Archive for the ‘download’ Category

Last February I released free artwork of a 2007 business card calendar for the benefit of my small business clients. The 2008 version was released today.

This free 2008 business card size calendar artwork in 300 dpi JPG is yours to download with no obligation. The file is in a zip folder (336kb) and the artwork is 3.625 inch x 2.125 inch to allow for trimming to the US standard 3.50 x 2.00 business card. You do not have to register or reveal your email address and may download immediately from this link:

Right click on card and “save target as” to download now.

If you need 2007, the free 2007 calendar artwork download is still here.

The coffee mug shown in the photograph below was in a surprise package received from Chris Knight of EzineArticles.com in recognition after they promoted me as a platinum author. I once mentioned this item to a client who said they’d love to see the mug and then suggested I post it on my website.

The customer is always right, so a smaller version of the photo is now featured on my Directory of Small Business Articles Published Online, and the graphic art tutorial that follows explains how the coffee mug was edited using Xara Xtreme to create the dynamic look and special effects.

By combining graphics and digital magic, this is how a photograph of a simple item like a coffee mug can be enhanced. The photo edit took less than an hour using Xara Xtreme which is perfect for creating professional illustrations for your small business website or advertising artwork for print.

The left photo (A) is just the mug held at arm’s length outdoors, and the center photo (B) was a recent Florida sunset that I snapped and chose to use for the background. I took each photograph with a Canon PowerShot A80 digital camera in auto mode. The right photo (C) shows the 6 elements that were combined as layers in Xara Xtreme, and then placed on top of the golden sunset photograph for the finished illustration. Here’s the tutorial showing how the 6 elements were created:

1. The coffee mug was precisely traced in Xara Xtreme and the background removed
2. The glass table top effect was done using a black rectangle overlay with 75% transparency
3. A clone of the coffee mug was cropped and flipped to create a partial mirror image
4. The shadow of the mug and handle was applied in Xara Xtreme at 38% black
5. The shadow under the mug was done as a black ellipse with 4.4px feathering
6. Part of the sunset photograph was cloned, cropped, and flipped to create the reflection

If you are interested in a cost effective vector graphics software program, Xara Xtreme is my choice for custom graphics and photo edits. Download a free 30 day trial of Xara Xtreme here.

UPDATE: Download this illustration as free desktop wallpaper here (250kb JPG zipped folder). Readers do not have to register or reveal their email address, so just right click the link and “save target as” for your copy.

The next pdf download in my free series of search engine optimization reports is available. Unlike some free reports, visitors do not have to register or provide an email address to download any of these free SEO advice reports.

Visit my main site to download the “Web Directory Top Resources” PDF report and learn the process for submitting your site to website directories to gain backlinks. This is #4 in the series of 6 Do-It-Yourself Website Promotion reports for small business owners, so get the others if this is your first visit. Bonus information includes my list of Top 150 Web Directories.

The next free pdf download in my series of search engine optimization reports is available. Unlike some free reports, you do not have to register or provide an email address to download any of these free SEO advice reports.

Enjoy the “Article Writing Top Resources” PDF report and learn the process for submitting articles to article directories to gain backlinks to your website. This is #3 in the series of 6 Do-It-Yourself Website Promotion reports for small business owners.

Content includes bonus information with an overview of the SEO value of writing articles, a tutorial for overcoming writer’s block, plus a list of my Top 50 Article Directories.

Graphic artists are welcome to download this custom door tag template created in Xara Xtreme (4Kb zip folder, right click and save target as). This is another in the series and it’s the large standard half page size of 4.25 inch by 11.0 inch. No registration, email capture, or signup required. This download is another in my series of free resources to help individuals or small business owners with do-it-yourself custom artwork.

Short tutorial: The template is color coded to identify the safe area for text, the bleed area, and margins. Standard guidelines are in place for easier layout. You may use the entire area for the background, but limit text within the green safe area.

The red box in the template is the doorknob hole section and nothing significant like text or important photos should be placed here because they will be hidden once the door tag is placed on the customer’s door knob. The dotted outline is the centered placement of the die cut for the hole, and most printers will slit the tag at a 45 degree angle to the edge.

Once you understand the safe area for text and other limitations you may want to remove all the reference colored blocks from the template to begin your design. Email me with any questions or requests for any special templates.

The above illustration is a reduced size low resolution version of a 2-sided full color door hanger artwork done for a landscaping, lawn care, and pressure washing service company in Orlando. The large blank area near the top is to accommodate the die cut 1.5 inch hole for the door knob and the 45 degree angle slit after printing.

The portion lost in the die cut explains why the top of the front and back do not have real content. One third will be cut out, but I chose to add color in what will be left in the finished door hanger.

Note: You may want to view the photo edit tutorial here to see how the truck and trailer effect was created.

Download this free Xara Xtreme template for creating a custom door tag, also called door hangers, for advertising your business on residential or commercial doorknobs. Get yours hassle-free without any requirement to register. You do not have to signup, give out your email, or name a pet after me.

Direct marketing advertisements using door tags are a cost effective way to promote your business. This Xara file type xar template includes dimensions, guidelines for outside, bleed, and borders for creating a 3 inch (7.62cm) by 8 inch (20.32cm) door hanger with knob die cut. Here’s a brief tutorial for using this free template.

The template is color coded showing the bleed area in yellow, the safe area in green, and the top space in red where the tag die cut doorknob hole and slit will go. The safe area defines the space limit for text. Any text outside the green safe area may be blurry or even rejected by the printer for redesign. Photos and background graphics may extend to the edge including the top red section. A preloaded CMYK palette is included in the template, also.

My advice is extending your background (if you use one) to the very top, and perhaps a photo, but nothing important. Obviously the die cut will remove a large round section; yet extending the background will make your door tag more attractive to the reader.

Download the free door tag template here (5Kb zip file, and in IE simply right click and “save target as”) to get yours now. Door hangers are popular for advertising real estate, mortgages, pizza delivery, cleaning services, handyman services, landscaping, and more. View a few custom door tag examples here.

In addition, you may want to read the advice in My 5 Second Rule for Small Business Owners to learn about design strategy for graphic art for websites and printed marketing materials.

Blind or vision impaired internet users will appreciate the Thunder freeware screen reader from ScreenReader.net In a post last week I commented “Some web developers are resisting or ignoring the concept of accessibility in website design.”, and the next day I decided to go further to study screen reader options available to vision impaired and blind persons.

From my research I located 19 software programs with speech synthesizers that read website content aloud, and of these all but 2 were commercial products ranging from $795 to $1500 USD, or more. The freeware from ScreenReader.net based in the UK, and an open source program NVDA created by Michael Curran, with help from James Teh and others in Australia were the only zero cost options for blind and vision impaired people that I could find.

Here is a quote by Roger and Margaret from Great Week for Thunder at The Blind Blogger

For the past twenty years and more, talking software for visually impaired users has been a commercial matter and we feel that the high prices have excluded low income users. Like many other enthusiasts, we have learned just how hard it is to introduce an innovation, however worthwhile. So it has been refreshing to receive so much encouragement at a high level. Margaret and I are very determined people and we believe that in ten years time, our customers will be looking back and saying: “Did blind people really have to pay out an extra £800 to enjoy the use of the computer like everyone else? Surely not”.

Persons on fixed incomes may not know about the 2 free resources, so if a pc costs 3x for a blind person, it must be discouraging if it’s not in the budget. I am not vision impaired, so I downloaded and tested the Thunder freeware screen reader to experience as closely as possible what blind or vision impaired persons face. The learning curve during my test and review, and eventual results convinced me that freeware options need more publicity.

I encourage persons with vision who know people in need of a free screen reader to download and test Thunder, and then assist that person with installation and getting started. Website design with accessibility for all deserves more publicity.

Get this free PDF report for SEO website promotion here. Imagine a search in Google with 155 million results and making page one for a very generic search. This is the second in the series under Small Business Owners Report: Do-It-Yourself Website Promotion, and the title is 30 Minutes a Day Free Methods.

Most clients ask about search engine optimization for small business owners, and conversations can take hours to discuss the fine details. This new release is a short course and overview of the 4 key SEO methods that I used to get to Google page one including quick start advice and lists of free resources.

Here’s how the series began. In May 2006 I promised clients documented and proven advice for website promotion with search engines. After 9 months, the results were better than I could imagine. I’m releasing a total of 6 reports for Small Business Do-It-Yourself Website Promotion, and the second one is done and ready for free download.

Visit my blog to subscribe to posts, and get announcements as other reports are released. Comments or questions are welcome.

Text editor freeware from GridinSoft deserves a closer look if you have an interest in hand coding website design. Some things never change like Microsoft® NotePad. As the default word processor for viewing text files it has remained pretty much the same for more than 10 years. Fortunately more intuitive freeware options like GridinSoft Notepad Lite are available. Some things age gracefully while others are long overdue for a makeover.

One of the problems in the current NotePad is solved in GridinSoft’s version with a left gutter and line numbers. If you are coding HTML and need to refer to specific chunks of code, it’s much easier to make reference by line number. Here’s a screen shot of a portion of this post being composed in GridinSoft Notepad Lite:

The line numbers down the left hand side numbered 1 through 7 illustrate how much easier it is to discuss a file. This is especially true for HTML code with 100′s of lines of code. It is just as practical for word processing projects if you are emailing and sharing text files and need to review or comment on specific sections.

Download GridinSoft Notepad Lite here. Scroll down their page under freeware for the free version and no time limit. For high end edits with more functions they offer a professional versus home version, also.

Designers who use Xara Xtreme are welcome to download this free trifold brochure template. The set of files includes the inside and outside as two separate documents for 8-1/2 x 11 trifold brochures. The inside right panel and outside left panel are each slightly smaller so the fold tucks in nicely without creasing.

Right-click and Save Target As… to download the free trifold brochure template here (zip files). The 6 panels are identified for the inside and outside artwork. Visit my main site for a trifold brochure tutorial including sample artwork to illustrate each panel for an actual brochure.

Tip: Dimensions for the overall size and 6 panels are 3 places past the decimal point for greater accuracy. To adjust the setting from 2 to 3 places in your Xara Xtreme programs, reset your computer’s regional settings in your control panel under date, time, language and regional options. Select “customize” in XP and change the decimal placement to 3. Exit and open Xara Xtreme again, and all dimensions will be precise to 3 digits.