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.

InDesign CS5.5 – Upgrade or downgrade?

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Brian Lawler

I upgraded to Creative Suite 5.5 in the fall, and was disappointed in Adobe for charging for a full upgrade when they hadn’t really upgraded any of the applications except InDesign. I needed to make the upgrade in order to … Continue reading →

Posted in ePubs and eBooks, Imposition and Pagination | Tagged | Leave a comment

Another GREPping story

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Brian Lawler

For those stalwart folks who follow this blog, you know that I am a GREP enthusiast. I use it as often as possible; I treat it as mental calisthenics; I look for opportunities to GREP my way out of every … Continue reading →

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Father-son bonding experience, part III

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Brian Lawler

I’ve been back from the Bosque del Apache and the Very Large Array for ten days now, and (other than the temperature) I miss it. The Bosque is a magical place, with photo opportunities galore. Bird watchers take flight in … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital video, Panoramic Photography, Photography | Leave a comment

The Very Large (and very cold) Array

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Brian Lawler

The crack of dawn cracked especially hard this morning in Socorro, New Mexico. It was our day to go to the Very Large Array, a group of 27 radio telescopes spread across a mesa to the west of Socorro. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital video, Photography | Leave a comment

Father-son bonding experience, Part II

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Brian Lawler

Sunrise comes early at The Bosque. Though the official sunrise was 7:11 a.m. today, the birds were very active at about 6:35 a.m. The big Sand Hill Cranes had already started taking off in flights of three or four when … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital video, Photography | Leave a comment

Father-son bonding experience, Part I

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Brian Lawler

I’m in New Mexico, home of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the White Sands Missile Range, and the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Among other things. I’m here with my son Patrick to take photos of migratory birds. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital video, Photography | Leave a comment

The prepress petri dish

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Brian Lawler

This post was originally made on June 11, 2010 on my blog at What They Think. I have updated the information in it here. When I am not teaching, I am usually sitting in my home office, the master of … Continue reading →

Posted in Color Management, Photography | 3 Comments

Old School typing errors corrected with GREP

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Brian Lawler

When I was 13, my dad forced me to take a business typing class during summer vacation. It was awful, except for the cute girls who were a bit older, and a lot more sophisticated than I was. The teacher … Continue reading →

Posted in Language and grammar | Leave a comment

1,062 fonts for a dollar

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Brian Lawler

If you have a dollar to spare, and you like lots of really bad type fonts, here’s a deal for you: FontPackPro, from Macware (a Summitsoft company) is a collection of 1,062 OpenType fonts for Mac that is normally sold … Continue reading →

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It’s a red-letter day at Smith Controls

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Brian Lawler

This blog originally appeared in 2010. It has been updated with fresh information. I’ve been studying and practicing GREP functions for about three years now, and I have to say I’m getting pretty good at it! I keep my various … Continue reading →

Posted in Imposition and Pagination | 1 Comment