Re: Probably really stupid question
If you do your artwork in Illustrator, select all, go to Filter - Colours and then down to Convert to greyscale problem should be partly solved. Then it is really only picking a shade of grey that you want to give the art work some definition and then the next step is up to you really. If your artwork is only for the local newsletter and is not being printed in a professional CMYK machine but only your local print shop which uses a commercial laser I would go to file Save for the Web and then select Gif when the Image Ready menu comes and make sure transparency box is ticked. If your newsletter on the on the other hand is sent to commercial printers you have to stay in the CMYK colour mode and you would go along with the first part of the instructions and then go to Object down to Ratersise then check 300 dpi and if the paper being used or the background the artwork is going onto is not white also tick the transparent box.
The great advantage of doing this type of work in a vector package you can change things very quickly and still have the original saved in its full colour ready to be used again where in paint package this is slightly different you have to scroll back through the history. Before anyone says anything I know that saving your file as a PDF will do for sending to the printer but it will not give the transparent background unless it is taken in to a DTP programme like InDesign or PagePlus whick accept PDF
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