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.

Bookbinding with needle and thread

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

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

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

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A Windy City GigaPan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The Blognosticator’s first anniversary

Today is the one-year anniversary of the Blognosticator-gone-private. I had been blogging for Graphic Arts Monthly for three years until their demise in the Spring of 2010, and then for What They Think until that fall and they could not … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Business, Curmudgeon, Mistakes you can avoid, New technology, Panoramic Photography | Leave a comment