Print Design TipsTips and Information About Printing

Ever wondered just what a printer or designer mean when they start using terminology?

Here is a brief guide for you to understand the difference between your ells and leadings.

AA’s

Author Alterations – ussually changes made by you as the customer during or after the proofing process and as such billable to you as extra work performed – plan your work carefully beforehand and be meticulous at the proofing stage to avoid a nasty shock with the bill.

Actual Weight 

This is the actual weight of the paper used and it is used to determine the price for shipping as well as the purchase price for the paper itself – you may see different terms such as basic weight or basic size when planning your project and they mean different things so ask your print partner exactly what they mean and what they are using.

Bleed

This is where an image runs off the side of the paper – a technique that can concentrate the attention of the reader but does result in greater costs at the printing stage – the bleeds are created by trimming the paper to size (which increases the cost because of the extra labor and extra paper size).

DPI or Dots Per Inch

This is the number of dots which fit horizontally and vertically into a square inch of printing – the higher the DPI the greater the detail that can be presented including color differentiation.   A higher DPI is needed for graphics and photographic replication than for simple printed text jobs and the cost increases generally with a higher DPI.

Em Space

This is a lateral space equal to the width of the letter “m” – equally there is the En space for the letter “n” – these spaces are used in typography and typesetting.

Finish

Refers to the finish of the paper used – there are various types of finishes depending on your budget and the use to which the piece will be put.  You can have an embossed finish, felt, smooth or vellum, calendering,  papermaking and many others – ask your printing partner for a selection of finishes which they will usually have as a sample book.

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Direct mail is one of the most popular and most effective marketing methods there are today.

The ubiquitous mass mailings clogging up the letterboxes of America are not happening because it is a fun way for businesses to spend the marketing budget but precisely because it is so effective and so easy to arrange.

Thinking about how popular this method is and how frustrating it can be for the recipient, you have your work cut out for you in making this marketing method work and work well.

Direct mailing is an opportunity for you to present your business to the world on a huge scale for little more than the cost of stamp and in terms of the size of a mass mailing, the cost per unit for design and printing is miniscule – the postage and materials will dominate the budget but in order to keep the mailing from ending up in a recycling bin or the trash invest some time in making your offering stand out.

The Outer Wrapping is Crucial

The envelope you use is vital – it needs to carry the message in a very readable manner so the recipient gets the jist of what is being sent; many people will simply throw the envelope and contents away but many will also keep it for opening later if it has something of interest to them.

You must find an experienced print and design professional who has experience of direct mailings with this – the experience they have will be worth your entire marketing budget for this project.

AIDA 

Direct mail relies on a very basic sales axiom – AIDA.

Create Attention – Generate Interest – Lead to a Decision – Finally Action

Your mailing needs to create attention from the moment it hits the letter box – generally, using plain envelopes doesn’t work because if you try to trick the recipient that the mailing is official (and usually they can spot if it isn’t right off the bat) then you have already set up a negative mark against yourself – use teh envelope to create attention and continue this in the contents – Big and Bold is the key.

This leads on to generating interest – use words and phrases such as, “Low-Cost”, High Quality”, “Huge Savings”, “More Time” – extreme adjectives dealing with maximizing benefits and minimizing negatives – these are great for generating interest.

Then comes guiding the recipient to a decision – to do this you make a conditional offer – “Reply in 7 days for 30% OFF!” – they get something for nothing by responding now, say a 10% discount for picking up the phone and ordering today or a free gift or double the quantity of the product and this ties directly into performing the action you require to make a sale.

Going out to eat is one of the great pleasures in life and the window onto what an eatery has to offer is, of course, the menu.

For restauranters, the menu is crucial but so many menus fail to deliver either the information in a readable and easily identifiable way or just as bad, fail to convey the atmosphere and tone, that ambience, which is so vital in creating an enjoyable dining environment which creates repeat business and restaurant success.

Strive for Clarity

Most menus fail to achieve clarity and by this we mean the food and drink choices are easily found and understood but also the overall message and personality of the venue is carried on through in a unified theme.

Almost every menu has too many words - take any menu and cut the word number in half and you will automatically improve that menu – take whatever yours is and try to cut out all the extraneous wordage making it more direct and compelling with respect to your dining offering.

This makes it easier for the customer to understand what is available and also with yoru servers efforts at cross-selling other food, sides, desserts and drinks.

Typeface & Font

The print on a menu should never be too small to read but you also must take into account the lighting when a customer is likely to be reading the menu – if the venue enjoys bright light that’s fine but if it is providing a more intimate experience with reduced lighting or candlelight then it is imperative a customer can be able to read what is before them.

Never use less than 12 point typeface – anything less is going to be difficult to read for many customers under any conditions.

Making sure you have a font style in keeping with your ambience and personality is also important but again, many customers look to the weird and wonderful fonts available as a means of distinguishing themselves from other competitors – only to end up with frustrated diners quizzing the servers over what is meant!

Menus Change

Depending on your clientele and the market you are in, your menu is going to change no matter who you are but how you effect these menue changes will have a direct impact on how you present the menu to your customers.

Having a card based menu which needs to be reprinted every time you have a menu item or price change is going to be expensive and perhaps only suitable for higher-end eateries.  For mid-range dining establishments, a folder with inserts is probably a better option so each insert only needs to be changed and not the entire menu.