Before you produce a marketing piece you may want to consider the following steps to save time and money. For over 25 years I have been helping solopreneurs and small businesses with brochures, postcards and campaigns. We guide our clients through these steps to produce stunning designs with compelling content in a timely fashion within their budgets. Here’s how we do it: Produce a Marketing Piece by Starting at the End! Ask yourself, “What is the final format that I need?” Is it printed piece, a slide show, postcard, e-mail blast, etc.? Consider the time frame for each phase of the job. How much…
Using the proper graphics file formats and resolution for the job can mean the difference between a professional-looking document and one that looks blurry or is missing graphics. Graphic file formats for the Internet and professional printing are totally different animals. Do not interchange them! Proper Graphics File Formats for the Internet Low-resolution raster graphics are used on the Internet. These graphics are made up of thousands of pixels (squares of color). Internet browsers will read JPG, PING and GIF graphics, which are best scanned at or saved to 72 PPI (pixels per inch). Because of the limits of screen…
New technological advances in computer software and printing equipment have lowered the cost of printing on certain jobs but you’re faced with high-cost decisions on whether to use 4-color printing or not. Here are 4 suggestions on ways you can save money on color printing. 1. If you need a short full-color run (usually less than 500 sheets), find a printer who offers digital color printing. By using this process, you don’t pay for negatives, make-readies, or plates, and you can print variable data (for example, addresses on post cards). The forerunners were the Xerox DocuColor, a toner-based digital color…
So you’ve finished writing your manuscript. You’ve hired an editor to edit your book and a designer to create the cover and lay out your interior. Great. Now you’re ready to print your book, so you want to compare self-published book printing options. There are two ways to have your book printed. Your choices are to have it printed conventionally or print on demand (POD). I’ll explain the differences and provide a price chart for two hypothetical books. But, before you can make your printing choice, you need to decide if you want someone to handle the printing process for you,…
How do professional designers effectively use color to enhance book covers? Vibrant colors can enhance book cover design and add an exciting dimension to your marketing materials, but no one has to tell you 4-color graphics cost a lot more to print than black and white or 2-color graphics. How do you determine when it’s cost effective to go the distance and get full color? In my experience, items such as book covers and DVD/CD packages need to sell themselves on appearance alone. Often impulse buys, these items merit vibrant colors and attention-grabbing graphics or they fade away on the…
Are you stumped by new acronyms that have suddenly popped up and become part of the current lexicon in the publishing, marketing or advertising arenas? I’ve notice new acronyms are born whenever there is a new leap in technology, such as the emerging field of ebook publishing. Here are definitions of some and newly coined and common acronyms used in self-publishing, printing and graphic design. AI — Adobe Illustrator A vector-based graphic file format developed by Adobe. BMP — Bitmap A raster-based file format. CMYK— Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black A four-ink color system used by printers to print full color images. This is…
You may want to consider printing special effects to add pizzazz to a special job. They are implemented during the “finishing” stage, and will add to the cost of your piece. Ideal jobs for these special effects are pocket folders, brochures, and invitations. Embossing Embossing uses a metal die, heat, and pressure to reshape the surface of paper. Embossing raises the image above the paper surface while debossing lowers the image. Unless combined with foils (described below), it is referred to as “blind embossing.” A small magnesium die (for example, a logo on your business card) may cost $100. You will…
Be sure to choose the right paper for your book, direct mail piece, annual report, stationery, brochure, or package design. This summary will help you make the right decision about what kind of paper to use for your printed marketing pieces. Defining Papers by Grade Grade refers to a category of paper, based on the paper’s primary use. It also represents a quality rating, from premium (the best), to #1, #2, #3, etc. By category, there are five basic grades of paper: bond, offset or uncoated book, coated book, text, and cover. Within each grade are other characteristics: brightness, opacity, bulk, color,…
“Digital printing” can be a confusing term because the word “digital” is often used in different ways. To clarify its use when printing your marketing materials, let me point out the difference between a digital and offset printer, a traditional offset press, and a direct imaging offset press. Take special note of the pricing examples below to help demystify beliefs about digital printing. Then decide for yourself which option is most cost-effective for your projects. Traditional Offset Presses Traditional offset printing uses a plate for each color on the press. Today, most plates are imaged from computer files, but in the…
Are you confused by what these letters mean? Can you define RGB and CMYK? Do you know how they affect your desktop publishing and website files? These letters represent two different color models or systems, (which are types of color definitions). RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue, with the first letter of each word represented in the acronym. RGB is an “additive color” system. Red, green and blue beams of light create the colorful images on your computer monitor. Where red and green light overlaps, you see yellow (see diagram at left). When red, green and blue mix together, you…