Need Photoshop help on my Super Powers card design

[Fire Marshal Bill]

I would do the logo's etc in Illustrator so they are vector graphics. But I'm sure you'll be okay doing it all in Photoshop.

Since i am just photochopping the Super Powers logo from a scan of an original card back, i'm sure the method mentioned above would come out much crisper. Learning Photoshop has been enough of a challenge for now, i don't think i want to take on creating the logo from scratch . Does anyone want to give this a shot for me? I wasn't happy that i couldn't get the color of the stars in the logo to match the yellow/gold i used on the rest of the card anyway.

[Fire Marshal Bill]

Also, just a little more on this. I tried to find pics of the various SP figures online to use and realized real quick that i wasn't likely going to come across anything in a Google image search that would work on the final product without looking horrible. That's why i decided to take pics of my own figures (i actually think that's kinda cooler anyway). Plus i could pose them like i wanted. My old digital camera is only 2.1 megapixels but takes very nice pics, it's a Olympus 2100UZ. So that's what i'm using for my images on the front of the trading cards. Hopefully that will be sufficient..... any feedback here? When i crop the pic out and need to resize it to fit my trading card...... is there anything special i need to do when resizing? I typically just resize it to a percentage that looks good on the card (like reduce it by xx%). I want to make sure and not mess up the resolution here either. Thanks for all the help. Everyone here has been so nice and helpful..... i tell ya what..... i think i'll just give these cards away .

[Richard J. Fowlks]

Sounds like you're on a better track. As long as you're shrinking from the digital photo, and not enlarging, you're going to be fine. I can give you an hand with logos, etc. I'll PM you and save the "public forum" some space.

[megoapesnut]

I actually created all of my cards at 2.75 x 3.75 (.125 bleed on all four sides) at 1200 ppi. However, that is most definitely overkill. I do that just so I know everything will be razor sharp. I also print out some mini posters of them and the extra resolution helps those look crisp at 8.5 x 11 size.

[Richard J. Fowlks]

I actually created all of my cards at 2.75 x 3.75 (.125 bleed on all four sides) at 1200 ppi. However, that is most definitely overkill. I do that just so I know everything will be razor sharp. I also print out some mini posters of them and the extra resolution helps those look crisp at 8.5 x 11 size.

Smart. Very smart. If you can go that big, go for it!!

[Fire Marshal Bill]

I actually created all of my cards at 2.75 x 3.75 (.125 bleed on all four sides) at 1200 ppi. However, that is most definitely overkill. I do that just so I know everything will be razor sharp. I also print out some mini posters of them and the extra resolution helps those look crisp at 8.5 x 11 size.

Cool idea about the mini posters! I might as well go big or go home, since i have to redo it anyway . You think my 2.1 megapixel shot of my Superman figure will be big enough for this to work at 1200 dpi?

The print shop i am probably going to use only wants 2.6 x 3.6, so only .05 bleed on all four sides. Would it actually matter one way or another how much bleed i provide (.125 or .05 per side)? I guess ultimately they have to be laid out 9 up for printing so i guess you couldn't put too much bleed or they wouldn't fit on the sheet right. Or can they just overlap them a little if needed?

[megoapesnut]

600 or 800 ppi will probably be plenty to print out a nice looking mini poster. I think you will be enlarging a 2.1 megapixel shot even at that resolution. The more you enlarge, the more Photoshop has to interpolate the image and the more quality you lose. However, Photoshop does a pretty good job of interpolating photographs. It's artwork that really takes a hit when enlarged. What version of Photoshop do you have? Any version from 5 on does a pretty good job at interpolation of photos. I shoot with a Canon 21 megapixel SLR, so I have plenty of pixels for 1200 ppi. But, like I said, that's overkill unless you want to print out very large posters.

As far as bleed, you are spot on with your thinking. The printer probably prints on a smaller sheet and steps the cards closer to each other then my printer does. That is why they want a smaller amount of bleed. I get mine printed 16 up on a 12x18 sheet. I only actually print 8 cards up - 8 fronts and 8 backs. That way they can print it work and turn and use only one set of plates.

[Fire Marshal Bill]

Cool, thanks for the info. I will shoot for 600 or 800 dpi or so then and check to make sure my photo still looks good. I'd like to print up a mini poster for framing at some point. I am using Photoshop 6 so it sounds like i'm set.

I'll just add the .05 bleed per side that this printer is wanting then.

[megoapesnut]

Here's a press sheet of my Bullmark cards

[megoapesnut]

Actually, that's a proof of what got printed. They gave me that to approve before printing. I lightened the backgrounds on four of the cards so the figures would pop out.

[boynightwing]

I don't suppose anyone knows what font would be closest to the Super Powers font? I've been remaking the logo in Illustrator. It's been a bit of a chore but fun. All I need are the letters which I might have to make with the pen tool. Unless I find a close font.

[Richard J. Fowlks]

I don't suppose anyone knows what font would be closest to the Super Powers font? I've been remaking the logo in Illustrator. It's been a bit of a chore but fun. All I need are the letters which I might have to make with the pen tool. Unless I find a close font.

That's a tough thing to get just right. Sometimes you can find what you need at dafont.com. Some people submit fonts for copyrighted logos, you may be able to find something usable there.

[CrimsonGhost]

Hey Boy Nightwing,

I found a close font called Compacta Black Poster, but I couldn't find it for free. Haettenschweiller might at least put you in the ballpark.

[CrimsonGhost]

Hey, I did find it. You have to type in the captcha thing and then on the next page hit download. There's lots of fake download buttons, so don't click them.

Download: Compacta Black - Font Download - The World's Biggest Font Site



Pretty close, no? I had to make it wider, but it should save you a lot of time.

[LadyZod]

When trying to redo a logo in Illustrator, I usually just take a scan or photo of the logo import it and then literally TRACE over it with the illustrator tools.

It's always worked well for me.