As I would like to have some text at 11 or 12 pt in my book I’d be grateful for any input…

I have been meaning to add this to the forum, but never found the time to do so. Anyways, earlier I had talked about the result of my portfolio book created in Indesign, using Blurb’s services. Anyway, for those of you who are interested, here are some images from the actual printed version.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ariasdavid/sets/72157607462030614/

Cheers,

David

Thanks Tony.

Yes, I’d recommend the never ending process you described if you’re using InDesign. On this book I used JPEGS. I know that from InDesign CS3 you can now export 300 px/in resolution JPEGS, which lessens the process, but I have not tried that route yet…maybe for the next one.

It would be lovely if Blurb would actually let you import PDF files onto Booksmart. Until then, I guess the painful process will have to do.

Happy book making!

~ David

cbnewham,

No need to complain anymore about PDF uploads. We know this is a feature that nearly everyone wants and as we’ve said before, we’ve been looking into it. I can definitely tell you that we are expecting to offer a PDF-only workflow soon. What I cannot tell you is exactly when or hint at possible time frames for obvious reasons (testing, performance, etc.). Look for an announcement at some point this year.

Thanks for your patience on this one.

– Kathy

fforman,

I can understand why you are unhappy with your books. The answer is in the posts above! So have a read and  you’ll see there that this is a known problem with InDesign and the recommended route is InDesign—> PDF—> Photoshop—> PNG—> BookSmart.

Plus go to the FAQs and you’ll see near the top of the list one called "Can I Import My Own Design Into BookSmart?". In the last paragraph of that there is a link to a Blog Post where one of the Blurb technical team details this approach.

.........Tony

I have been postponing my book uploads until pdf support would be included in booksmart. My question is less related to booksmart, though, but more so with uploading.

Would you allow for pdf uploads using third-party software? I mean, blurb’s making monoy from producing books, not software. So if you’d make all the specs available, you would really have something to offer (and produce more books)!

I forgot to say my book was landscape portrait and premium paper. I also made my pages the exact bleed size and there were no gaps on the edges or pixelation. So far so good.

i want to make my own book about my life

Can someone pelase provide a link to the source document for the optimal PDF settings required for the CS3 to PDF to JPG/PNG conversion?

Ok, so I just figured out that Adobe Acrobat Professional 8 will export each page of a PDF as a separate 300 dpi PNG automatically under File – - Export—Image—PNG and then it names them in a batch-like way – filename_1.png, filename_2.png .. etc. Does anyone think that this method would give the same quality as Indesign—PDF—Photoshop—PNG?