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Home Articles & Tutorials Text to Outlines – how to convert text into outlines

August 20, 2015 By castle Leave a Comment

Text to Outlines – how to convert text into outlines

It’s common practice when using a program such as Adobe In-Design/Illustrator etc. to convert all text to outlines. This is especially so when an unusual font has been used in the artwork, which the print shop may not have on their system. Outlining fonts makes all text non-editable, so make sure you have an editable copy saved somewhere safe.

Time needed: 5 minutes.

  1. Text to Outlines

    It’s a very straightforward procedure as follows:
    With either one of the pointer arrows selected in the main toolbar:
    Text to outlines

  2. Select All Type

    Select all type in your document – ‘Select All’ (Ctrl A)

    Converting text to outlines - example 1

  3. Main Menu

    and then goto ‘Type‘ in the main menu and select ‘Create Outlines‘.

    Converting text to outlines - example 2

  4. Text Now Graphics

    You’ll notice that every text character is now converted into a single standalone graphic.

    (The text below looks rough only because it is still selected).

    When you click on some whitespace on your artboard, the text will de-select and look ‘normal’.

    Converting text to outlines - example 3

  5. Manipulating Converted Text

    Select the 2nd arrow, (the white one) and you’ll be able to manipulate your newly-converted text any which way you like.

    Text to outlines

  6. Example

    Converting text to outlines - example 4

Creating a logo

Incidentally, you can now see one way of creating logos. Find a suitable typeface, type in your lettering required for the logo, convert text to outlines and you now can stretch or play with the graphic to your heart’s content.

If there’s something that needs explaining in the above article, or you any have tips / shortcuts of your own regarding text to outlines, then please leave a message in the comments section below.

Related Posts

  • How to design a Ghost Image
  • Preparing A Print File In Adobe In-Design
  • What Makes A Logo Stand The Test of Time?

Filed Under: Articles & Tutorials Tagged With: creating outlines in text, Text to outlines

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Bleeds explained

Basically, a bleed is artwork that goes over the edge of the printed sheet.

If your design needs to have a bleed then it’s important to allow 3mm overlap (see image A below). As the letterhead will be printed on oversize material (SRA4), this gives the guillotine operator a chance to cut into the artwork and produce a good finished letterhead. (see image B below).

A
How to design a letterhead fig. 3
B
How to design a letterhead fig. 4

Why do we need a bleed?

If the artwork ended at the edge of the sheet and the guillotine cut was only 0.5mm out, then we could end up with an unsightly thin white strip down one edge of the sheet, which is not ideal.

Also, if there is a large stack of paper on the press, with the best will in the world there will be the odd sheet that doesn’t get fed through the press 100% accurately so if a bleed hasn’t been put in place this could cause issues.

Extending the artwork over the edge of the sheet allows for a little leeway when it comes to the time for trimming.

If you’ve set your workspace for A4 and intend to use bleeds then, depending on what software package you are using you may need to set the workspace to oversize A4 (SRA4), which measures 225mm x 320mm.

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