Most folks know that color printing is more expensive than black & white printing. However, many don't know that the software they are using to create their projects (such as word processing or graphic design software) may assign a color other than black to content/text they think they are setting … [Read more...] about Money-Saving Tip: Convert to Grayscale
Tip: converting to PDF
If you want your document, artwork, postcard, flyer, business card, etc. to print correctly, the best way to make that happen is to learn how to create a print-ready PDF and also to review it carefully before submitting it to your printer. We've talked in the past about creating PDF/X-1a compliant … [Read more...] about Tip: converting to PDF
Client files: the 3 most common design problems
Some of our clients are graphic designers who more often than not send us perfect, print-ready files. (Thanks, folks!) Some of our clients know absolutely nothing about design, and they depend on us to conceptualize and produce their projects from start to finish. Other clients fall in the middle. … [Read more...] about Client files: the 3 most common design problems
Things to know when color is really important
Most of our customers aren't particularly picky about matching colors. As long as their logo prints close to navy blue or periwinkle, or whatever color they use, they are generally happy. However, some clients are extremely concerned about matching colors perfectly -- every time their logo (or … [Read more...] about Things to know when color is really important
Common card and matching envelope sizes
It's nice when you create a piece that fits perfectly in an envelope. Here are some common size combinations for cards and envelopes to match them. If your art has bleeds you'll need to set your art up properly with extensions and trim marks. (Here our bleed settings are 0.125 in.) Cards and … [Read more...] about Common card and matching envelope sizes
Fonts (again!)
It's the biggest problem we face with documents/art/files which are supplied or sent to us by our customers, so I'm covering the "Fonts" topic again! Here's the basic issue... If the computer that sends the file to the press or printer -- that means one of our machines -- does not have every … [Read more...] about Fonts (again!)
Tip: camera settings
You can't take a small, low-resolution photo and turn it into a poster. It just won't work. It will pixilate and become blurry. So if you want to make a poster out of one of your favorite photos, start with a high resolution image. The higher the resolution of your photograph or digital file, the … [Read more...] about Tip: camera settings
Tip: how to set up for bleeds
We've covered this issue before (read more here), but it's nice to rehash things every once in while as not everybody knows how to search our blog for prior posts and tips. First, let's go over what a bleed is. Bleed is a term that refers to printing that goes beyond the edge of the sheet. It's … [Read more...] about Tip: how to set up for bleeds