Print Design TipsTips and Information About Printing

Using images and designs in your document can make or break the impression it creates.  With the advent of desktop publishing, anyone with a printer and computer felt they could now take their monthly newsletter in-house and wow their staff  and colleagues with computer know-how.  Unfortunately, many have felt that they can add some X-Factor with clients and prospects and this is a one-way road to disaster.

Clip-art has its uses but client facing documents and any document which is being used outside of a business is not one of them.  Clip-art is cheap and can be fun when it is being used for the club newsletter or to announce a family event such as a house move or a party.  Clip-art has no place in a document you seriously expect a potential customer to pick-up, read and then contact you with the intention of doing some business.

Clip-art is free for a reason – it doesn’t sell your document, your business or your services and products.

Using photographs is a double-edged sword.  Good photographs and images are usually not free; many images have a copyright restriction attaching to them and if you do not own the rights to the image or have permission to use it, you are in for a legal shock.  Using photographs without the copyright holder’s permission can lead to legal action for damages and compensation.  It can even lead to you having to go through the expensive exercise of throwing your document away in the trash because you cannot get permission at all.

Very embarrassing and not recommended – always make sure you have permission or own the image.

If you are taking the photographs yourself, makes sure they are of appropriate quality.  Nothing speaks “amateur hour” more than a slightly out of focus shot or one where the subject is not properly positioned.  Using a photograph of a product is important because this is establishing the visualization in the mind of the reader – it pays to take the time to get the product positioned in the proper setting and to ensure you are capturing the detail necessary.

It is usually cost effective to hire a professional photographer to perform the shots for you.  Getting the photographs wrong may render your entire document ineffectual and force you to incur extra expense and delay in getting the shots done again.  Frequently, design projects are up against deadlines and tight schedules, and making this mistake leads to additional costs elsewhere in the production process which will more than outweigh the cost of a professional.

You must also ensure that the images produced are available in a format which will allow your print and design partners to manage and manipulate effectively.  Poor or incorrect resolution, ill-lit images or incorrect format can all lead to a significant deterioration of the finished product and may render them unusable when it comes to the final production run.  This just underlines how important it is to make sure that everyone involved in the creation of your document knows what they are doing and what is expected from them as well as the consequences of missing deadlines.

You want to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to extracting all the sales juice from your marketing budget.

A picture paints a thousand words and there is no doubt that using pictures has a direct and positive impact on the sales success of marketing tools such as catalogs, newsletters, brochures or company magazines.

Creating good-looking and successful collateral is time-consuming and expensive if you are going to do the job right – it also takes time not only for a piece of work but for your overall repertoire of tools you will develop and use.

Catalogs for instance, are very heavy users of photos – and this is where customer seek to cut corners first and save money – this is where a catalog will either succeed and return profits or fail completely and lose the investment.  Do not scrimp on the photographs – take single product shots where possible and make the images as large as you can in the catalog – both directly increase sales.

You can save money by using images from your supplier or manufacturer – frequently these are excellent images for you to use, so always make sure you ask them if they have images you can use in your own publications. You not only want the images but you want them in the format your design partner can work with – for instance, images with clipping paths may be required; if they don’t have them you may end up with a higher design and preparation cost which loses you the money you save with a “free” image – act as liason between the design partner and the suppliers so everyone knows exactly what is required.

Many customers are web-based companies who grew from a web-site and have continued right on growing so there  is little to say where the “traditional” part of the business begins and the “web” business ends.  Frequently they have a stack of images which are used on the web but there are problems with low-resolution and these images simply cannot be used in a print-catalog – the end result will be blurred and there are also issues in handling them causing increased design team costs.

Clients also look to save money by taking the photographs themselves – a false economy on several levels.  Firstly, the cost of the shoot is about 30-35% of the image budget but is 100% important when it comes to the finished quality.  You simply cannot afford to end up with a set of bad product images and taking the shots is where the risk lies – hire a professional volume image provider and get the shots you really will need and the design team can use.

It is common, especially for a new company, to cut costs on things such as business cards when they are trying to save money. This however should never be done since business cards will be the primary method of communicating to new customers.

Perhaps the worst mistake a company can make is to create their own business cards using their home printer. Nothing screams amateur more than this and in all actuality you won’t be saving much, if any, money at all. Custom printed business cards are not nearly as expensive as they once were and thanks to the internet you can buy them in bulk quite inexpensively.

These days it couldn’t be easier to find a printing company online that can design and print professional custom business cards for you. Using the internet you can even create your own cards using a variety of pre-made templates, clipart, etc. You can also upload your own photographs and graphics in order to create a more personalized finished product.

You may not have to use the internet if you prefer not to; there may be quality printing companies in your area that you can go to in order to have your custom business cards designed and printed. Chain and franchise stores may be the place to go if you are looking to save money and still get a quality product.

In short, business cards are one of your most important methods of reaching customers, so never attempt to cut corners by making your own cards unless you have the know-how and equipment that can produce professional cards.

In many cases your brochure will be the first impression you make on a potential customer or client, so it is important that yours be well-designed. The following elements are part of any well-made brochure: originality, design, images, color, and page bleed.

The originality of your brochure is somewhat self explanatory. This applies not so much to the design of the brochure, but how your company is represented. It should inform the audience of something unique about your company in order to make you stand out. The design of your brochure has to do with its outline and layout. In cases like this it is best to go for a simple design that is uncluttered and easy to read. Make sure only necessary information is included.

The images that are used in your brochure should always be the highest quality possible. Always ask the person who is designing your brochure what type of images they will be using. Sometimes they will take their own photos and other times they may prefer to use stock images. Regardless, make sure that they use high-resolution images.

Color is important in a well-designed brochure. Colors have a way of invoking feeling and emotion in a person. The colors used in the brochure should also go well with the images used such as the company logo. Finally there is the page bleed. This is where color runs off the edges of your brochure when printing in order to account for any shifts that may occur. At least a 1/8 bleed is recommended.

Newsletters and Magazines are a great way to communicate, not only with customers but the general public as well. You will get your name out there and people will start talking about your business with others. You will not only be getting the exposure of the magazines but also word of mouth. Any business can benefit from these opportunities.

Newsletters

A newsletter is usually mailed out on a regular basis, giving up-to-date information. So what can a business newsletter have and do for your business? If you create a newsletter and publish it quarterly you will have repeated exposure to your clients and prospective clients. You want to keep you name in front of them so they do not forget about your services. This way when they have a need for them you are the first one they think of. You will want to create a layout for your newsletter and once you have one you like stick with it. If you are constantly changing the layout, it will be hard for your customers to find the information they are looking for. If they get used to specific information in one place all the time you do not want to be changing it in every newsletter. Be sure that your business information is in every newsletter. Talk about your product or services. Mention all new services and any specials that you are running. You can also consider placing a coupon in your newsletters, this will help you attain new customers and keep established ones. Remind them of any holidays or local events that your services or products may be relevant to; this will increase your sales during these time periods. Getting your newsletter printed professionally will give them the finish you need to represent your company the way it deserves. Try to make them colorful and fun for the reader.

Magazines

Magazines are a great addition to business communications. These can be a source of revenue on a few levels. You will be talking, of course, about your product or services and how they can benefit people. It is a good idea to target your area and stay with that topic rather than venturing too far off topic. Talk about how your products or services are going to be of great value for an upcoming holiday; Christmas or Labor Day for example. Include articles about various items, events or anything that relates to your business. You can run specials from time to time. Get businesses to advertise in your magazine will be an additional way to earn money from your magazine. Contact local businesses that may be interested in your field. You can also contact businesses that are only an online business; they may want alternate sources of advertisement from time to time. The last way you can earn from your magazine is by subscription. Creating a good magazine with a variety of reading, ads, specials, events and more will attract readers that want to receive your magazine on a regular basis.

Conquest Graphics specializes in newsletter printing and brochure printing.