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Archive for November, 2011

Prepping Pre-press Files To Avoid Printing Problems

Any changes made to a job once it’s arrived at the printer is going to cost you money! So avoid the common pitfalls found delivering prepress files to the printer. Making changes once a document has gone to the printer can be a costly mistake. Sometimes costly changes can’t be avoided like when you have a finicky client but that’s his or her dime so we won’t worry about that. Most problems come from the prepress part of the print process. This is where we as designers need to make sure we take the time to make sure our ducks are all in a row. My policy is “check it twice pay once.” Following the simple guidelines below should eliminate the majority of simple problems that can cause big hangups at the printer.

Top Ten Preflight Check List:
1 Fonts make sure that you’ve included all fonts used
I highly recommend saving a “press file” with fonts converted to outlines. This alone
eliminates many problems.

2 Links
If you are linking files make sure that you’ve included all of them.
To make things a little easier for your printer create a folder named “Links” and put all linked files inside it.

3 Include bleed
Usually 1/8″ will do for most flat items like business cards and postcards.
1/4″ for brochures booklets catalogs.

4 Include crop marks offset your crop marks by 1/4 inch so that they do not bleed into your image

5 Resolution:
Bitmap resolution = 600 dpi
Photoshop or other image files = 300 dpi CMYK

Image Resolution : It is a commonly accepted fact that the image DPI dots per inch should always be between 1.5 to 2.0 times the LPI lines per inch. For example if the LPI is 150 the DPI should be between 225 and 300. Lower resolutions cause an undesirable printout due to the fact that a lesser amount of data will be stretched into a larger spatial area. Higher resolutions do not gain in quality due to the fact that the image will only be printed using a specified amount of lines per inch LPI. If an image is scaled too high it will print in chunky or block shapes. If scaled too low then no additional quality is obtained beyond the threshold resolution of the output device.

Effective Resolution : When an image is scaled a new resolution dots per inch is calculated. This is called effective resolution and it is calculated by multiplying the image DPI times the Y scale factor.

In a Nutshell. . . Don’t scale Photoshop images up. This will make your image blurry. Make sure embedded images are 100 set to scale.

6 CMYK Convert all RGB images to CMYK! This is a must for 4color printing.

7 PMS Color If you are using spot color make sure that you are specifying the PMS colors used in your document.
Double check your color palette to make sure you are using ONLY the colors you want specified to PRINT. Extra color means Extra Cost!

8 If you’re using InDesign CS3 on both PC or Mac.
Make sure document size is the exact size of the finished piece with bleeds extending 1/8 past page edge.
Make sure all links are up to date. Window/Links
Do a Package for Printer when completed and the program will put everything into one folder. File/Package for Printer
Verify that all fonts were collected. InDesign is known for not packaging the correct fonts.
For Exmple: Helvetica Bold will be collected when you need Helvetica Condensed Bold. This is also another good reason to save a secondary file and convert all fonts to outlines.

9 Please note: For perfect bound books you will probably need to create your original document as individual pages not facing pages. You may want to consult with the printer you are using for any special setup.

10 If you’re uploading art files to an online printing source follow their specific guidelines. The most accepted format you should use is a .pdf file with any live fonts converted to outlines 1/8″ bleed and crop marks.

Here are some bonus tips if you are a new designer or a graphic designer new to freelancing or perhaps starting your own business.

If you are handling the print job as a print broker make sure that you get payment in full for the print job first. That goes for online printing or local print houses.
Print jobs can be a lot to leverage and you don’t want to get stuck holding the bag. If you are handling a design job as a print broker a better way to work is to use a printer you trust and negotiate terms with the printer before submitting the job. Mark up the project by 1015 industry standard or a fixed dollar amount. Have your printer absorb this into their estimate and have your client pay the printer directly and when the job is complete the printer can cut you a check for your percentage.

Always have an approval proof signed by your client before submitting a print job. You have to make sure that you’re behind is covered!

If you’re working with a local print house make sure that your client sees and approves a color proof before running the entire job.

Helpful printing tips by Pixel Productions Inc.

About the writer:  Chris London is the Art Director for Pixel Productions Inc. He has over 12 years experience designing product and all types of press ready files for printing in the US and China.

Things To See When Choosing A Logo Design Company

Logo is the face of your company. It is the first and foremost step in establishing corporate identity of a business. People often treat it as mere graphic symbol and dont pay enough attention to how it looks; whether or not it reflects philosophy and objective of the business or not. We are living in a world that is witnessing rapid development in all walks of life. Corporate world is welcoming new players aboard everyday. In such scenario where competition has become the key to success logo plays the role of a savior. A brilliantly designed logo has the power to set your business on the path the leads to pinnacle of success. However it is not easy to find a logo design company that can provide you with high quality results. There are myriad logo design companies that are providing clients with logo and other corporate identity related designing. Some of these are good but expensive while some are reasonable but produce runofthemill results.
Since a logo is something that a spectator would see about the company or a product it should be distinct unique and unforgettable. When a logo design company takes up designing job it ensures to incorporate all important elements to the concoction of a logo: appropriate colors philosophy of the product/business and communicativeness. A good logo design company becomes best when it learns the art of adding communication to the designs. Whether it logo or stationary or website each step in the ladder of distinct corporate image should synchronize with other. It does not matter if a logo design company is working on the corporate identity of the business or product from the scratch.
There are certain things that should be identified in a logo design company before selecting one. First thing that one must see is the logo design portfolio which is available with the design company. Most of the logo design companies have made their portfolios available on their website. Spent some time to take a look at the portfolio; this small exercise will save you from further problems. The portfolio will let you summarize the capabilities of the designers. Reviewing portfolio will help you to decide whether or not you should utilize services of that logo design company.
Rates are an important aspect you must check out before giving you critical job in the hands of the logo design company. Designing is a specialized field and requires money for research and study. There are many logo design companies that offer their services for extremely easyonpocket rates but this attraction makes you weep for all the days to come. Corporate designing is an investment that you make to take your business to new heights; ensuring that it soars amongst your competitors.
Third step in the quest of finding a professional logo design agency is to see if your logo design company takes you in confidence during the phase of creating your designs. This way you will know how your design moulds from idea into reality. Transparency will save from further hassle of amendments that you might need otherwise.
Always ascertain if the company has refund policy. Refund policy means the company is sure about its performance quality and turnaround time and is confident that the client will never turn down the job completely.
Also make sure that you get original work in the name of designs. There are numerous logo design companies that take inspiration from the work of other companies to the extent of copying. You business/product can bear serious consequence of thisinspiration if you are unable to detect. Professional logo design companies inspire their own brains. Trusting average design companies can be really disastrous to business/product.
You have to know what you want from your logo and convey your ideas to the design company with absolute lucidity. Your logo or other corporate designs must be created keeping in view the consumers and their choices. A consumer would like to see precise make sense logo. If your logo design company fails in producing the desired results then your entire effort time and money will go in vain.
Very few logo design companies offer all of the mentioned qualities. If it is reasonable it would not provide with quality or might not be fast. There are certain logo design companies that hire novice designers to work on crucial corporate designs. However there is one logo design company that doesnt compromise on anything. Infinity Logo Design provides its clients with exclusive portfolio that lists the logos we have created for our clients. Though we are engaged in extensive research unlike other companies we charge our clients very reasonably. Reasonable rates let all and sundry to use our services. We believe in keeping our clients abreast with the developments in their jobs. This practice prevents us from future hassle of modifications. Winning our clients is more important to us. Therefore we have introduced refund policy on the logo design; though in the entire history of Infinity Logo Design we have ever needed to refund money to our clients. They have always loved the results. Some of them have become our lifetime members while others drop by occasionally. High quality deigns reasonable rates and fastest turnaround time with 24/7 customer services have made Infinity Logo Design one of the most preferred design service amongst people.

About the writer:  Cindy Flores is in graphic field around 1 decade with an extensive experience in all kind of logo designs developing websites and other designs.He has been involved in variety of work and giving training in graphic designlogo design and web design.

Back To Basics: The Five Pillars Of Increasing Website Traffic

Theres a simple idea in the world of online marketing that everyone agrees with: more people seeing your website = more potential customers = more business. But beyond this basic point agreement among internet knowhows tends to go out the window. Everyone has an opinion on the best way to increase website traffic and surprisingly not many of them agree.

There are probably many reasons for this lack of agreement. But there are definitely two big ones. The first reason most online advicegivers dont agree on how to increase web site traffic is that theres not one fixed way to go about it. Website traffic can be increased in a handful of different ways.

The second reason as youve probably noticed is that most people giving advice have something theyd like to sell you. They want to sell you a solution and their advice needs to be related to what theyre selling.

Whether or not these sales people have your best interest in mind is open to question. But whats not open to question is the fact that there ARE many different ways to increase website traffic.

And of these many ways there are 5 that have a history of being very reliable and effective. Not only do these 5 methods have a high performance record but at least one of these five is essential for anyone that wants to have a regular flow of new customers to their web site. And the good news is 4 of these 5 methods can be done with little or no money.

If youre serious about bringing more traffic to your website and tired of wading through online advice take some time to consider these 5 timetested ways before you invest another minute:

1.Search Engine Optimization SEO This is probably the most recommended way to increase web site traffic. And for good reason: it works. Having your website atop search engines like Google and Yahoo! is a sure fire way to bring people to your site. Where this method often gets confusing is in the number of different ways that people suggest doing it. Some tell you to use your keywords often in the text of your web page. Some tell you to put your keyword phrase in the alternate text of your images. Others tell you that the key to a high searchengine ranking is to have other related sites link to your site. And all of this advice is correct. There are other steps to take as well but the problem is not many sites give you all of the needed steps in an organized way. Ive included a link below with a detailed explanation of all of these steps.

2.Newsletters A newsletter is nothing more than a series of prewritten emails that are sent to people who request them from a form on your web site. There are a few tools like auto responders that help make this task easy and efficient. Newsletters are a very powerful because they give you an opportunity to build credibility and make repeat customers out of the customers you already have.

3.Article Directories Article directories are websites that take submitted articles and store them in a data base so online magazines and newsletters can use them for publication. The exchange that takes place is this: you write an article and allow any website to publish your article. In return they are obliged to leave your name and email address in the byline of the article. When your article is published online a link to your site is also published and potential customers who read your article are likely to come see your website. If your article is published in multiple online sources a link to your site is also published in multiple online sources. A well written article can be picked up over and over again. In the end youll have a regular source of new customers without spending anything more time than it takes to write the article.

4.PayPerClick Advertising PPC PPC advertising like search engine optimization is also a very talkedabout way of bringing traffic to a site. The idea here is that search engines advertise your business web site and you pay a particular fee each time someone clicks on your link and comes to your site. All of the major search engines like Google Yahoo! and MSN have PPC advertising programs. Depending on the market youre selling to PPC can be a very profitable way to bring interested customers to your site. On the down side its the only one of these five ways that is sure to take some kind of money investment.

5.Improving Your Website This sounds very basic but its often overlooked. It doesnt do a lot of good to bring potential customers to your website if your site is not ready to serve them. Any profitable website needs to be attractive easytouse and professional. Making sure your site has all three of these traits will go a long way towards making the most of the people that do see your site.

By taking some time to consider the 5 methods above youll not only be familiar with the 5 most proven ways to increase traffic. But youll also have a way to measure and organize the other trafficincreasing advice you find online.

In the end making an informed effort to increase website traffic is never a bad idea. It can lead to better business exposure. It can lead to a huge increase in customers. And it will definitely lead you to more profitable and productive online business.

About the writer:  Eli Pedelty is a website traffic specialist that has made a career out of helping business owners turn their websites into a profitable aspect of overall business. If you think you could benefit from a more detailed explanation of the 5 methods mentioned above signup for his free 5lesson course Direct Methods for Increasing Web Site Traffic at his site EliPedelty.com Increase Web Site Traffic.