Cut and Paste to Add Variety

Cut and paste or copy and paste is the process of piecing together something from multiple sources.

Many of today's new desktop publishers are unfamiliar with traditional pasteup techniques and the use of mechanicals for "camera ready" art. You may believe that page layout must all be done on the computer. Or, you may be hesitant about venturing into the unknown world of traditional pasteup techniques.

Explore some of the ways that traditional techniques can enhance your use of software and the computer in all your desktop publishing projects. The suggestions here are especially suited to those of you working with older or limited software or with older hardware.

Reproduce a missing software feature
Most of today's software tools can rotate text, create perfectly aligned drop caps, and apply special effects to text and graphics what if yours doesn't? Perhaps you must use an older piece of software or have a one time need for a special effect that your usually sufficient software program doesn't include.

Create the various elements of your documents on separate pages or even in different programs. Print them out then cut apart and reassemble into the layout that you want. You can:

• Paste text elements at an angle.

• Paste graphic elements at an angle.

• Paste graphic elements onto printouts from a text editor or word processor that doesn't support graphics.

Your final document of pasted together elements becomes your "camera ready" or "photocopier ready" art.

Compensate for a lack of hardware
What if you don't have a scanner but have a great piece of clip art from a clip art book? What if your desktop printer won't accommodate odd or large sizes of paper? If taking your work to a professional designer or desktop publisher is not an option, here are some ways to cut and paste your way to a greater variety of desktop documents.

Create the various elements of your documents in your page layout program or word processor. Leave blank spaces or empty boxes for graphics or illustrations. If you need a larger size than your printer can handle — create your document on multiple pages. You can:

• Paste clip art and illustrations into the boxes or spaces of your printed document.

• Assemble multiple parts of documents into a single larger page.

Again, your final document of pasted together elements becomes your "camera ready" or "photocopier ready" art.

Just Because It Looks Cool
Sometimes going the cut and paste route is simply a matter of style. A short blurb showing some pre-DTP rock show handbills in the Las Vegas Mercury observed "while computers may do it faster, there's nothing like the scrappy charm of a homemade flier." You might want to modernize a bit and combine computer-generated portions with handlettering to have the best of both techniques.

Cut 'n Paste Tips | Preparing Camera Ready Art

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