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Finished documents fall roughly into two categories:

1. Printed documents - brochures, catalogs...anything printed...desktop publishing
2. Electronic documents - web pages and PDFs (see below)

The Importance of Planning

Although finished images for both media are prepared very differently, the same software is used for both. Because of this you have an opportunity to utilize the same artwork - if you plan ahead.

For example you might design a logo and prepare stationery and business cards for a client. You may be able to get away with a bitmap version of the logo, but you may have to redraw it as a vector image later when the client asks you to build a web page or create a sales brochure. Once you've got your client's attention do him a favor and point out all the ways he can utilize the artwork you'll be preparing for him. Then you can better plan the project before you start. Explain that by using this "open ended" approach he'll have more options in the future. Most clients will appreciate your pointing out these facts at the beginning.

Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF)

The Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) is used for publishing electronic documents to be distributed over the Internet and other online services. The advantages to PDF files are:

1. Their compact size...making them ideal for distributing product brochures and technical manuals over the Internet.
2. They are platform independent - they work with both Mac® and PC computers.
3. The software used to read and print them is free.
4. They display and print using the PostScript® page-description language. That means if line art is embedded as vector objects, it will display and print perfectly at any size or resolution. Plus it can be extracted and placed into illustration documents or bitmap images.
5. Fonts are embedded within them so the target computer does not have to have the fonts installed to view them.
6. They are fully searchable.
7. They can contain hyperlinks to pages within the PDF document itself or to a web page on the Internet - or to movie clips.
8. They contain PostScript® data and can be imported into both image editors and illustration programs just like EPS files.
9. Vector art contained in the PDF file will make PERFECT printed output at any resolution - just as if the output were being printed from a job saved as a PostScript .PS file. If there are embedded bitmaps they will usually be downsampled to 72 pixels per inch for viewing on a monitor or for transporting over the Internet. This is to keep their file size small. However, bitmaps can be embedded at high resolution for high-end output.

If your client wants to build a web site, the PDF file format is ideal for distributing online brochures and technical documents. Let's say a customer calls up and requests a technical manual for one of your client's products. It's simple. Just have the customer dial up and download! He can simply print it out on a laser printer if he wants hard copy. The customer will be happy because he gets a manual immediately, and your client will be happy because there was virtually no cost for distribution - no printing cost, postage or handling! There's no difference to you because you lay it out exactly the same as if it were being printed. Even if you print it, you use the same files for making the PDFs.

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