So here we are talking about custom printing again.  I'm starting a new series called Do's and Don'ts and my hope is that the questions and topics in this series will help you to understand the print world a little better and make it easier for you the next time you need a piece custom printed.

Today's topic is a "Do."

And we're back!  I just knew you couldn't wait for the riveting conclusion to our discussion.  Part 2 deals with images and a touch of color.

Let's start by discussing image resolution.  The optimum resolution for all files is 300 dpi or 600 dpi for line art or text.  Even if your job contains black and white images, they should be saved as grayscale at 300 dpi.  All images should be included at 100% scale (of the print size) and must be submitted in uncompressed TIFF format without layers (flattened). They must all be converted to CMYK colors.  Remember, a higher quality image resolution does not always result in better print quality.  Excessive image resolutions (beyond 300 dpi) will only dramatically increase your file size and, in most cases, will not improve the print quality.  Additionally, it may require extra time to upload larger files.

Sorry - I couldn't resist.

So here we are with another custom printing blog.  Today I'm going to start discussing artwork requirements for custom printing jobs.  I don't know about you, but I hate reading super long newspaper articles.  I see a story on the front page that interests me, I read the 2 columns and it says "See pg. A-4."  I turn to A-4 and there's a 2-page spread (full pages) with the rest of the article.  Remember the movie quote "You had me at hello"?  Well, mine is "You lost me at column 4." 'cuz that's about as far as you will hold my attention. 

When last we met to discuss custom printing, we were exploring process color vs. spot color.  Today we will venture further into the world of color space.  Color space is one of the most often misunderstood terms.  Also called a color model, it  refers to the range of colors, or gamut, that a device can reproduce.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted the first blog in a series about custom printing.  Today, in segment 2, we will touch on the difference between process color and spot color printing.  This is an important topic not only to the person creating the file, but also to the person paying for the printing.

Commercial printing presses print in either process (CMYK) or spot color.  Process printing, also called four color process or full color printing, uses layers of 4 ink colors - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and BlacK - to create the colors in the document. 

We love to work with you on your custom printing projects!  We have professional designers on staff who can help you take your project from concept to reality, but many of you have your own designers or staff members who handle the files for your publications and send the completed files to us.  Sometimes, the finished product may not look exactly as you envisioned it when you created the file and we get questions on how to make it better next time, or why doesn't it look like I thought it would?

Today's blog is the first in a series of blogs that I will be writing on the subject of custom printing.  I'll try to answer some of the more common questions that we field and give you some general tips to help your file designs work better for you.

Did you know that 82.6% of people can recall the company and brand on their promotional product? If you're not taking advantage of this opportunity, it's time for you to start getting your brand name out there for all to see!   Promotional products are a great way to get your company in front of people.  Everyone likes free gifts.  They're an introductory tactic, a way to get your foot in the door, a way to get the opportunity to bid on business with an existing client that they've never let you in on, etc.