I'll never forget my first external one gigabyte hard drive - I though I had
enough space on it to store every record in the Library of Congress. I remember
changing a motherboard in a computer at work to a "brand new" 386. It
had a whopping 8 MB of RAM. Today, my home computer has an 80 gig hard drive and
192 MB of RAM.
Pagemaker is no longer my default DTP program, having been
replaced by Adobe's InDesign. I also enjoy working in Illustrator but Photoshop
has become my favorite. There's just something about seeing designs "happen" so
fast - things that would have taken hours or days to create by hand just a few
years ago now just appear on command.
And the field keeps changing. The day of the stripper (no, not the ones who
take off their clothes) is coming to an end. With the advances that have been
made in digital prepress, the
purpose of making and stripping film negatives is pretty much superfluous. Files can
now go straight from the computer to the plate with much less margin for
error.
Together, all these programs come together to work in tandem and make the
printing industry more effective. But there are two things that the computer
will never replace; printing and design. People will always want something
printed on paper to hold in their hands to read, from a business card that
doubles as a note paper in your pocket to that treasured book on a rainy day
with a big mug of hot chocolate. And someone with a creative flair will always
have to design them. I intend to keep up with the printing industry and I intend
to keep learning as long as I can. Besides, there's nothing quite like the smell
of a print shop!
When I first wrote this, I had time to paint and garden. Since then I
have worked my way into a full time job as a graphic artist/ editor.
Yes, the real estate
license is still retired. My dream is
still to become a full time painter and I'll hold on to that dream as
long as I can hold a paintbrush.
...and, in case you're
wondering, I am married to a wonderful man (32 years this year) and am currently living in northeast Tennessee.
We have
two grown children, four grandchildren (yes, I have pictures), and a spoiled
Cocker Spaniel named Cookie. In my spare time, I read (mysteries mostly), paint, garden and
work on crafts.