Art as image or created using tables?

[lots of questions]

Am new to web design, generally I design for printed material, but have been
tasked to create a 'certificate' for our intranet which will pull in info and
the user will print out their certificate.

I started off with the design created in Illustrator, all elements intact
and have created a jpg. The certificate will print out 8-1/2x11 (w/margins)
landscape. There is a picture (green granite) used as a frame and a logo and
main type are in place when output to low rez jpg.

After inserting the jpg into FrontPage2003, all I have to do is add the
fields that pull in the user information. Using 'text over image' converts
the jpg to a gif and when viewed in preview or the browser, looks fuzzy and
not acceptable. Is there any way to enhance the base art or prepare it
differently for insertion into Frontpage? Because of the overall size of the
printed certificate, I need to keep image sizes small.

Would I be better off setting the certificate up in tables and inserting
portions of the graphic elements into the cells as background graphics? The
basic fonts leave much to be desired, can the sizes be tweaked in the html
editor?

 

[Thomas A. Rowe]

A table would be better, however users would have to make sure their browser is set to print
background images, also keep in mind to allow for 1" margins.

--
==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe
Microsoft MVP - FrontPage
==============================================
Agents Real Estate Listing Network
http://www.NReal.com
==============================================

 

[Kevin Spencer]

You can do this by using an absolutely-positioned div element over the
image. Example:

<div style="text-align:center;position : absolute; left: 52px; top: 224px;
width: 165px; height: 39px; z-index: 1; color: #FFFFFF; font-size: large;"
id="layer1" ">Some Text</div>
<p><img src="images/chutney(large).gif" width="256" height="260" /></p>

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
Professional Chicken Salad Alchemist

What You Seek Is What You Get.

 

[lots of questions]

Thomas/Kevin, my thanks.....still have questions:
To Thomas, will the elements inserted into table cells print out any sharper
than the jpg turned into a pumpkin? Do I build the 1" all around with blank
table cells (am very familiar with tables) Currently my Illustrator file
image is 10-1/2 x 8 inches (1/4 inch of white space around when printed out
on 8-1/2x11) (should the whitespace be increased?), however, when testing to
see the results, it prints out from both Normal and Browser views as 8-1/2 x
6-3/8 inches and is crammed into the upper left corner of the sheet. What do
I need to do for the image to print out correctly?

To Kevin, will using the 'absolutely positioned type' still affect the jpg
image? If so - how can I get the final 'printed' certificate to center on
the sheet of paper from the printer?

To both: My thanks for taking the time to rspond to my question....can you
recommend any websites that might cover graphics and output? I really need
to have this completed by the end of the week, Monday at latest and thought
that it should not be this difficult. I have several Microsoft books on
Frontpage and web graphics but they don't cover exactly what I'm trying to
accomplish.....my thanks and best regards

 

[Thomas A. Rowe]

See inline below

--
==============================================
Thomas A. Rowe
Microsoft MVP - FrontPage
==============================================
Agents Real Estate Listing Network
http://www.NReal.com
==============================================

Thomas/Kevin, my thanks.....still have questions:

To Thomas, will the elements inserted into table cells print out any sharper
than the jpg turned into a pumpkin? Do I build the 1" all around with blank
table cells (am very familiar with tables) Currently my Illustrator file
image is 10-1/2 x 8 inches (1/4 inch of white space around when printed out
on 8-1/2x11) (should the whitespace be increased?), however, when testing to
see the results, it prints out from both Normal and Browser views as 8-1/2 x
6-3/8 inches and is crammed into the upper left corner of the sheet. What do
I need to do for the image to print out correctly?

Yes the text, etc. should be sharp when printed.
I would create a table that is no more then 600 pixels wide, center on the page.
The current issue is that you are printing a image, not a page

 

[Kevin Spencer]

To Kevin, will using the 'absolutely positioned type' still affect the jpg

image? If so - how can I get the final 'printed' certificate to center on
the sheet of paper from the printer?

No. The text will not affect the image underneath it. It is simply text with
a transparent background. As to how to position it, make sure that the image
is positioned statically. Then you can simply look at it in FrontPage to see
where it is, and where you want to put it.

To both: My thanks for taking the time to rspond to my question....can
you
recommend any websites that might cover graphics and output? I really
need
to have this completed by the end of the week, Monday at latest and
thought
that it should not be this difficult. I have several Microsoft books on
Frontpage and web graphics but they don't cover exactly what I'm trying to
accomplish.....my thanks and best regards
"lots of questions" wrote:

Sorry, I don't know of any. Google is my best resource.

--
HTH,

Kevin Spencer
Microsoft MVP
Professional Chicken Salad Alchemist

What You Seek Is What You Get.