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Getting Started
Upon opening Photoshop, you will be met with this screen. There are a range of options available here, which will determine the kind (and size) of document you end up creating.
Some of these options will need to be changed depending on the kind of project you are working on. For example, if you are printing, or working on a project for the web, these options will vary considerably, and it is important to choose the right settings.
Document Presets
Clicking the PRESET dropdown menu will enable you to tell Photoshop what medium you are working towards. The four that will be most applicable to you are CLIPBOARD, INTERNATIONAL PAPER, WEB and CUSTOM.
If you have already copied an image to the computers CLIPBOARD (how the computer remembers things that have been copied, but not yet pasted) Photoshop will automatically create a canvas the exact size of the image you have copied, ready to just paste in.
If your document has to be an official size when printed, such as A4, or A5, you can select those exact dimensions by selecting INTERNATIONAL PAPER, and then selecting the paper size from the drop down below. These paper sizes are measured in the traditional units of measurement for paper, which are Centimetres and Millimetres. Don’t worry if you do not know at this stage what your eventual print size is. You can always copy work from one sized canvas to another at a later stage.
The WEB preset enables you to pick a canvas size determined by a different set of units of measurements. Elements that are created for the web are not measured in Cm of Mm because of the difference in screen resolution and dimensions of many computer screens. (more on resolution later)
Basically, because of this, what might appear to be 1cm on one monitor, might not be exactly 1cm on another, so as a result, an absolute unit of measurement for computer screens is the pixel. Using the web preset enables you to create a canvas so many pixels high by so many pixels wide.
The CUSTOM preset enables you to mix and match any set of options to suit your own specific needs. This option may not be applicable until you are quite familiar with Photoshop, at a much later date.
Resolution
Pixel dimension or screen resolution is the amount of individual pixels a screen can display. Typically the smallest screen size will be 800 pixels x 600 pixels. A standard monitor these days would probably be 1024 x 768.
This is another option you need to take into consideration when creating a new document.
You may notice that by selecting the INTERNATIONAL PAPER preset, the resolution is 300 pixels per inch. This is to ensure you get as higher quality print as possible. More pixels means more detail.
You may also notice however, that selecting the WEB preset lowers the resolution to 72 pixels per inch. This is because more pixels also means bigger file sizes. When uploading files to the internet, storage quota and image load time are important factors you need to consider. You need the image to be clear, but not too large that it will take ages to load.
Therefore when creating an image for the web (such as a website logo or banner) 72 pixels per inch will be suitable.
As file size may not be an issue when printing a document, and you probably want as high quality prints as possible (particularly for photos) 300 pixels per inch is the minimum you should set for a document you intend to print.
Colour Mode
Have you ever printed an image prom the web on your desktop printer, and it has appeared slightly darker or duller than the image on your screen? This is due to the two different colour modes available when dealing with screen based and print based imagery.
Again, in Photoshop, depending on whether or not you are creating a print based or web based project, you will need to pick the correct colour mode.
You may not be aware of this, but computer screens and paper render colours differently to each other. Quite differently in fact.
Digital images you might see on screen, will probably be images created by scanners or digital cameras. They create images using combinations of just three colours: Red, Green and Blue (called "RGB"). These are the primary colours of LIGHT, which computers use to display images on your screen.
However, printing presses print full colour pictures using a different set of colours, the primary colours of PIGMENT (or ink): Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black (called "CMYK"). This is "4-color process" or "full-colour" printing that comprises the majority of magazines and marketing materials you see every day.
The difference comes from the computer screen’s ability to emit light, and the paper’s ability to absorb and reflect. Setting the right colour mode will enable you to have more control over how your work appears.
You can convert a document from RGB to CMYK, but each time you do, you sacrifice image quality. CMYK doesn’t display as many colours as RGB so converting that way isn’t a feasible option.
Therefore…
- If you are creating an image for the web, use RGB
- If you are creating an image that is to be printed, that only uses simple shapes, with solid blocks of colour and simple text effects, use CMYK.
- If you are creating an image that is to be printed, that uses lots of images rich in colour, use RGB, and convert the document to CMYK, at the latest possible opportunity.
Once you have determined which of these options are best suited to your purpose, you can press OK. You should then see a large white canvas on your screen, the size of which you just determined on the previous screen.
Further Photoshop Resources
About Adobe Photoshop
Background Information and Getting Started
Photoshop Interface
Keyboard Shortcuts
Tool by Tool
Adding Effects and Filters
Download
Download the full Photoshop Help File as a PDF
