How do I check for proper imposition or backup?
"Imposition" and "backup" refer to how the front of a printed piece is oriented to the back. In the case of a brochure, you normally turn it over right-to-left (like you turn the page of a book) in order to have the back side read correctly -- not upside down. Seems simple until you get to a postcard where one side is laid out in landscape (horizontal) orientation and the other side in portrait (vertical) orientation. We use our best judgment when imposing a job so that it backs up in the most natural or normal manner. Some designs, however, contain both portrait and landscape elements on both sides making it difficult to make a clear call. When reviewing your proof online, we will always post the front and the back in the orientation that they will print in relation to each other. So, if page 2 appears upside down, that is how it will be printed on the back of page 1. (Some people want it that way so that the recipient of the piece must turn it over top-to-bottom in order to read it correctly.) Be sure to print out a copy of your online proof and attach the two sides to each other to create a "mockup" or "dummy." This is especially important when a job will be folded.
Do I need to impose my business cards 8-up or 10-up if they will be printed morethan 1 to a sheet?
No, send us a single layout for each card of your job unimposed. We will handle any imposition needed on our end.
How should I take pictures with my digital camera?
Digital cameras are wonderful tools that allow us to capture our images in many different ways. The camera is designed to actually take three pictures; one in red, one in green and the other in blue (similar to the way a projection TV works). It then combines the colors together and saves the image onto the picture card. It is very important to make sure that the camera is set to the highest quality setting possible. This means that if you can only save one image on the picture card instead of 12, 64 or 128 images, then this is good! You want to create the best quality picture that the camera can make. This will mean large file sizes and slow downloads from the camera itself, but it will get you the best possible results from your camera. Remember, images should be at 300dpi in their final size in the layout!More often than not, we notice that images that come from digital cameras print darker than expected on the printing press. Check to see if you have a brightness option in your image editing program to lighten the entire piece. If you have the opportunity to change the color space from RGB (red, green, blue) to the printing press colors of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black), then do so! It is always better to have you change the color space if you can than for us to do it. Remember, not all colors that you can see that are created by elements of light (RGB) can be created by the elements of ink (CMYK) on press. If you do not have this capability with your software, do not worry about it. We can change it for you. Finally, we recommend that you apply a little sharpening to the image. This will make the image a little crisper and will print better on press.
How can I tell what resolution the image from my digital camera is?
Some digital cameras will let you know what the image resolution is while others will tell you what the pixel dimensions of your image are. If you know what the pixel dimensions of your images are, either from the camera itself or through the image editing software, you can do a little math to determine the resolution and the size you can print the image at for clear and crisp printing. Simply write down the pixel dimensions of your image and divide those numbers by 300, if the image does not include text, and 400 if the image does include text. For example: An image without any text has a pixel dimension of 600 x 900 pixels. Once each dimension is divided by 300 the result is 2 x 3 inches. This means that you can use this image at 2 x 3 inches or smaller in your layout for quality printing results.
If your image editing software does not tell you what the pixel dimensions are but it does tell you what the resolution is, then you know the maximum size you can use that image in your layout. We recommend that images be at 300dpi in their final size in the layout and 400dpi if the images include text. Please keep in mind that resolution and physical dimensions are in direct proportion to each other. If you have an image that is 2x2 at 300dpi and increase its size in the layout to 4x4 the new resolution is now 150dpi. So remember, when you bring an image in to your layout you can shrink it down in size (because the resolution will increase) but you will be limited as to how far you can increase it in size.
What is your turnaround time on business cards or postcards?
Approximately 3-5 business days from date of approval from the client.
What is meant by bleed?
Bleed is the area outside the trim area of a document in which graphical elements are printed. This area is then trimmed off, resulting in color going all the way to edge of the piece. If you didn't bleed elements and instead placed them up to the boundaries of the trim area, irregularities encountered during cutting might produce a piece where a thin line of unprinted stock shows along one or more edges. And that could ruin the overall effectiveness of the card's design. Standard bleed is 1/8 inch.
I need cards but I can't design them myself. Can you help?
Yes, we specialize in custom design cards. We offer design services for an additional fee. You will receive 3 sets of text changes in the original setup, all future text or other changes are not included with the initial design setup charge.
What is meant by linescreen?
Simply put, linescreen is how tightly the individual printing dots that make up a printed piece are placed on the paper. A fine linescreen, like we use, minimizes the appearance of the dots resulting in a smoother image.
What is meant by CMYK?
Full color printing is generally done with only four colors; cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. CMYK is just another way to say process, or full color, printing. All elements to be printed must be separated into the four color channels. Scanned color images are RGB. At some point, they must be separated; either automatically on the scan or manually in an image editing program.
TELEPHONE: 512-757-5786
MOBILE: 512-787-9154
