Halloween Vector Graphics Collection For Commercial Use

With Halloween right up our alley, it’s crunch time to get the Halloween graphics printed up. To save you time we put together this collection of Halloween vector graphics that are available for commercial use. No need to spend hours looking for the right vector only to come to find out that you can’t use it in your commercial project.

We carefully checked the license on each one of these so that you can download them and get right to work!

Feel free to share your art with us on our Facebook Page or on Twitter (@mmprint).

Pumpkin Vectors

Free Vector Pumpkin Download
Halloween Pumpkin By Vector Open Stock
Free Vector Pumpkins Download
Free Vector Pumpkins Download from All Silhouettes
Mix and Match Pumpkin Faces
Mix and Match Pumpkin Faces from Designus

 

Halloween Banner Vectors

Vector Grunge Halloween Banners
Vector Grunge Halloween Banners by All4Designer

 

Halloween Vector Patterns

Vector Halloween Patterns
Vector Halloween Pumpkin and Skull Pattern VectorPatterns UK

 

Free Vector Halloween Bat Pattern
Free Vector Halloween Bat Pattern by VectorPatterns UK

[note]If your halloween project requires printing, please contact us at 516-334-1603 for amazing quality, super fast turnaround and free shipping![/note]

How To Set Up A Spot UV Business Card Design

The process of setting up a Spot UV business card is different from what you are used to. Since the Spot UV coating is not actually “printed”, the area that is printed and the area that is Spot UV will require separate files.

Areas with UV (Spot) and Areas with No UV

Let’s make it clear, the purpose of spot UV coating is to cover only certain graphic areas on the card, not the whole flat side of the card. Think of it as highlighting the important parts of your business card so that they stand out. Not only that, but you can get really creative with spot UV coating and make a business card that leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.

 

The Printed Area

The printed area of the card doesn’t need any special layers or effects to prepare it for spot UV coating. The only thing you will do special might be to leave out certain objects that you might want to be spot UV only, without any printing under it giving it that “Ghost” effect.

Spot UV Coating Business Card - Ghost Effect

 

In this example, the “m” was left out of the printing, only a solid orange was printed saturating the entire back side. The spot UV coating was applied to render the “Ghost” effect to the “m” and you can only see it in the light at certain angles… this is one of the owner’s business cards, we get WOW’s every time and most customers want it for their business cards.

 Spot UV and Printed Area Demonstration - M

The Spot UV Area

Believe it or not, it’s not that difficult to make a Spot UV file for the business card. Think of it this way, the UV coating is simply a clear color that you can put over any object in your design. Therefore, all you need to do is use black (100% K) representing the areas where the UV coating will be applied. Anything that is left white in the spot UV file will NOT have UV applied to it. Anything that is black (100% K), will. Simple as that.

[note color=”#d1d7c7″]I would not recommend doing this in Photoshop since the layer would be rasterized creating a jagged edge, use Illustrator which creates a vector layer instead for nice crisp clear edges.[/note]

 

Spot UV Coating Layer

The logo on the front of the card is important to us so we wanted it to stand out. How did we do it? Spot UV of course! It just jumps out at you when you’re looking at the card.

 Spot UV and Printed Area Demonstration Logo

[note color=”#FFCC00″] Once you have setup your Spot UV business cards. Give us a call at 1877-mmprint to speak printing professional about your project or visit our Business Card Printing Page for more information and to request a quote. [/note] [divider top=”1″]

Free Christmas Fonts For Commercial Use

 

Christmas is almost here and we know that designers have tight deadlines for Christmas projects. We put together a list of awesome FREE Christmas fonts for commercial use that you can use in your designs for personal or commercial projects like holiday greeting cards, envelopes, postcards and any other fun Holiday projects you are working on. If you use any of the fonts listed, feel free to share a link to the artwork you did in the comments below!

 

Santa’s Sleigh by HypoTypo

 

Santas Sleigh Font for Commercial Use

 

Kingthings Christmas by Kingthings

 

Kingsthings Christmas Free for Commercial Use Font

 

Mountains of Christmas by Tart Workshop Fonts

 

Mountains of Christmas Free Font for Commercial Use

 

ChopinScript font by Diogene

 

ChopinScript Free Font for Commercial Use

 

Snowpersons font —by Character

 

Snowpersons Free Font for Commercial Use

 

 

Design Tutorial: Offset Path Tool in Adobe Illustrator

Offset Path Tool for Adobe Illustrator

Using the Offset Path Tool in Adobe Illustrator

This tool is one of my favorites within Illustrator.  It does exactly as the name suggests, it creates a duplicate of an object with the path set off by a specified distance.  It can create replicas of different size with standard distances between the original and replica and easily creates concentric shapes. It is great for creating large or smaller versions of objects or creating outlines that are shapes.  It is also great for creating outlines around large groups of objects and creating shadows that are actual objects that can be edited independently from the object that would be casting the shadow.

Adobe Illustrator Offset Path Tool Dialog Box-Miter Limit Join Offset

How to use the Offset Path Tool

The offset path tool can be accessed from the Adobe Illustrator Menu from Object >> Path >> Offset Path. It will open the offset path tool box that asks what distance to offset the path, what type of joins for the corners and the miter limit. The distance used in the Offset field can be entered as a positive or negative which will make a shape that is either larger or smaller than the original.

Multiple Examples of the Offset Path Tool

Different Offsets

In the above image the offset path tool is used to create multiple concentric copies of the original shape in different sizes.  In the purple example I created a smaller concentric copy by using negative values, while in the blue example I used the a positive value to create a larger concentric copy.

The offset tool can even be used to create multiple copies that can sit within one another.  This effect is achieved by applying the offset tool twice as shown in the red and black example.

Illustrator Offset Path Tool Join Options Bevel Round Miter Ends

Different Join Types

The joins field in the offset path tool box modifies the type of angles the ends of the offset will have. There are three types, the miter which is a pointed corner, the round which is a rounded corner and the bevel which is a squared corner.

Differences between Miter Limits

 

Miter Limit

The miter limit is how far the points can extrude from angles in the shape. Below there is an example of a high and low miter.  The  default is “4” which isn’t always the best for more acute angles.  The second example with a miter of “20” actually allows for it to be much larger than what is displayed, so it is a bit of overkill.

 

Difference between Stroke and Offset Path in Adobe Illustrator

The Difference Between Offset Path and Strokes

A similar effect can be created by applying a stroke to an object but a stroke and offset path are not the same, although they can look similar. The offset path is a replica that is evenly distanced from the original all around while the stroke is just an outline of a path. Also while resizing an object, the offset path will keep the proportions while the stroke will keep the same stroke size regardless of object size. Above we have an image of a stroke and an offset path around a line of text that has been reduced in size.  Originally when the object was much larger they looked identical but as the object size changed more dramatically the stroke slowly became more out of place while the offset path still looks right. The stroke would have to be constantly adjusted or it would have to be outlined so that it can allow for size adjustments.

Creating Shadows with the Offset tool in Adobe Illustrator

Using the Offset Path to Create Shadows

Creating an offset path of an object is a very handy way to create a shadow for that object. In the above graphic I created a shadow for the word tool by offsetting the graphic and then expanding it slightly. Afterward I used the feather on the offset and matched the color to the background. It isn’t hard and can create a nice shadow that is fully adjustable as an independent object.

Down the Right Path

The offset path tool is one of those tools that you do not hear much about but packs a big design punch when it comes to usefulness. Beyond the basic utilization illustrated in this post, the offset path tool can be used to create unique effects that can vary depending on the shape or object.

Please share any tips or tricks you may have discovered while using the offset path tool in the comments section!

5 Outstanding Websites to Download Free Commercial-Use Fonts

 

After you have read our latest posts about Typography, I am sure you are ready to get out there and start practicing and coming up with new Typography concepts for use in your designs. Now that you understand the difference between Serif and Sans Serif fonts, Kerning, Leading and Tracking and the principals of choosing fonts, we want to offer you a collection of websites that serve or link to [free] commercial-use fonts. The following 5 websites carry a vast array of fonts that you can use freely in both personal or commercial projects.

Download Some Nice Fonts, Create Amazing Typography and Share them with our Readers!

1. Font Squirrel

Font Squirrel Free Commercial-use fonts website
Great Collection of 100% Free Commercial-use Fonts. They also offer free @font-face kits and a free @font-face kit Generator. Filter by TrueType or OpenType and browse by font style.

2. FontSpace

Free Commercial-Use Font Website
Beautiful layout, contains both commercial-use and personal-use fonts which you can filter with the flick of a checkbox. Customize with your own text to preview the font. Great Browse function to discover new fonts.

3. Free Premium Fonts

Free Premium Fonts Free Commercial-use Fonts
Very clean layout, contains many free fonts for commercial or personal use. Type in your text to preview the font. Allows for comments for each font. Login to save favorites. Offers free and commercial font editing software.

4. Search Free Fonts

Search Free Fonts - Free Commercial-use Fonts Website
User-friendly website has a collection that contains over 13,000 free fonts and over 91,000 commercial fonts. Easy to navigate via categories and alphabetically.

5. Exljbris Font Foundry

Admirable collection of “Well crafted (free) fonts by Jos Buivenga”. Although a small collection, these font families are perfect for a variety of uses, clean and professional as is the website itself.

 

Remember, sharing is caring! Please feel free to link to your own typography tutorials or graphics that you made using fonts from the sites mentioned here today. Other designers may benefit or be inspired by your work so please share.

 

If you are using these fonts for a Print Project, feel free to call us at 1-877-mmprint or visit www.mmprint.com for a quote. We offer free shipping with all orders!