Indesign document size

by Design Workshop Sydney

Adobe Indesign has the capacity to create documents of any shape and size. We look at a variety of documents for print and online distribution in our Indesign courses.  Indesign-document-size
To create a new document from the Welcome screen, we simply choose Create New > Document. Alternatively we go to File > New > Document – the same dialog box will appear.
Ignore the Presets – we will create one shortly. First insert number of pages. This can be changed later on if necessary. Note the check box beside Facing Pages. If you are designing a document destined for print, tick this box – this will show you the pages as double-page spreads. If your document is for web or screen view only leave it unticked, in which case the pages will tile one above the the other.
Leave Master Text Frame unticked – this would put a blank text frame on every page – but we want more control than that – we want to create our own text frames. Click on the drop-down arrow beside Page Size – here we have some common pages sizes. Alternatively we could just punch in the numbers below, say for a DL flyer size of 99 x 210mm.
Number of columns is important – and the gutter size is the space between the columns. We can also change this later if necessary, or if you want various numbers of columns on different pages. Margins – 12.7mm is a good average size for an A4 page. The strange decimal sizes are due to the conversion from Picas and Points which is only really used in the US (it fits well with the Imperial system).
Bleed is the guide you need to add to pages if you have colour or images which you wish to print to the edge of the page (in print media that is). Consult with your printing company, but 2-3mm is usual. Slug is not used much, except by newspapers and magazine people. It’s an area at the top & bottom of the page for fold and cut marks. Leave it at zero usually. If you think you may use this setup again, hit the Save Preset button. Then hit OK to create the document.
If you later need to adjust the page size or the bleed, go to: File > Document Setup. If you need to add or delete pages, do this in the Pages panel. And if you later need to adjust the columns or margin sizes, do this in the Layout drop-down menu > Margins & Columns.
In Indesign CS4 there appeared a new tool – the Page Size tool in the Toolbox – this allows you to change individual page sizes. An example of this would be where you are creating an A4 poster, an A5 flyer and a business card. The artwork is the same, only the page sizes differ. Simply create a 3 page document, and add your artwork and text. Then adjust the page sizes with the Page Size tool, and copy and rescale the artwork. This saves you from having 3 separate documents.
More tips can be found at the Sydney Indesign User Group which meets regularly in the city, and is a free forum for designers to discuss topics and the latest Indesign features. See many examples of our own clients’ work on our Facebook page.
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