Expert: Glen Demers - 6/27/2008

Question
I am working a 6 month project and currently own both Illustrator 7.0 (old) and InDesign CS2 (newer). The counterpart that I will partner with is working in Illustrator CS (in between). I do not really want to upgrade my Illustrator to be compatible with their version, so will InDesign CS2 be my best bet, or should I break down and upgrade my dinosaur? This project will go to commercial printer.
Thanks so much for your help.
Kasi Jaghab

Answer
Hi Kasi,

InDesign CS2 should be fine for your layout and you can place all your partners Illustrator CS files in your InDesign document. If you need to work on his Illustrator files though, he'll have to save them as eps or ai files compatible with Illustrator 3. This will flatten any transparency present. If that is an issue (Soft drop shadows, ghosted colored boxes etc) you may want to delegate all illustration work to your partner or upgrade.
I hope this helps, for some more tips on preparing InDesign or Illustrator files for commercial printing check out these links.
http://www.bestprintingonline.com/indesign.htm
http://www.bestprintingonline.com/illustrator.htm

Glen