This response rarely varies. In this respect, it matters little whether the book is beautifully designed and craftily written or hastily concocted and brazenly copyless. Include more students, more often, and more buyers happily find what they’re looking for in the end product.

“What’s your biggest pet peeve when you get your yearbook?”
These answers vary more widely, but here’s a big one: “Seeing my name misspelled.”

Index may not be on your current to do list, but it’s time to start to use this process as a tool to ensure great coverage and consistency.

Verify Master Name List
Start with the master school roster and set a deadline for corrections. Post the list in the building, on the web, or anywhere you want and allow students to submit corrections. Johnny knows his official school records list his name as John but wants to be called Johnny in the yearbook.

You staff member who is the biggest fan of Spell Check can correct the master list and add names to the dictionary in InDesign and eDesign. InDesigners save the master file as a .txt document and open InDesign. Choose Edit>Spelling>Dictionary>Import and navigate to .txt file. eDesigners place the list on index pages, highlight names, right click and choose Add to Dictionary.

Names not on your list will then come up in a spell check on only that computer for eDesign and by default also for InDesign. Repeat on other computers if you want. InDesigners may merge the name exception list into the document under dictionary preferences.

However, if you have Megan and Meghan, it’s still not smart enough to know if you have the correct version just as a regular spell check won’t stop you from, “I’m threw. Get me out of hear.”

Create an INgenius File
To take it a step further, here’s another tip to help ensure everybody’s name prints correctly. InDesign users create an INgenius file by opening your blank template and go to Window>Pages>Numbering and Section Options and start the page at an INgenius number, over the number of pages in your book. Flow the names on the pages and don’t worry about where the text is placed or its size. If there are two or more consecutive capitalized words HJ Index Builder will find them wherever they hide.

eDesign users can also easily create an INgenius file. Use your index pages to hold the master list names until after you have exported the final index file.

Run HJ Index Builder
Part of the magic of HJ Index Builder is that you can run it beginning with your first deadline — and it will remember any changes. Run HJ Index Builder before you submit your first batch of pages. You won’t have to look the names up again!

When merging you always know the spelling with your INgenius page number referenced is correct! Just make note of which pages have incorrectly spelled names and fix before you send them.

When you run HJ Index Builder the next time, it will add the page number to the correct name and eliminate the erroneous entry. More importantly, you decrease your chance for error because the name will be spelled correctly when the page first arrives at the plant.

Track Student Coverage
Instead of tediously creating a list of students who have appeared more often than your staff’s quota, HJ Index Builder can be used to help avoid overcovering the same students deadline after deadline. Get into the habit of indexing pages before shipping to confirm the correct spellings and you will always have a current INlist, listing page numbers for each student.

After each deadline have a staff member create a list of students who should not appear in candids or be randomly quoted again. The old 80-20 Rule usually applies in that 80% of activities are done by 20% of the student body. You know who they are. Anyone dedicated enough to be Student Council president, basketball team captain, National Honor Society secretary and a Pep Club member deserves a lot of coverage. But save the English and lunch candids for others.

To make it even easier to manage coverage, eDesign can sort by the number of times a student is referenced by simply clicking “usage.” Set quotas for who to cut off unless absolutely necessary and who to track down and include.

INcrease Yearbook Sales
Want to take this a step further to actually INcrease your yearbook sales? After indexing the portrait pages send green notes to everyone who bought a book to congratulate them on being covered on pages x, y, z. Send red notes to everyone who has not yet bought a book and remind them it’s not too late and they have good reason buy to since they are INcluded on pages x, y, z.

To make the frames stay visible, go to the view menu in eDesign, and select “show frames.” This will make all frames that you’ve drawn remain visible on the spread.

If you need to hide the frames, simply go back to the view menu and select “hide frames.” The same process can be used for guides and columns, too.

We appreciate all the feedback and questions you’ve been directing to us on eDesign, not to mention the layouts and spreads that are taking shape. Keep up the good work!

Method 1

While Adobe Photoshop® is the primary software for photo manipulation, InDesign does allow for some cool photo techniques like a vignette photo. A vignette is an effect where the center of interest, or focal point, of the photo gradually fades into the background, usually in an oval shape.

STEP 1: Place (File > Place) an image from Photoshop or through Herff Jones Image In (Herff Jones > HJ Image In) onto your layout.

STEP 2: Select the Ellipse Frame tool from beneath the Rectangle Frame tool on the Tool palette. You can also use a rectangle, circle, polygon, star or any other frame shape to create the vignette effect.

STEP 3: Draw an ellipse frame on top of the image the exact size and shape desired. The shape should include only the area of the image you want at full strength (100 % opacity). Set the Fill and Stroke to None.

STEP 4: Click on the image with the Selection tool and go to Edit > Copy.

STEP 5: Now click on the ellipse frame with the Selection tool and go to Edit > Paste Into. This will place a copy of the image inside the ellipse in the same position and the same size as the original image.

STEP 6: With the ellipse frame still selected, go to Object > Feather and activate it by clicking the check box next to Feather. Change the feathering Width to two picas.

STEP 7: Click on the original image with the Selection tool and open the Transparency palette (Window > Transparency). Change the Opacity to 50% or less.

STEP 8: Select both frames making up your vignette with the Selection tool and go to Object > Group. Your vignette is complete.

Method 2

While Adobe Photoshop® is the primary software for photo manipulation, InDesign does allow for some cool photo techniques like a vignette. A vignette is an effect where the center of interest, or focal point, of the photo gradually fades into the background, usually in an oval shape.

STEP 1: Place (File > Place) an image from Photoshop or through Herff Jones Image In (Herff Jones > HJ Image In) onto your
layout.

STEP 2: Open the Layers palette (Window > Layers). Go to the fly-out arrow at the top of the palette and click to expose the palette options. Select “Duplicate Layer.”

STEP 3: Name the new layer “Oval.”

STEP 4: Turn off the Oval layer by clicking on the “eye icon.”

STEP 5: Click back to the Default Layer. The active layer is highlighted in blue.

STEP 6: Click on the image with the Direct Selection tool and open the Transparency palette (Window > Transparency). Change the Opacity to 50% or less.

STEP 7: Turn off the Default layer. Turn on the Oval layer by clicking on the “eye icon” check box. If there are any other elements on the Oval layer besides the image, delete those these elements.

STEP 8: Select the image with the Selection tool . Reduce the size of the frame to include just the “focus” area by clicking on the top center bounding point and pulling in. Repeat on the remaining sides as needed. Do not move the image.

STEP 9: With the image still selected, go to Object > Convert Shape > Ellipse.

STEP 10: Now, go to Object > Feather and turn it on by clicking the check box next to Feather. Change the feathering Width to two picas.

STEP 11: Click back to the Default layer and turn it on.

STEP 12: With the Selection tool , hold Shift and click on both the Default layer and Oval layer so both are active. Go to the Layers palette fly-out arrow and select Merge Layers.

STEP 13: Select both frames making up your vignette with the Selection tool and go to Object > Group. Your vignette is complete.