Desktop Publishing Questions

Below are questions to test your knowledge and understanding of Desktop Publishing.

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Questions

Question 1

Question 1

A graphic designer created a flyer for a vintage car show. Two of the images used in the flyer, before being cropped, are shown. a. Describe, giving two examples, how the use of cropping has enhanced the flyer. (2 marks) b. Explain why drop caps have been used in the flyer (1 mark)c. Describe two benefits to the graphic designer of using a master page when creating the flyer. (2 marks)d. Describe one reason for using placeholder text in a document. (1 mark)

Answers

Square cropping has been used on the image, with the orange car focusing on the headlight
Square cropping has been used to allow the image to fit the available space within the layout
Full cropping has been used on the images of the blue car, removing the background to apply your own.
Full cropping allows for text wrapping around the image.

b. (Answers to explain questions must have a cause and an effect.)

Drop caps lead the reader's eye to the start of a body of text, making the document easy to follow
Drop caps emphasise the start of the text, which draws readers' attention

It makes it easy for the graphic designer to align text boxes and images
It helps the graphic designer to implement a two-column layout throughout the publication
It helps to create consistency within the document’s layout
It can be used in future documents
It saves time in the setup/placement of items

Placeholder text allows a graphic designer to create a layout before the final text has been decided on
It allows the designer to see how much space would be required for text
Placeholder text does not need to be manually typed

Question 2

A prepress copy of the leaflet is shown.

a. State the name of symbol A (1 mark)a. Describe the purpose of symbol A (1 mark)

Answers

Registration mark

To ensure that multi-colour printing (CMYK) has aligned correctly
It is used to support alignment in secondary machines such as cutters

Question 3

A new website is being commissioned by the kitchen company. A graphic artist has created a sample for one of the webpages.

A draft of a CV created using DTP software is shown. a. Describe two advantages that electronic thumbnails give the designer over manual thumbnails. (2 marks) b. There are a number of DTP layout features in the thumbnail. State the names of the features A to E. (5 marks) The final layout of the slide is shown below. The text and the images that are used in the slide have been laid out in their original form at the bottom of the page.

c. State the name of the DTP edit that has been applied to each of the items to alter them from their original form to the state shown in the final layout. (5 marks) Do not refer to scaling or resizing in your answer, and you must give a different answer for each response.

Edit A
Edit B
Edit C
Edit D
Edit E

Answers

Greater accuracy than manual methods.
Layout tools (snap to grid, etc.) increase the speed of development.
Placement and spacing of elements are already in place and ready for swapping out to final elements.
The thumbnail is a first draft of the layout so that you can think of your initial ideas.
Allows experimentation with different font styles for significant features such as headings.
There is an ease of sharing with the client electronically.

Feature A: Title
Feature B: Margin
Feature C: Column
Feature D: Footer
Feature E: Gutter

Edit A: Flow text along a path
Edit B: Transparency
Edit C: Drop shadow
Edit D: Rotate
Edit E: Text wrap

Question 4

Drop caps have been used throughout the layouts. a. Explain, giving two reasons, why a drop cap can be used to enhance the readability of a document. (2 mark)A pre‑press version of the document was created for quality assurance before mass printing. b. Explain the purpose of feature X (2 mark)

Answers

a. (Answers to explain questions must have a cause and an effect.)

Highlights the starting point of a piece of body text so that the reader knows where to start reading from
Emphasises the start of each piece of the body text, which makes the document easier to follow
Contrasts in size with the rest of the body text, which draws attention to the paragraph
Consistent use of the drop cap in each piece of body text creates rhythm, which helps guide between sections

b. (Answers to explain questions must have a cause and an effect.)

Identifies the area that will be trimmed after printing
Identifies bleed area to ensure edge-to-edge printing

Question 5

Registration marks were added to the pre-press copy of the loyalty card, as shown below. a. Describe the purpose of registration marks in printing. (2 mark)

Answers

To allow the multicolour (CMYK) printing to be set up correctly
To allow checking of alignment of print stages
Each registration mark should overprint exactly for accurate registration
Correct alignment of secondary process, eg trimming

Question 6

The graphic artist has used various types of cropping to edit the images used in the layout. a. State the name of the type of crop applied to the images below. (2 marks)

b. Describe the effects that the two types of cropping have created within the layout. (2 marks)Placeholder text was used throughout the layout.

c. Explain the advantage to the graphic artist of using placeholder text. (2 marks)

Answers

Square crop
Full Crop

To frame a specific area of the image or focus on the subject of the image to create visual interest
To remove an unwanted area of the image to apply your own background
To remove an unwanted area of the image to provide an irregular outline
To remove an unwanted area of the image to remove clutter
To remove an unwanted area of the image to allow the image to fit the available space within the layout.

Speeds up the process of creating layouts as the graphic artist does not need to type the text required manually
Allows the graphic artist to consider the placement of text without being distracted by the readable content of a page
Allows the graphic artist to consider size to see how much space would be needed
Allows graphic artists to consider typeface to see what style would suit the layout's theme.

Question 7

The layout was produced in layers using DTP software. a. Describe two advantages to the graphic artist of using layers to produce the layout (2 marks)

Answers

Text and images can be edited separately
Layers can be turned off and on to improve clarity during the production of the layout
The layers can provide a master page for similar future layouts that may be required
Layers can be edited without affecting other elements of the layout
Layers can be ordered by either moving backwards or forward
Layers can be locked to prevent them from being edited or moved by mistake.

Question 8

A series of double-page spreads has been created to promote a dog rescue centre. a. Describe, giving two examples, how the graphic designer has used transparency to enhance the layouts. (2 marks)b. Describe, giving two examples, how the graphic designer’s use of grid structure has enhanced the layouts. (2 marks)

Answers

The white transparent box on page 3 over the picture of the dog
The paw prints on the FAQs on page 4 are transparent
The paw print stamp on “Chewy’s photoshoot” on page 4.

Grids would help create vertical columns within the document
The three images are vertically aligned within a column of text on page 5
All images on page 5 align with the column/grid structure
There is a consistent column structure that creates a formal layout
The layout/organisation/formatting of the Q&A section in rows

Question 9

A print ready copy has been made available.a. State the name of the DTP terms and techniques labelled on the image. (2 marks)

Answers

(i) Registration Mark
(ii) Pull Quote
(iii) Column Rule
(iv) Folio/ Reverse/ Bleed
(v) Crop marks

Question 10

The layout was produced in layers using DTP software. a. Describe three advantages to the graphic artist of using layers to produce the layout. (3 marks)

Answers

text and images can be edited separately
layers can be turned off and on to improve clarity during the production of the layout
The layers can provide a master page for similar future layouts that may be required
layers can be edited without affecting other elements of the layout
layers can be ordered by either moving backwards or forwards
layers can be locked to prevent them from being edited or moved by mistake

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