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…
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…