When we are talking about business printing, there are basically three printing processes to choose from; Letterpress, Offset and Digital. Yes Web, Flexography, Screen printing are all viable printing processes but for the average business person, the prior will be the common choices. I included letterpress in the list because over the last few years, it has been making somewhat of a comeback. Letterpress of course, is the process of running inked rollers over lead type or dies and then in a clamshell type method pressing the image onto the paper. This lends itself to a very unique “look” and that look is becoming popular with certain designers. It is especially popular in the invitation market. Letterpress can also be used for other things such as foil stamping, die cutting, numbering and scoring. However, I consider Letterpress a specialty market so I’ll spend the rest of this time comparing Offset and Digital.

The Offset printing process is pretty straight forward. A “plate” is created with a positive image on it. That plate is loaded onto the press where ink is placed on the image. The image is then transferred to a rubber “blanket”. Finally, the paper is passed between the blanket cylinder and the “impression” cylinder and the image is transferred to the paper. Originally, the plates were created from a photo negative with the image being “burned” onto the plate. Today, most printers create their plates digitally eliminating the need for a negative.

Digital printing is exactly that, a digital file is processed through a Raster Image Processor (RIP) and then sent to what looks and functions like a big copy machine. Digital printing uses toner not ink. However, these are not just color copiers. The higher end machines can produce images that are better than even the best Offset presses. These machines have options that allow them to created completed books, do folding and numbering, score, 3 hole drill, perforate and stitch all online.

The biggest difference in the two processes is without a doubt, make-ready and cleanup. With Offset, make-ready and cleanup are very time consuming and expensive and the problem is, it doesn’t matter how many, or few pieces you order, you are going to incur the full costs. This isn’t bad if you are doing large quantities the because MR costs are spread out over the job and the cost per piece comes down. But on small jobs the cost per piece is much higher. This is why you get “price breaks” for higher quantities. In the digital world, there is little to no make-ready however the run costs per piece are higher than Offset and those costs remain the same regardless of quantity, so the shorter the run, the better the price for Digital.

As stated earlier, many digital machines feature complete finishing inline. This can again reduce the cost of Digital over offset. Most Offset finishing is done off-line where you will again incur setup costs. But, in-line finishing also slows down the Digital machine therefore increasing the per piece price.

What about quality? Having run Offset presses for the majority of my life I would like to tell you that Offset quality is always better, but that’s just not true. Based on my experience in both the Offset and Digital worlds, I can say that in the majority of jobs, you can’t tell the difference. On the other hand, there are still a large number of jobs that can only be run properly on Offset. And conversely there are jobs where Digital excels. The biggest factor that affects the quality is the paper. While Offset presses can run just about any paper known to man, Digital has limitations especially in weight and texture.

So what is the best process for you? I can say definitively… it depends. If price is important to you, go Digital for small quantities and Offset for large. If you are using exotic paper go Offset. If your job requires a lot of finishing, think Digital.

Most importantly, find a printer you trust and ask him.

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As a professional printer, I have an opportunity to see customer created artwork on a daily basis. The quality of this so called artwork varies from horrid to, on very rare occasions, acceptable. Most fall on the lower third of this scale leaving the printer with the difficult job of trying to “delicately” explain to the customer that they have created “un-printable” artwork. Truthfully, nothing is un-printable, it’s just a matter of what it will look like when it is printed.
How do you create artwork that your printer can use? First let me state that the ONLY right way to produce quality art is to hire a Professional Graphic Artist. Graphic Artists have the Training, Software, Industry Experience and most of all the Talent to create high quality, high resolution artwork in the proper format for commercial printing. Yes, it will be more expensive than doing it yourself. But when you consider what your time is worth, the extra costs of the printer having to have to make adjustments and corrections to the file that you provide, and the negative impact an amateur design will have on your business, let me say it again; hire a Professional Graphic Artist!
Ok so you have heard what I said and have decided to do it yourself. Well if you must, please at least try to follow a few guidelines. First and foremost, let’s talk software. Most computers today, be it a Mac or PC come with some sort of publishing software pre-installed. You should at least start with this. If you don’t know the software, learn it. Giving a print provider a brochure created in MS Word is totally unacceptable. Additionally, by using publishing software, you will be able to “export” your artwork in a format that your printer can use, which will most likely be .pdf. Check with your printer first to find out what the best format is for them.
Next, you need to be aware of the graphics you are using. Web graphics are created at a very low resolution. This makes for faster loading and they still look good on your screen, but they do not print well. You must use graphics that were created in High Resolution. Tip: Opening a low rez. image in Photoshop and telling it to increase the resolution WILL NOT produce a high rez. image. It’s very important to remember that what you see on your screen is not necessarily what you will see when it is printed.
Finally, if you must “bleed” your artwork off the edge of the sheet, you must provide extra image for your printer as well as crop marks. So let’s say for example you are creating an 8 ½ x 11 piece and your art “bleeds” off of all 4 edges. You must provide at least 3/16 of an inch of bleed off the edges all around the sheet. Place your image so that it extends beyond the edge of the sheet by at least 3/16 of an inch. Once again, a decent layout or publishing software should provide you with the ability to do this and it should also add crop marks automatically. Make sure when you are outputting your file you tell the software to add crop marks and bleeds.
Following these three basic suggestions will at least get you started towards a more professional looking piece. None of this however is a substitute for having your artwork professionally designed. And remember; don’t expect your printer to “fix” your artwork free of charge.

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For quite some time now I have been hearing how direct mail is dead. How people prefer email and other types of direct marketing. Yet for all the tolling of the the death bells, my snail mailbox seems to be packed more and more every week with advertising.

If you’re looking for a new way to reach your potential customers maybe it’s time to look at something old but with a new spin. The US Postal Service has introduced, “Every Door Direct Mail”, EDDM for short. If you’re operating on a small budget but want something more substantial than an E-Mail blast to reach your potential customers, you really need to look at this program. With EDDM, there is no need to buy expensive mailing lists, no expensive postal permits, and the postage is only 14 .5 cents per piece. In addition, you get to narrow down your distribution to individual neighborhoods and there is no minimum quantity, although there is a maximum of 5000 pieces per day.

More and more businesses are realizing that putting something of substance into their prospect’s hands is yielding a greater returns than a mass E-Mail. And while there are certain limitations on the size of the piece and so on, a professional printer can help you design the perfect piece for your next big, or small marketing campaign.

More information on EDDM can be found here: https://www.usps.com/business/every-door-direct-mail.htm

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If you own a small business you have probably given thought to printing your own marketing materials on your desktop printer. While this practice can appear to be saving you money, it in fact can be very costly.
While nobody will argue that the output quality of desktop printers has increased by leaps and bounds over the last 10 years, these printers are still no match for commercial equipment. It’s a fact that any piece produced by a qualified commercial printer will out shine anything you can produce on your desktop machine.
Let’s look at some of the costs involved in doing your own printing.
Paper: Paper is relatively inexpensive. It’s probably the least expensive part of printing most small jobs. But too often I see people going to the box stores and purchasing expensive reams of paper that in fact are inappropriate for the job that they are planning to use it for. In a lot of cases the printer itself isn’t even capable of printing on some of these sheets.
A qualified commercial printer understands paper. They understand what grain direction, wire side and felt side mean. Commercial printers buy their paper from distributors in bulk and pay much less than what you pay at the box store.
Ink: This is where the printer manufactures get you. They are happy to sell you a $99.00 printer then hit you up for $45.00 cartridges. Even if you are using compatible cartridges, instead of the manufacture’s OEM cartridges, you’re still paying over $100.00 to replace all four cartridges. And if you are printing 100 – 200 full color 2 sided brochures; you will suck down that ink faster than you can say, “honey I need you to run to Staples”.
Waste: How many sheets do you need to get it right? How many times have you run a flyer only to realize that your phone number was wrong and you had to rerun all 200 pieces? And worse, how many times have you noticed a minor mistake after you finished printing but decided to “let it go” because you didn’t want to throw them all away?
A qualified commercial printer will go through a proofing procedure with you and if they make a mistake, they eat it, not you. A lot of them will even rerun your job at no charge or for a discount even if you made the mistake.
Time: What is your time worth? This is a cost that is too often overlooked. Doing it yourself does not mean it’s free. Whether you admit it or not, there is a cost associated with anything you do. When business is slow business owners tend to think that they can print their own jobs to save money when in fact, instead of working on printing their own marketing materials, they could be out networking or building business in other ways. Don’t devalue your time and yourself in the name of saving money.
You’ll notice throughout this blog I used the term “Qualified Commercial Printer” quite often. This is not a term I use lightly. The part-time college kid running the digital machine behind the counter at the big box store is NOT a qualified commercial printer. The best way to find a good printer is through referrals. Quality printers are easy to refer and everyone is happy to refer “their” printer. Ask around at a chamber meeting or any networking event and you are bound to get 4 or 5 recommendations.

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You’ve heard them all: “Perception is reality,” “Image is everything,” and “You don’t have a second chance to make a first impression.”

Although it’s easy to gloss over them, you can still find some truth in these adages. And with social media and text messaging, it’s tempting to talk to customers in shorthand. But prospects have so many options available to them, they want a reason not to do business with you. And a typo on your website’s homepage may be just the out their looking for. That’s why it’s important to convey professionalism in all of your business efforts. Especially with print collateral and business communications, from business forms, to invoices, an eight-page brochure or a simple email, impress your prospects…every time. Make sure to check these things off your list when proofreading your printed marketing materials and business communications:

• Double- and triple-check your contact information.
• Check dates and times, especially with newsletters, schedules and invitations.
• Review page numbers and cross-check with the table of contents.
• Check grammar and spelling. (Make sure you spell people’s names correctly, too.)
• Maintain consistency throughout the piece. If you have multiple contributors, assign one person to proofread the entire project.
• Be precise and concise; don’t use more words than necessary to get your point across.
• Avoid jargon or industry- or even company-specific acronyms – it alienates your audience.

Especially when it takes such little time to get it right, never let an unprofessional piece put your reputation at risk. Proofread, present a polished piece, and you will profit.

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If you’ve been running your marketing on auto-pilot for a while, it may be time to think about blowing the dust off your tactics.

Refresh. Retailers have been using this trick for years – by simply presenting what you offer in a new way you can inspire someone to purchase who has been “browsing” for years. So evaluate your marketing strategies and collateral pieces. Think about how you can rejuvenate your approach, the content or even the way you package a  service or product offering. Spruce up a stagnant mailing with a new theme or promotional offering. Think about a brochure redesign that will communicate your current business offerings in a new way. Look at the way your customers have bought from you in the past and see if there’s a package or bundle that makes sense. Then create a sell sheet for this new offering and add it to your sales tool kit.

Re-organize. Review your mailing lists and look for ways to segment. Create a campaign for the customers or prospects who have not done business with you for some time. Offer them an incentive to start doing business with you again. Scrub your list of the prospects that don’t convert, and start finding new names to add to your list.

Re-energize. People want to be out and about this time of year. Host an open house for your customers and prospects. Partner with strategic alliances and cross-promote to bring even more people to your event.

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When going to networking events or business meetings the first impression a potential client gets of your company is being handed your business card. Most of these cards are small rectangular pieces of thick paper with the company logo and the cardholders contact information on it. Yes, the company logo does help with making you standout in stacks of business cards but what if you did something edgier?

No one said that all business cards had to be the same shape and size so do something different. Subtle changes such as giving your card a glossy or mat finish. Want to try something daring?  Change the dimensions so that your card is a slimmer rectangle or even a square! This is a simple and inexpensive way to revamp your look for the New Year. At Signature you can get great deals on full color business cards, call us today to revamp your image!

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By Dan Bouchard

Sizing, scaling and cropping is an issue that comes up just about every day in the reprographics business. I cannot tell you how many times I have had a customer come in with a flash drive full of photos, wanting a personalized calendar printed, and they can’t understand why their vertical pictures won’t fill a horizontal page without cropping.

Then we have the customer who wants a 24 x 36 drawing reduced to “half size” 18 x 24 but doesn’t understand why it is not “half scale”.

The most important thing to remember is that when you reduce or enlarge a digital image, or any image for that matter, the percentage of change is accomplished in both the vertical and horizontal directions. Therefore, reducing a 24 x 36 architectural drawing by 50% will result in the 36 inches becoming 18 inches and the 24 inches becoming 12 inches, or a 12 x 18, NOT an 18 x 24. So, half size is not the same as 50%. If you are enlarging an 8 ½ x 11 photo by 200% you end up with a 17 x 22, not an 11 x 17. This is confusing to a lot of people. Isn’t 200% double the size? Don’t two 8 ½ by 11s make an 11 x 17? Again, 200% doubles the size in BOTH directions.

Most of the issues stem from simple terminology.  What most people consider “half size” is different than what will result from 50%. To avoid confusion, you should always predetermine the percentage of the enlargement or reduction that you require.

Sometimes, your desired effect can be achieved by cropping. Cropping can help you limit the amount of your reduction therefore maintaining the details in your image. Conversely, cropping an image you are enlarging will require a larger percentage of enlargement which may result in a lower resolution and a more pixilated image.

Your reprographer can help you with both scaling and cropping. For maximum results, bring them your unedited images at the highest resolution you can. Your 72 dpi image from your Social Media page just isn’t going to look good enlarged into a poster no matter what miracles your reprographer performs.

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By Dan Bouchard

It is a rare thing these days where a client sends a job to his or her commercial printer in anything other than a digital format. But which digital format is the best?

I would be remiss if I didn’t start out by saying that I would always recommend hiring a professional Graphic Artist to design your printed materials. You certainly can save some money doing the simple things yourself. But remember, Graphic Artists are trained in the proper use of colors, type styles and artwork in general. They have access to a vast array of professional resources including the multitude of layout and drawings programs, stock photos, special fonts and much more. If you want your printed materials to truly look professional, you should always hire a Professional Graphic Artist.

Be that as it may, a lot of clients for whatever reasons choose to do their own layout and design for simple things such as business cards, mailers and flyers. The first thing you have to remember is that there are literally thousands of computer programs that will do some sort of layout and design and no commercial printer in the world can possibly purchase and learn them all, never-mind keeping up with upgrades, patches and so on. There is however one file format that every commercial printer can work with, and that is PDF.

In today’s world, pdf has become the de facto standard of the printing industry. Every printer everywhere will accept a pdf file. However, like anything else, there are a few things you should know before just sending off a pdf. First and foremost, I highly recommend contacting your printer and asking if they have any special requirements for pdf files. Some don’t, but even so, there are a few things you can do to make sure you get a better printed piece. Convert your file to CMYK. Most low cost layout programs create files using the RGB standard. That’s fine for web based art, but if you are having it printed; make sure you convert it to CMYK. Embed your fonts and link your graphics. Nothing irritates a printer more than opening a file and finding out there are fonts or graphics missing. Not to mention, a lot of printers will charge you for this little oversight. Use only High Resolution Graphics. Those 72 dpi web graphics may look nice on your screen, but trust me they won’t look so good when printed. Be sure to create your pdf file at the proper size. I cannot tell you how many times I have received a pdf file that was intended to print at 24 x 36 but the pdf was 8 ½ x 11. Scaling a pdf up is never a good idea. Produce the pdf at the size you intend it to be printed.

PDF files are your best option when sending to a printer or service bureau. The latest versions of most layout software now offer an “export to pdf” option. You can save yourself and your printer a lot of aggravation by using this option and in the long run, that will save you money.

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By Dan Bouchard

One of the problems when planning a renovation of an older building is that the original plans for the building were most likely drawn before the “digital age”. So as an Architect, Engineer or Contractor you have been hired to facilitate a renovation and you have been handed an old set of mylars, vellums or worse, blueprints to work from. What do you do? How do you get these old drawings into a digital format for use in your CAD program?

There are three distinct options for turning paper drawings into digital. The first option is to simply redraw them in your CAD program. And although this is probably the most inefficient way of converting to digital, it is the most common. Not only is this method time consuming, but it also lends itself to errors. The second option would be to have your drawings scanned on a wide format scanner as a .tif file. (.tif by the way, is the default file format for large format scanner that most reprographers use.) You should be able to have this done for a minimal price per drawing. Most CAD programs will import .tif files as a background image. But remember, since a .tif file is a raster image and not a vector image, you will not be able to make changes to it in CAD. You can draw on top of it, but that’s all. In some cases this may be enough, but if total flexibility with the drawings is what you need, you should choose option three and have them converted to a vector file.

What is the difference between a raster and a vector file? A raster file is, simply put, a picture. It cannot be manipulated. Sure, you can bring it into a photo program and do some rudimentary editing, but you will need a steady hand and keen eye, and chances are, in the end your scale will be off. On the other hand, in a vector file all parts can be manipulated. Each line, curve, font, symbol or other part of the drawing is its own object. Grab it, move it, make it bigger, smaller, longer, shorter. Turn it, flip it or color it. Your CAD files are vector files. Digital pictures of your kids are raster files.

Converting drawings to vector files is not cheap. The going rate is between $100 and $200 per drawing depending on the complexity. But if you stop and consider the cost to have them re-drawn from scratch, you’ll see that it is a lot more economical to have them converted. You can also have these converted drawings saved in the format of your choice. Be it AutoCad, Microstation, or whatever. Most well known CAD programs are supported.

Finally, there are a number of software packages out there that claim to do raster to vector conversion. I have yet to see one that works consistently. Your best bet when having this done is to contact a professional.

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