PrintRoundTable

Bound to Be Print Perfect

Filed under Custom Printing Tips and Guidelines , OnlinePrinting - Marketing Tips For Small Business

The “perfect” print job is an elusive thing, perhaps even a mythological object. But there are steps that you can take to help your bound print job to be closer to perfect. Crossovers, bleed, creep, examples and asking questions are key in making your print job successful. In the end, much of what goes into trying to make your print job successful is communication. • Crossovers. Crossovers are when an image or text is going to literally “cross over” to the next signature. If the print piece is going to have crossovers, check with your printing company where the guide and gripper will be located. This will help you to keep your cross over area as close as possible to the guide and gripper. The reason for doing this is that the guide and gripper area of the press is the area that will experience the least amount of paper stretch and press bounce. Just be sure to keep in mind that you should avoid splitting a word in half from one page to the next signature. • Bleed. Bleed is the portion of an image that runs off the page. When printing, it is impossible to make sure that every single sheet in the print job is perfectly aligned to each other. It’s recommended to always include at least a 1/16" bleed on simple trim jobs and 1/8" on others. Due to variance in sheet size and variance in print position on the sheet, adding the correct bleed will make sure the entire job will appear to be lined up perfectly when it’s time to cut. • Creep. In the print world, creep doesn’t refer to a person. Creep refers to when the inside pages or signatures creep away from the spine of your binding job. Creep occurs due to the increased thickness at the spine, as caused by the multiple layers of paper. This is especially important to remember when the binding is saddle-stitching. When creep happens, this causes the text and images on the inside of the spreads to push out and cut off. To compensate for creep, take care to gradually narrow the gutter margins on each page. Start on the outside pages and finish on the inside spread. The creep amount you will need to counteract can be determined from a sample or dummy binding job from the same stock on which the actual job will be printed. • Examples. A finished example with notations can be crucial when submitting your job to a print company. A way in which to build a finished example is imaging the job from start to finish as if you are seeing it freshly, or for the very first time. If the job doesn’t have page numbers, pencil them in on the example. Get a second opinion by sharing the example with a set of “fresh eyes” to make sure that the example demonstrates how the final product should be bound. • Ask Questions. Ask questions as early and as often as possible. Starting at the concept stage, check with your print company or bindery and consult with them. They should guide you on how to best create the project for printing and binding. The print company or bindery can also have suggestions as to how costs can be kept down. By checking with the subject-matter experts, you can hopefully avoid making the simple and easy to catch mistakes before it’s too late (and more costly). Ultimately, much of what goes into trying to make your print job as perfect as possible is communication. By maintaining contact with your print company or bindery house you can help to ensure that all parties involved are on the same page and that your project is (almost) print perfect.  

Why You Need To Let It Bleed

Filed under Custom Printing Tips and Guidelines

In print production, when someone mentions the word "bleed," it doesn't mean that they just received the paper cut to end all paper cuts. Bleed is a term used to refer to ink that runs all the way to the edge of a trimmed page. If the print design calls for ink to extend to the edge of the paper (the "trim"), then the ink is "bleeding" off the page, and a bleed needs to be built into the document before it’s released for printing. Why is bleed important? Let’s use a business card as an example. After all, almost everyone has one and practically everyone has seen one.    Figure 1: Examples of business cards When it comes time to print off a business card, the print service provider doesn't have a small printer that is specially made for business cards, and neither does the printer hand-feed each business card-sized piece of paper one at a time. Also, it’s not as though a business card is printed on one sheet at a time, either appearing in the middle of a piece of paper or aligned to the left or right. Multiple copies of the card are printed at once for what is called a press sheet. This press sheet is then trimmed down to its final size (the standard size of 3.5” x 2”). This is why having a bleed and a trim, as well as a safe line, are important to the print process.   Figure 2: Example showing an image (the stock photography) that bleeds past the trim or cut line Trimming is the finishing process that cuts the printed piece down (literally) to the correct final size. Since this process is mechanized, building in a margin of error for both the printing and trimming processes will help the final product. When building to the correct trim size, make sure that the image or the flat color extends beyond the trim limits by making the edges extend beyond the edges of the appropriate frames to allow for sufficient bleed. Usually, the bleed extends one-eighth of an inch (0.125 inch or 9-points) past the trim line.   Figure 3: The bleed line, the trim or cut line, and the safety line in a business card template. The amount of bleed that the print project will need depends on the page size, the type of project it is, and how it will be printed, but typically the one-eighth of an inch size is good for most. A print service provider more often than not can reduce the amount of bleed but can’t extend it. Keep in mind that, on average, roughly 90% of what goes to a standard press is printed on oversized sheets. Printers order paper in different sizes, like 23” x 35”, for example. When the paper is cut down to what is called run size, the paper is 8.75” x 11.5”, which is then trimmed to 8.5” x 11” post-printing. Make sure any artwork for projects like business card printing have the right bleed and trim lines. This will help to ensure that the finished product is as close to perfect as possible. Always remember: when it comes to printing, sometimes you need to let it bleed. At My1Stop.com we offer templates that show you where the bleed lines should be on most products offered.

Green Printing

Filed under Printing Industry Events

Throughout the world there is an ever rising trend to go green. No matter what you do, there is a way to do it in a more eco-friendly manner. When it comes to the printing business, there are many opportunities to incorporate green practices. Contact My1Stop to learn about the many ways to incorporate green practices into your printing needs. Paper: Think about all the paper you use; printing paper, pads, business cards, folders, brochures and so much more. When you add it all up, that’s a lot of paper and a lot of trees. There are many ways to reduce your environmental impact in the printing business. One way is to use recycled paper. Recycled paper is not new, but is being implemented by more and more people and businesses as the fight for the environment becomes more mainstream. Ink: Using recycled paper is just the start. In order for your printing to really be considered green, you need to eliminate the use of conventional petroleum based inks. During the dying process, petroleum based inks emit harmful Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) into our environment. Aside from the effect they have on the environment, VOC’s can also have negative effects on your health. A great alternative to conventional ink is vegetable based inks; the most popular being Soy-based. Studies have shown that Soy-based inks emit 82% less VOC’s then petroleum based ink. Another benefit is that it is easier to remove soy-based ink from paper during the recycling process. This leads to brighter and overall higher quality recycled paper. Here are some GREEN statistics: - 35% of the worldwide wood harvest ends up as paper - The United States threw out 20% of all paper made in the world - 1/5 of all the tropical rainforests in the world disappeared between 1960 and 1990. - Only 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh - America and Europe have less than ½ of their original forest cover. - It takes approximately 31 million BTU’s to make a ton of paper, which is enough energy to power a home for 2 months. Contact us to learn about the many ways to incorporate green practices into your printing needs.

CMYK vs. RGB

Filed under Custom Printing Tips and Guidelines

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (black). The CMYK is a color model used in color printing. It is also commonly referred to as Four-Color or Process Color. The process of applying CMYK colors is usually implemented in the order of the acronym. The CMYK color model works by partially or entirely masking different colors, typically on a white background. This model is also called a subtractive method because the inks subtract the brightness from the white background. The CMYK color model is used for print material. It functions by using the ink to display different colors. The other type of color model is called RGB. RGB stands for Red, Blue, and Green. As opposed to the CMYK model, the RGB color model is an additive model. It is classified that way due to the fact that the colors, (red, blue, and green) are added together in various ways to achieve a wide array of colors. The RGB color model is used for computer, or digital displays. Computers usually display RGB using 24-bit color. The colors in the RGB model are much brighter that the CMYK model. At some point in the design process your images must be converted from RGB to CMYK in order to be able to print the images. However, not all colors are able to be transferred from RGB to CMYK. Those colors are said to be “out of the CMYK color gamut.” There are many different software programs that will convert RGB to CMYK. Some colors convert very well and some do not. Typically the brighter the color the harder it is to convert. An example of that is: An example of colors that are transferred at a better quality are:

Print Products and Your Corporate Image

Filed under Custom Printing Tips and Guidelines

Given the importance of having a digital presence, particularly on the Internet, are printed materials still important for the image of your business? They absolutely are when you consider them in the framework of basic client contact How many times have you been asked for your business card? Although contact with your or your business is likely continued via email or telephone, the initial point of contact can still be via print. Face to face meetings with prospective clients aren’t quite complete without the exchange of business cards – in some cultures, having a business card is essential to conducting business. It can even be an insult not to receive one! It is still worth the investment to make sure that you not only have a business card, but that the card stock, the typesetting, whether or not it is one or more colors, even whether or not it is embossed or printed vertically or horizontally, best represents your corporate image. It should be an extension of your business and part of your branding, and even tied into ongoing marketing efforts where possible. Another important print item is leave behinds: your company brochure, or datasheet, or even a catalog, items that you can not only mail to prospective clients but can take with you on a sales call or have available at a tradeshow or convention. While digital or desktop publishing has made the distribution of these materials easier, actually holding a colorful and informative brochure still carries great impact. Of course, it’s great to tell a client that you will email them an electronic version of the brochure, but it is also beneficial to have a print version on hand for them to look through on the plane or to share with colleagues. And there is an added benefit of a print catalog – the free advertising that your company will get just from being carried around the convention floor by prospects! With more and more of what was traditionally printed being digitized, it is still important to have print items. Everything from the look to the literal feel of your print materials helps to cultivate your business and is still valuable for marketing your company. Digital media hasn’t taken over yet – it’s a compliment to the print materials you use in your day to day business, as well as for special events.  

Custom Labels

Filed under Custom Labels

Are you looking for a way to increase your brand visibility or to make your products more appealing? Then custom labels may be the way to go. Custom labels can help increase brand awareness by leaving the customer with a quality image or message to help associate the targeted product with your brand. There are many different applications for custom labels. You can use custom labels from custom decals for bottles to custom sheets of stickers. Custom labels can be used for a variety of products. The following is a list of common applications for custom labels: 1. Asset tags – Asset tags are used to label any of your fixed assets including laptops, printers, PDA’s, PC’s, and much more. 2. Bottle Labels – Bottle labels are used to place a custom label of your design on any type of bottled product. Labels can be printed in any color or size. 3. Die Cut labels – Die cut labels are pressure sensitive labels on a release liner, where the matrix, or waste between labels, usually have been removed. Some common uses of die cut labels are CD labels, certificate or award emblems, fabric identification labels, and much more. 4. Digital Labels – Digital labels are the perfect fit if your project is of small quantity and needs very quick turnaround. Digital labels can be used for just about anything. 5. Fanfold Labels – Fanfold labels are die cut, helping to provide clean, round cornered squares and rectangles with spacing between each label. 6. Full Color Labels – Full color labels come in over 40 standard sizes and can be printed on one or both sides. 7. Graphic Overlays – Graphic overlays are computer generated text or graphics that are superimposed onto video or print. 8. Name Plates – Name plates display prominent graphics and colors that help a customer identify your product or company. 9. Packaging Labels – Packaging labels are most often used for shipping, but can also be used for other purposes such as UPC barcodes. 10. Parking Permits –Parking permits are created based upon your design onto hangtags, bumper decals, or window stickers. They are easily made and the turnaround time is quick. 11. Pre-sized Labels – Pre-sized labels come in a variety of commonly used shapes and sizes. Some common uses are mailing and shipping labels, carton labels, packaging labels, address labels and more. 12. Product Labels – Product labels are a great way to identify your product or company logo. They come in all shapes and sizes and can be designed specifically for your product. 13. Roll Labels – Roll labels are a great way to print a large number of identical labels. By using the roll method you are able to create a large number labels very efficiently. 14. Square Cut Labels – Square cut labels can be designed for more then 144 different sizes. A popular use of these labels is to cover up mistakes made on expensive material or to fit an odd space on a particular product. 15. Warning Labels – Warning labels do just what their name alludes to. They can be basic warning labels, to custom labels such as an OSHA warning label.