Minneapolis Commercial Printing and Design
(artwork needs to be print-ready—pdf, eps or hi-res jpg, full color both sides, glossy, matte or uncoated, cards are not for consumption)
Posted in Specials | Leave a commentSmall print: you supply a high resolution (600dpi) print-ready pdf. Customer pick-up only
Posted in Specials | Leave a comment
Fall Special runs from 9/19/2011- 11/30/11
1 color imprint only. Choose from Blue; Green; Purple; Red; Smoke pen
colors. Imprint area is 1-5/16″ x 3/4″. Imprint colors are Gold; Silver;
White. Please include print-ready pdf of your company logo. No
substitutions
In response to those of you who have said my blogs are pedestrian and uninspired, I am compiling a list of useful tips I have accumulated over the 20 or so years in the printing industry. Heed this advice, learn these facts and hand them down through generations of artsy designer-types.
I offer these tips in one sentence, snippet-style, for quick reference likers and those with short attention spans.
Photo from Flickr: iboy_daniel (Doug Wilson)
1. Buy your Pantone books on eBay. You’ll save HUGE and look cool to you clients. A little printing ink smudge looks like you’ve been to plenty of press checks!
2. Buy a micrometer. It’s a quick way to tell paper thickness. And another way to look cool.
3. When selecting a paper, DON’T RELY ON YOUR PAPER SWATCHBOOKS! Most times if a paper doesn’t sell, it’s discontinued. These swatchbooks rapidly become outdated. Most designers pick a really cool paper, only to find out it’s no longer available. Ask your Printer to recommend something. They usually have a good idea as to what’s readily available.
4. Google Image Search. Looking for inspiration? Just Google it. Want to design a poster in the style of a French Bistro? Just Google “French Bistro Poster” and Voila!
5. Looking for a client’s logo and can’t use the crappy, 72 dpi image from their website? Try searching their site for any pdf’s. Most often their vectorized logo will be a part of the pdf and easily extracted via Adobe illustrator.
6. Need to know how to do something in any of the Adobe design programs? Google your question! Somebody’s similarly stumped somewhere and has a simple solution
7. Flickr.com is a great resource for photography.
8. Most every online print provider will have downloadable templates on their sites. Find brochure, envelope, postcard, door hanger templates and more
Check “Helpful Tips for Graphic Designers, Part 2” next week for more!!
Time for another question from the email bag.
“Dear PrinterPete,
Why is online printing so damn cheap?”
–Susan Thomas, age 7
Well Susan, there are many reasons. First off, let me introduce you to the wonderful concept of..
Sounds nasty, right? It’s actually the secret behind all of those online printers’ great pricing. (folks like VistaPrint, OvernightPrints, etc)
Here’s how it works. Bob’s Printing in Los Angeles, CA is trying to think of ways to exploit the HUGE potential for online print orders. They dump a whole buttload of money into a fancy interactive website and market the bejeezus out of it through Google ad words, banner ads on porn sites, etc. They sit back and watch the other orders roll in, one after another.
They wait until they have about 50 orders for business cards. Bob then takes each order, places it on a giant press sheet (about 2 feet wide by 3 feet long) and starts the press. The next day they’re cut up and shipped out.
The beauty of this concept is the PROFIT. Bob can sell cards at $15 for 500 and still make some money. Think of it this way, $15 x 50 orders for cards = $750. That MORE than covers the cost for one measly press run. Bob’s loves this new concept. That’s why Bob now has Phil, Jeff, Tony and Phyllis taking their Print Shops online.
This is a good concept. PrinterPete offers the same thing. It’s really great for people who don’t mind a little color variance in their business cards and can wait 5-6 days to get their stuff.
Here’s the downside…
First of all, Bob’s concept is counting on the fact that you know what a bleed is, what crop marks are and how to set-up your files in CMYK. If you don’t have your sh*t together, Bob will charge you another $20 to set up your file correctly. Did I mention shipping? Gas ain’t cheap these days. Getting your business cards sent out is going to cost you somewhere in the $10-15 range. Many times Bob will add a little something to the shipping cost. It also takes time to accumulate orders for 50 business cards. That’s why you may have to wait 5,6, or 7 days. Sometimes longer if you’re ordering a special stock.
Yes, there’s digital cards. You’ll get them the next day. The quality’s still not quite as good as running them on press. It really depends on your artwork, and ultimately your preference.
So, Susan, the gang-run concept is good for some folks. Just keep an eye on the “extras” (file set-up, shipping, wait time, etc)
PrinterPete
Posted in Printing Stuff | | Leave a comment
