need DVD print psd

[nickky007]

...Does that help?

Well, yes, not quite. What you told so far, is what I could guess and what I already wrote in my posting.
May I quote my yesterday's posting:
"...How are these layers created from scratch? How are they intended to interact, to work together? ..."

Chuck, please let me formulate my questions more precisely:
1. How do you construct L2 'Crop area Full Coverage'? So that it does what it's called? How do you construct L7 'Crop area Standard...'? What is the purpose of these two layers? How do these two layers interact? Or, don't they interact?
2. Same questions for layers L3 'Layer 5' and L4 'color blend layer'
3. How can I draw the outline (contour) of a circle? Just the outline not the area of the circle?
4. Why does this happen? Again, I quote myself: "...What surprises me most is the fact that the bottom layer L1 seems to overlay the color blend layer L4. I expected it the other way round, i.e. higher layers to overlay lower layers. I would love to fully understand what is going on..."
Experiment:
4.1 >turn off all layers ...> all layers are turned off
4.2 >turn on L4 'color blend layer' ...> 'color blend layer' is displayed: pink colored circle area with missing inner circle
4.3 >turn on L1, you called it 'Layer 2', the white layer at the bottom of the layers pane ...> L1 (you called it 'Layer 2') overlays the pink 'color blend layer' L4, which is higher up in the layers pane.
Why does this happen? Is it a hidden property of the 'color blend layer'?

A) I simply want to understand how your tiff works.
B) I would like to learn how I could modify your template and how I could create such a template myself.

Thanks for your help and patience.

[Chuck Engels]

You want more information than I can give you Nickky.
As noted early in the topic, this was created by a very knowledgeable friend of mine to match the Encore DVD Template also found in the products section. He is the one that understands how it works and how it was put together, unfortunately I do not. It is possible that he used Layer Sets and other features that are not available in Photoshop Elements, only Photoshop.

I'm sure there are some folks here that are much more advanced in Photoshop than I am and can help answer at least some of your questions

[Peru]

.....Did look at Acoustica, but don't want to buy now..

Cheryl, I have this software and can recommend it for ease of use, should you decide to purchase in the future. Your HP5460 is listed as a supported printer.

I use it on my HP D5160. It's not very expensive and you can use screen captures of some of the included artwork in other projects.

[Bob]

Nickky,

I downloaded the file so I could see how it was constructed for you. L6 is missing from that file so I can't tell you what that was for. From your screen capture, it appears to just be the "hole" in the dvd -- if so, that layer isn't necessary, it's included in L7 and L2 already.

The resolution of the file is set to 300 dpi and sized so that it will print the same size as a standard DVD. Keep in mind that areas that are pure white will lay down no ink -- just like when you print on paper.

You normally don't want to print outside the physical area of the DVD. Accordingly, there are two layers in the file (L7 and L2) that can be used to delete portions of any image you place in the file that would extend past the edges of the DVD. Some printable DVDs can be printed right up to the spindle hole, others cannot. The standard coverage (L7) leaves room for the non-printable area around the spindle hole. L2 will allow print up to the hole. Decide which mask L7 or L2 you want to use, press ctrl and click on that layer's thumbnail to set the selection. Make the image you want to crop the active layer and delete the selected areas. Note: L2 is turned on only to give you a good visual appearence while editing -- turn it off when you go to print or you will get overspray.

L4 is there just to color the ribbons in L3. The blending mode of L4 is set to "color". Color blending mode affects the color of underlying layers without changing the luminosity. Pure black and pure white will not be affected. Other tones will take on the color of L4. Note: L3 has reduced opacity to allow the text to show better where the ribbons cross.

L1 is there to provide a white background. It's not really necessary for printing, but it helps you visualize what the finised product will look like with the images and text. The template has the blending mode set to color for this layer, but being the bottom layer that has no effect -- it could just as well been set to the standard "normal".

The dimensions of DVDs are standardized. You can look them up if you want.

[nickky007]

Bob,
Thanks! You did it again!
You explained me, and now I fully understand, how the tiff and its layers work.

For the rest (my detailed questions 1 to 4) I guess I simply lack some Pse Basics.
For example:
Q1: how to make form L2 'Crop area Full Coverage' in Pse?
Q3: How can I draw the outline (contour) of a circle (like drawing it around the center with a pair of compasses)? Just the outline not the area of the circle? (in Pse?)
Q4: Paradoxon: How come that a higher layer (L4) gets overlayed by a lower layer (L1)? Shouldn't the higher layer per definition overlay the lower layer?

Could you or somebody else, please, teach me these Pse9 Basics or give me a hint to a tutorial or some other reading where I could read about these topics?

[Bob]

Yes, the rest just involves PSE basics. As your experience and knowledge of the basics grows, these things will become much easier for you. If you want, there are good online courses, such as this one at Lynda.com http://www.lynda.com/Photoshop-Elements-tutorials/essential-training/69086-2.html or you can use Google or your favorite search engine to look for free tutorials on a specific topic.

To begin, open a new document the exact size you want. Choose the open for a transparent background. You should get a document with no background layer and having a single empty transparent layer.

If the rulers are not showing, turn them on. You can right click on a ruler to change the units if desired. PSE 9 supports guides. Click on the top ruler and drag down towards the center of the document -- a horizontal guide will appear as you drag. Looking at the left side ruler position the guide at the center of the document. Now click on the left ruler and drag out a vertical guide and position it at the center. You now know where the exact center of the image is located.

Q3 answer:

Circles are drawn with the Elliptical Marqee selection tool. Select the Elliptical Marquee tool and click on the image where you want to draw the selection and drag to size. You will need to use the keyboard shortcuts. Press "ALT" to have the center of the circle begin where you position the cursor, and press shift to conform it to a circie instead of an ellipse. You can also select the "fixed size" mode in the options bar and specify the exact size of the circle.

Q1 Answer:

With the Elliptical Marquee selection tool selected, set the option bar to fixed size and type in the size of the outer circle. Position the cursor at that center of the document, where the guides cross, Press and hold "ALT" and click. The outer marching ants circular selection should be showing. Invert the selection by pressing ctrl+shift+i so that everything but the circle is selected. Use the edit>fill to fill the selected area with the color black. Now delete the selection (ctrl+d), set the size in the options bar to that of the hole, ALT+click on the center again to get the selection for the hole. edit>fill to fill the hole with Black. You now have L2. They reduced the opacity of that layer. You can do that also if you wish.

Q4 Answer:

L4 is not being overlayed by L1. It just looks that way. L4 has a layer blending mode applied. When a Blending mode is applied, the layer interacts with the layers below using a mathematical formula and you see the blended results. The color blend mode, which is what was used on L4, replaces the colors of the layers below with the color on the layer with the blend mode applied. Black and White are not affected. The luminance (the black and white image details) is also not affected.

[Bob]

Just a couple of after thoughts regarding guides. Under the view menu, be sure you have enabled guides. Also, if you choose New Guide from that menu, you can specify 50% in the positon field and it will figure out where the center is and place the guide there. You will need to add a horizontal guide and a vertical guide separately. Much easier than dragging out and positioning manually.

[nickky007]

Bob,
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Forgive me, I had to shout it out!
Your are my friend! Again, your explanation was exactly what I needed!
It should be added as tutorial here at muvipix.com and to the Pse9 Essential tutorial at Lynda.com!

I already have gone through that Photoshop Elements 9 Essential Training by Jan Kabili but missed these AutoCad-like usage instructions. In all Photoshop tutotials, which I have seen so far, the focus is almost exclusively on organizing and editing photos. AutoCad-like usage of geometric forms is not really covered. Your explanations have taught me what I currently need to know about these matters.

Same applies to Pre9: Premiere Elements 9 Essential Training by Jeff Sengstack at Lynda.com, Steve Grisetti's books and the answers to my questions here at muvipix.com will now get me nicely along with my current, limited scope Pre projects.

Acknowledgments:
Special thanks to

Bob
Chuck Engels
Dave McElderry
John 'twosheds' McDonald
momoffduty
RJ Johnston
Steve Grisetti

P.S. If I will find some spare time I will summerize and post my beginner's compilation of Pre9 error reports and feature requests.