The Gauntlet - November 2012

A Publication of Armorial Gold Heraldry Services

THE MACKEREL

A Symbol of Fertility and Affluence

From the Latin " macula", for spot, the Mackerel, known as the Holy fish, denotes abundance and was an ancient Christian totem. Originally a pagan symbol of fertility and continuity, the Mackerel are also superb, swift swimmers.

Its symbol may be representative of the bearer's name or his profession, or may involve a memorable or significant experience. The Mackerel was one of the most abundant food fishes in the North seas and several species are found throughout the world today. They are emblematic of affluence, profusion and were often used as symbols in groups of three to represent the Holy Trinity.

The Emblem was often one used by royalty. The ancient expression "a mackerel sea", tells of a sea in stormy ripples believed to be caused by a very large school of Mackerel just under the surface. This was a sign that the Mackerel had arrived (and usually the herring along with it), and it indicated that better times were indeed ahead. "Have faith young man, the Mackerel are here...there is little now, to fear"

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NEW MANTLE THIS MONTH

m-613

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NEW PRODUCT

Gaelic Crests-Ireland

Many of you have asked us for such a collection and after 3 months of design work, we are now featuring the Collection on the website. Take a minute and have a look. There are 1240 Crests (portion above the helmet) for Irish surnames that have a crest registered. Simply click on the heading above which takes you to the samples page. The Discount Days program provides for a great introductory price.

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DISABLING THE DOWNLOAD ACCELERATOR-HELPFUL TIP

Download accelerator (usually in the form of a plug-in) can wreak havoc with downloads especially multiple file downloads. You might consider temporarily disabling it.

Right-click the "Download Accelerator" icon on the system tray and click "Accelerator Off" to disable Download Accelerator.

Alternatively, launch your Internet browser and click the "Tools" menu. Select "Options." Select the "General" tab and uncheck the "Show Regular/Accelerated" option to disable Download Accelerator.

Uninstall Download Accelerator if you want to remove it completely. To do so, click the Windows "Start" menu and click the "Control Panel." Click "Programs" and then click "Program and Features." Scroll through the list of installed programs and click "Download Accelerator." Click "Uninstall" and click "Yes" to confirm and remove the application from your computer.

GOLD X7 NOW AVAILABLE

The Gold Collection version X7 is now available. We now feature 14,900 images with the recent addition of the Gaelic Crests-Scotland, the Scottish version of the Gaelic Crests-Ireland, advertised in the column to the left. Those wishing to upgrade their Gold may do so by emailing the office. Upgrade prices are $45.00 shipped or download with overseas shipped orders having a $10.00 additional fee to cover postage and processing.

FREE SOFTWARE FOR THE WMF FILE FORMAT

Popular Free Graphic Software Serif Draw for Windows has introduced some changes worth noting. The new free version is now called the Draw Plus Starter Edition and works with Vista and Windows 7. We should further note that when you have Serif ready to go, to open a wmf file you don't select "open", you use "insert" from file. For those who want to try it out, click on the Serif logo. Once you've downloaded the software Serif will send you an unlock code. The Serif website also has some good tutorials to help you along.

Free software for Windows and Mac. Tips: Use "open" to open a wmf file. To ungroup the image, click once on it and choose "modify" (top command bar), then select "break". To group an image you select the image with your mouse, then choose "modify" then "Group. To download software click on the Logo.

Know of other Free graphic software programs? Please let us know so that we can post it for other members to take advantage of.

The World's Leader in Heraldry Art

We are leaving this help tip up, as more and more of you are upgrading

your Corel Draw software to X3 or X4

Corel Draw has changed some default settings in X3 and X4 that can render your vector images black, do the same for your F9 preview and in the case of X4 display your image excessively dark.

Fixes:

Top Command Bar/View Select 'enhanced' and not 'enhanced with overprints';
Top Command Bar/Tools/Color Management Color Mode for Effects-should be set at RGB (not CMYK);
Top Command Bar/Tools Select 'Save Settings as default' ;
When importing AG graphics into X4, make sure you first group your image before using the F9 full screen preview (X3 imports the graphic already grouped).