Introducing Cora’s Corner – A place to learn about Art.
Not new to Qdigitizing – but yet to be introduced to our customers is a woman by the name of Cora Kromer. Cora has been in the field of graphics arts for many years and is one of the most professional and knowledgeable people I have met in all the years I have been working in apparel embellishment. Most important to Qdigitizing, Cora knows how to pass her years of experience and knowledge on to our staff. Cora has been working in the background of Qdigitizing training and advising our art staff current techniques and technologies in regard to art for apparel embellishment. We are proud to have her on our team and we are pleased to introduce her to you now. Cora will be contributing to this blog on a monthly basis as well as adding content to our newsletters. Be sure to check back often for new information.
For Now – let me welcome you to Cora’s Corner…
Welcome To Cora’s Corner, where every month I am going to help you with your artwork issues. Let me introduce myself. I am Cora Kromer, Owner of Awearness Ink. Awearness Ink was established in 1996. We do Graphic Design, Training and Consulting. We have partnered with Qdigitizing to bring better graphics to you.
Let me give you a little background information. I was introduced to screen printing in a seventh grade class, and have been involved with it ever since. Without telling you how ancient I am. Let’s just say I have been involved for a very long time.
I started working for big companies in 1988. I have performed every job associated with screen printing and embroidery. It is in my blood. During this time I realized the success of the job started with having good artwork. In 1994, I went back to college and earned a Degree in Computer Graphic Design. This was in the early stages of graphic
software. You may be familiar with some of these software programs. For example, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Freehand Graphics, Corel Draw, Corel Paint and Painter. Soon after separation software and methods also emerged.
Back then, most Art Departments were using darkrooms and stat cameras. I soon realized that computers and the right software could make us more creative and productive. I became involved with software companies as a beta tester and
consultant to help bring better products to our industries.
Enough about me though, because this is really about helping you help your customers.
Today, there is even more technology available to help the customer with their artwork needs. With these new technologies big and small companies can be more cost effective, productive and creative.
However, even with all these tools available to us, it still comes down to a creative idea. First, you must get a clear picture of your customer[s needs. The more information the customer can provide about the job, the easier it will be to provide them with what they want. Some of the factors to consider are; purpose, color(s) of ink, color(s) of shirt, budget and time. Sometimes the customer has artwork. More often than not, but they always have an idea. It becomes your job to produce artwork and separations to complete the job. And sometimes your job includes finding a company like Qdigitizing to help you out. But that is OK, because getting to the finish line is the goal. And sometimes knowing the right path to take is just as important as having the skill, time and resources to do it yourself.
There are many resources to help you with this task. I will go into more in-depth
in future newsletters but for now I don’t to want to give up all my secrets on our first date.
Any good art department will require at a minimum the following resources;
Computer(s) (good ones!)
External Hard-drive (to store graphics),
Thumb drives (to transfer files from one computer to another)
Graphic Software (producing graphics and separations),
Word Document software (NOT to be used for graphics, but for instructions)
Printer(s) (producing films and proofs)
Clipart (books, CD’s and online),
Digital camera and scanner
Artist (in-house, freelance, and/or graphic\services)
Pantone Color Guide,
Font Collections,
Internet access.
This should get you started. I would also like to hear from you about your most pressing issues about artwork. Your question may be used in a future issue of this newsletter. If you have questions, please email me at service@qdigitizing.com and be sure to put “attn.: Cora” in the subject line.
I look forward to sharing an exciting journey of discovery into the world of Art.
Cora Kromer
Awearness Ink
Step out of the Chaos into the Awearness.
Thank you I am sure this will be of tremendous help
I will be in touch because I am new to this field with very little training and sometime I believe I have goast in my computer. I am doing things with OJT and some information that I can pick up here and their. I have a one head embroidary machine a Gx7000 printer with an old Roland cutter and a hat and heat press.
How do I e-mail a person a graphic design from corel that prevent them from making copies or printing them out to take to the guy down the street.
I have note the corel will tell you that you can do things but it don’t tell you how.
Thanks for you help.
I have trouble finding someone who will get a design set up for the screen printer without charging me an arm and a leg. I have corel draw but don’t have a clue as to how to do it.
I am needing to know how to convert my melco files to pdf format for my screenprinter. Do i have to have a certain program to do this? I am trying to avoid art fees.
Thank you
Can you give me advice on which program I would benefit the most from for designing artwork as a beginner?
Hi Kim,
Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw are the two primary programs on the market. Both are not easy programs for beginners to use. I would actually recommend you check your local community college for classes that teach the basics in these programs. There are also some good tutorials found on the internet.
Hi Kim,
What you are asking is not possible as you descrbe it. There is nothing in the melco software that will make your digitized files anything close to print ready. The best you can do here is have your artist re-draw based on the output from your meloc software.
Hi Jan,
Professional art is a far more complicated process than you might realize. My best advise to you is to find a company you are comfortable with and develop a working rapport. Most times artists are not looking to take advantage of anyone. But you must understand that is a two way street. Do not expect complicated time intensive projects to be inexpensive. Talented people with expensive equipment need to charge rates where they can also make a living. An “arm and a leg” is a very subjective term so I might be able to answer your question better if you tell me what you think is a reasonable hourly rate to pay a professional artist.
I currently have Corel Draw and Photoshop Elements 9. Can you let me know how to open and use RAR files?
Thank you!
I look ahead to diggin far more of your top quality content articles