Affinity Publisher has proved so valuable.

[Robert Watcher]

A couple of months ago I made the decision to upgrade my current Affinity Photo application to version 2 after the 6 month free trial ran out and was convinced I would benefit from the upgrade from the previous version that I have had going back to when Affinity Photo was first released - but at the same time took advantage of the special pricing to purchase the bundle of all three of their products - Photo, Designer, and Publisher.

While I started figuring our Publisher 2 for book design, I have quickly realized how superior it is over setting up each different image in layers with Affinity Photo - now that I am creating photo cards and notebooks. A Master Page can be created with the layout, including what are called picture frames, as well as text, and all images are stored in pages within the same project.

And the cool thing that I have been realizing, is that different Master Pages can be created that affect every page that it is applied to. So the same content for every different image that is generated for a card print out, can instantly change into a different layout by applying a different Master Page to one or all Pages. I found that extremely valuable for generating mock-ups of the cards and notebooks for marketing purposes. As an example I created several Master Pages along with the base card layout for printing, to generate these settings.


1 - 3 - created from background image of a small piece of stone on my daughters fireplace, a pic of an envelope, a picture of a pen (all taken quickly with my iPhone). The envelope and pen were opened in Affinity Photo where the tabletop background was removed for transparent background, exported as png’s. The white cards were created in Photo as a base layer with shadow, and a duplicate with the center cut to act as a layer to sit above the photo. Separate Master Pages for Horizontal and Vertical images.

4 - I used 2 background images, one with notebooks and tools, and the other a cut out of my hand holding a notebook (both taken with my iPhone). Two cutouts were made for the photo to show through when sitting on the layer under it.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Your generous sharing is so appreciated.

I hope others will do the same and advise us when bargain discount appear on thr horizon!

Asher

 

[Robert Watcher]

I’m sure that most people editing images, will not benefit from Affinity Publisher —— but for ones like me who are involved in or interested in graphic layout, publishing and design work, this is such a valuable tool. In the past I would have accomplished the same results using Photoshop and Affinity Photo layers, but this so much more versatile and practical. Publisher is also a wonderful way to design Photobooks for more creative control when sending away to be printed or definitely when printing your own.

Many use Adobe Illustrator for this type of work. But the thing I love beyond anything, is the integration between the 3 Affinity products. Without ever leaving Publisher, I can open the photo in Photo or a vector graphic in Designer by clicking one of the three application buttons, and have full functionality of those specialized feature sets, before returning back to working on Publisher. I don’t believe that can be done in Illustrator. Would have to open the file in Photoshop to do what needs to be done, and save before using the file in Illustrator.

I’m not trying to promote a product, but showing the usefulness if someone already has the applications or sees the potential in owning it.

 

[Asher Kelman]

How about make a reunion book for college? What form would you suggest and if there are say 60 people, what workflow would be most efficient.

Asher

 

[Robert Watcher]

I would like to preface the things I am posting in this thread as IDEAS THAT OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS may find interesting as something they could do as avenues of getting their photography into the hands of others. Let’s face it, there is only so much wall space to hang frame prints from even if you find people who enjoy your work. So it’s NOT ABOUT PROMOTING WHAT I AM DOING. Although I am so pleased that people are purchasing these photo items, in multiples. They really don’t take that much time, effort or cost to produce out of my home. Plus I am wanting to keep costs down by being able to send as envelope size by mail.

——-

Well a month or so ago, I wanted to give my brother Tim - who is an incredible artist and creative cartoonist —- a suggestion of possible ways that he might be able to print out his cartoons in a non-conventional but fun way, that people might enjoy. So I grabbed one of the cartoon strips that he posted on Instagram and printed out onto a sheet of paper making a cute little 3 panel accordion. I have it sitting on an end table in our living room and everyone who visits checks it out.

———-

Well doing this for Tim got me thinking about doing something similar with my images (and I probably will yet) and what it has led to this week is my coming up with a set of 4 photo cards/prints sized 4”x4” that I am selling in my daughters retail store and on Anne and my new Etsy store - to add to the matted prints, photo greeting cards and pocket journals that people are purchasing.

I am calling them "Mini 4x4x4 Photo Card Collections”, and suggest some ways to be enjoyed, including:

- Using an oversized mat to display in a large picture frame to hang on a wall or stand on a table
- Matting and framing the collection of all four complimentary cards in one frame
- Running a wire along the wall and using clips to hang them all, add to them, or effortlessly change them out
- Having the prints easily accessible for just thumbing through
- Mailing one or the complete set to friends for them to enjoy, perhaps even frame for themselves

So far I have prepared these 4 sets of 4 cards of 4x4 inch size LOL Something I am going to exploit when comparing to the other printed items, is that the groupings can more easily tell a a story, can include images that probably wouldn’t sell as greeting cards or a matted print for framing, and could even include people from my street photography. I will wait and see how well this works out for me as far as anyone purchasing them. But at the least I have have a personal set of small prints for my own viewing pleasure.

 

[Jerome Marot]

How about make a reunion book for college? What form would you suggest and if there are say 60 people, what workflow would be most efficient.

If I may...

Serif (the make of Affinity suite of applications) first started with Page Plus, which itself was a copy of Page Maker from Aldus and then Adobe. A major competitor to Page Maker was Quark XPress, which motivated Adobe to issue InDesign. Affinity Publisher is more or less a copy of InDesign, just like Page Plus was a copy of Page Maker.

All these software suites are designed to typeset books or leaflets (they are a bit of an overkill for a small leaflet). Their main function is not to enter text (you'll use a word processor for that), but rather to make a book have some unity. Therefore, they have functions to design how pages will look (e.g. margins, page numbers, etc...) and know the difference between start, end and text pages, summary, chapters, etc... Then, when you need to improve a given page, they have functions to move elements around (pictures, drawings but also drop capitals, decorations, etc...) and make sure the text flow around them.

If you want to learn to use this kind of software, your first step would not be to try the software but to look at a few books and advertising leaflets, look at the similarities between pages, look at how the text flows around other elements and note how what of that you want in your college reunion book. Then you will know what to ask for in the software help system.

Basically, it is like photography. You can read a camera manual, but if you want to take interesting pictures, the better way is to study what the masters did, select what you like and find out how the master did that.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Do use any of such software?

If so, what use have you from them?

Asher

 

[Robert Watcher]

A few Affinity Publisher resources that I have benefitted from on YouTube are

Affinity Publisher

Welcome to the official YouTube channel of Affinity Publisher, an award-winning page layout and design app available for Mac, Windows and iPad. Subscribe for first-look previews, creative sessions from the pros and a wide range of tutorials to learn how to combine your images, graphics and text...

youtube.com

Elaine Giles

Hello and welcome! I'm Elaine and my YouTube channel is the home for my application tutorials, design tips and slide design makeovers. You'll find videos showing you how to get the best from applications including Affinity Publisher, Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe...

youtube.com

As well as Envato Tips

 

[Asher Kelman]

No doubt affinity publisher II is extraordinary.

But do they have a series of already made designs so that only needs to feed in pictures and text and delete sections that are not needed?

Asher

 

[Robert Watcher]

If you are looking for that, you’re probably better using the simple applications provided by the POD services like Blurb. Their easy to use application is Bookwright —— https://www.blurb.com/bookwright I’ve used it several times in the past when using a blurb to make by books.

I’m benefitting from Publisher to produce far more custom items to suit my needs

 

[Jerome Marot]

Do use any of such software?

If so, what use have you from them?

I used type setting software to design information leaflets for my beekeeping club. I also put a book my mother wrote into final form.

 

[Jerome Marot]

No doubt affinity publisher II is extraordinary.

But do they have a series of already made designs so that only needs to feed in pictures and text and delete sections that are not needed?

I'll second Robert Watcher's mention of Bookwright from Blurb, but it is liking to the use of their printing services. If all you want is a pre-made design for a small leaflet, Pages, a word processor free with any Apple machine, comes with a library of them.