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 bookbinding class ends with literal works of art

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Brian Lawler

  Where have I been? I’ve been here, binding books. For the past ten weeks I have been teaching a course called Book Design Technology. It’s a senior-level course for students of Graphic Communication in our Design Reproduction Technology concentration, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bookbinding, Imposition and Pagination, Software, Typography | 1 Comment

Bookbinding with needle and thread

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Brian Lawler

I am teaching a class in book design and bookbinding this quarter. I have 30 students in the class; they are working on their manuscripts and will soon be working on their book blocks and book cases. This involves printing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bookbinding, Education, Imposition and Pagination, Printing and Printing Processes, Typography | Leave a comment

Things I learned on my recent trip to Chicago

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Brian Lawler

Back from Chicago a full week, I was reviewing my notes last night, and I have a handful of observations to share with you. This year I wore my fedora, with my Blognosticator “PRESS” card sticking out of it. I … Continue reading →

Posted in People, Photography, Printing and Printing Processes | Leave a comment

Musings about GraphExpo – the quiet show

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Brian Lawler

My annual GraphExpo journey was, as always, fascinating. GraphExpo, and its companion show, Print, are the big shows for the printing industry in North America. I have been going since the 1970s, and it has been a wild ride for … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Printing and Printing Processes | Leave a comment

A Windy City GigaPan

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Brian Lawler

I just returned from a week in Chicago for GraphExpo, the huge North American trade show for people in the graphic arts industry. I shipped my big tripod and my GigaPan panoramic head to the hotel in advance of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Panoramic Photography, Photography | 2 Comments

A new ink-jet news press debuts in Chicago

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Brian Lawler

In the Four Seasons hotel in Chicago last night I attended an interesting panel discussion on ink-jet printing of newspapers. The event was hosted by Cabot, an international manufacturer of the components of ink. They make, among other things, carbon … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, New technology, People, Printing and Printing Processes | 1 Comment

Meadows Software releases a clever QR Code generator for Adobe InDesign

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Brian Lawler

Variable-data software publisher Meadows Publishing Solutions has developed a new plug-in for Adobe InDesign that makes QR codes inside any text box in that application. The product can make three different types of bar codes: QR, Data Matrix and PDF … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Printing and Printing Processes, Software, Typography | 2 Comments

…another cheese sandwich and a GigaPan photo

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Brian Lawler

It turns out that tying the camera to the GigaPan mount wasn’t adequate to make a successful panorama. So, even though I thought I could fix everything by straightening the horizons of 858 photos using the Image Processor and an … Continue reading →

Posted in Panoramic Photography, Photography, Photoshop techniques | Leave a comment

Tying one (camera) on to the GigaPan rig

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Brian Lawler

Yesterday, my friend Sophie Nuber and I hiked to the top of a hill overlooking San Luis Obispo Bay, near my home. The climb was tough for me because: 1) I am old, and 2) I was carrying the tripod, … Continue reading →

Posted in Panoramic Photography, Photography, Photoshop techniques | Leave a comment

The idea of a “mirrorless” camera – good and bad

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Brian Lawler

I have a very nice Canon professional camera. I love it. But it’s really noisy when the shutter is activated. It makes a clop-snap sound that is sometimes unacceptable to the circumstances. When I was photographing the Festival Mozaic concerts … Continue reading →

Posted in New technology, People, Photography | Leave a comment