Author Archives: Brian Lawler

About Brian Lawler

Brian Lawler is an Emeritus Professor of Graphic Communication at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and was a Guest Professor at Hochschule München from September, 2021 to September, 2022. He writes about graphic arts processes and technologies for various industry publications, and on his blog, The Blognosticator.

My alma matercopter

I was visiting the Warbirds museum at the Paso Robles Airport early last month with my friend Jim. This museum has a collection of old airplanes, trucks, and other items related to the military from the 20th century. It’s an … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures, History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The largest panoramic photo in city history

SLO PANO opens on Friday evening. Almost a year ago I finally found the best location for taking a photo of San Luis Obispo. I had been climbing the local mountains seeking the perfect spot. I scoured available historic photos … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures, Panoramic Photography, Photography, Photoshop techniques, Printing and Printing Processes | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

SLO PANO opens tomorrow

I’m slowly recovering from my bicycle mishap with a pick-up truck. I go to physical therapy three days each week, and I have graduated from a walker to crutches. Here is the latest on my work to open a panoramic … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures, Art, New technology, Panoramic Photography, People, Photography, Photoshop techniques, Printing and Printing Processes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

A bit of pavement hugging

Greetings, Blognosticator readers, I was involved in a collision between me on my bicycle and a pick-up truck on Monday morning. I am now starting my healing and recovery. I made some new friends from the local Fire Department, I … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures | 5 Comments

New Shaping Tool in Illustrator

I’m on a roll here with the three newly improved tools in Adobe Illustrator. I like them all. The last of the three is the Shaping Tool, which I have always known as the Modify Anchor Point tool. It is … Continue reading

Posted in Art, New technology, Software | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Illustrator’s new pencil tool

I wrote a few days back about using the new Corners tool in Illustrator, which is delightful. I draw a lot in Illustrator, and I enjoy this new feature because it allows each corner in a polygon to have a … Continue reading

Posted in New technology, Software | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Another GREPping drama

My dear wife is producing a book for a local author. He has typed his own manuscript in Microsoft Word, and it’s going to be about 300 pages. The author has a habit of substituting the letter l (el) for … Continue reading

Posted in Printing and Printing Processes, Software, Typography | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Studying Illustrator’s new corners tool with Chinese food

Everyone loves Chinese food, especially take-out, where you can carry it home, and eat it around the table while chatting with friends and family. I brought some home the other evening, and while slurping on some soup, I started studying … Continue reading

Posted in Art, New technology, Printing and Printing Processes, Software | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

It must be a Mirage!
My large file printing problems are solved

Following this blog, you have been exposed to the trials of printing very large photos on a wide-format Epson ink-jet printer. I have been feeling like a beta tester the last month or so, discovering all of the reasons why … Continue reading

Posted in Color Management, New technology, Panoramic Photography, Photography, Photoshop techniques, Printing and Printing Processes, Software | Tagged , , , , , | 18 Comments

Mass storage in perspective

I got an e-mail from a friend with a link to a Facebook page where a photo was displayed of an IBM hard drive was being loaded onto an Pan American airliner with a forklift. The disk, according to the … Continue reading

Posted in History, New technology, Printing and Printing Processes | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment