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Can
I order PMS color printing from you? |
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We suggest
you get the best value for your dollar and go for full
color. Since we are so efficient at producing high-quality
4-color work, 2-color pieces will be priced the same as
4-color except for Envelopes and Letterhead. 2-color cards,
brochures and business cards will be converted to 4-color
process equivalents before printing. We suggest that if
the job is currently set up using PMS colors that the
client make the correction themselves because colors tend
to shift when converted from PMS to Process (CMYK). We
generally would like the client to decide what color works
for them. |
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Is
there an extra charge for bleeds?
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No. Unlike
many other companies, all our prices include full bleeds
free of charge. |
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What
kind of paper will my job be printed on?
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Cards and
Folders are printed on high quality 10pt and 14pt coated
stock depending on what product you request. Brochures,
Flyers, Posters Cataloges and CD packages are printed
on 100# Gloss Book stock. Stationary is printed on 24#
High Quality Bright White Stock.. |
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How
well will my job match what I see on my monitor? |
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Most people
are surprised at how well their job matches what they
see. But because of wide differences in monitor calibration,
personal preferences and the different technologies used,
some printed colors may not exactly match the colors on
a specific monitor. |
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Will
you match a sample I print out on my own printer or a
previously printed sample?
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We offer
fast turnaround and low pricing by printing to a "pleasing
color" standard, using standard ink densities. Therefore,
there is no guarantee that your finished piece will approximate
your printed sample. This is due in part to the widely
varying results from different output devices including
inkjet and laser printers, continuous tone proofing devices,
high-resolution film-based proofs and offset lithography.
Even from one commercial printing firm to another, there
can be significant differences in results. In particular,
inkjet and laser prints are known to look substantially
different than true offset lithography.
We currently are very accurate with the majority of
orders that we develop and print. However, there are
limitations when we offer such a low price on our services.
Generally, pricing for guaranteed exact color matching
requires much more time and money on the client side.
Therefore, we do not specialize in a special order of
exact colors. There are substantial additional charges
for precise color match service. For example, there
would be additional fees (starting at $200), then we
would produce and send you a hard proof via overnight
delivery. Also, if you request color correction or other
changes after you see your proof, there will be a minimum
of another $200 charged for color correction time and
a new set of film and proofs. Bottom line: We do not
offer this service because it is not what we specialize
in. We offer a great product at a very inexpensive price.
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Is
there a discount if I re-order my job?
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No, but an
advantage we maintain over our competition is that we
do not charge for additional typesetting on an order after
the initial design charge.
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What
if I want to change something on my order after I've placed
it or approved the proof?
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We require
an electronic "paper trail" for all changes
made after your initial order is placed. You may make
changes to such things as quantity or shipping method
. Please note that some changes cannot be made after certain
stages in the production process -- for instance, the
quantity cannot be changed once your job has been printed.
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How
do I view my proof?
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Essentially,
we email a PDF proof to the customer and they can view
the proof to be sure they are designed to the customer’s
request. We also assume they will proof all text information
and comfirm. They then approve or request any changes
throughout the process. Like we mentioned earlier we cannot
guarantee that the color is going show correctly on your
monitor. Therefore, if that is an issue we do offer to
mail out a color sample that matches very closely to the
final output. |
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Can
I send you documents created in MS Word or PowerPoint?
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NO! If you
have created documents in Word or PowerPoint that contain
photos, clip-art or other color images, do not send them
in. These programs are not designed for high-end printing.
They were intended for office use on an inkjet or laser
printer. |
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What
other file formats can you take?
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We can take
any Mac or PC version of Quark, InDesign, Illustrator,
Photoshop, Freehand, Corel Draw, Word (for text only)
TIFF's and PDFs. |
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What
is the difference between the RGB and CMYK color space
and why does it matter?
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RGB refers
to the primary colors of light: Red, Green and Blue, which
are used in monitors, television screens, digital cameras
and scanners. CMYK refers to the primary colors of pigment:
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. These are the inks used
on the press in "4-color process printing",
commonly referred to as "full color printing".
The combination of RGB light creates white while the
combination of CMYK inks creates black. Therefore, it
is physically impossible for the printing press to exactly
reproduce colors as we see them on our monitors.
Many programs have the capability to convert the layout/images
from the RGB color space to the CMYK color space. We
request that you convert your colors from RGB to CMYK
if your tools allow you to. By doing it yourself, you
have maximum control over the results. You may notice
a shift in color when converting from RGB to CMYK. If
you do not like the appearance in CMYK, we recommend
that you make adjustments while working in CMYK (usually
lightening). Generally, you should specify CMYK color
builds that look a little lighter than you want since
the dots of ink "fatten up" on press, giving
you more pigment on paper than you see on your monitor.
Be especially careful to keep backgrounds light if there
is black or dark colored text over it so that the text
remains readable.
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How
do I check for proper imposition or backup?
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"Imposition"
and "backup" refer to how the front of a printed
piece is oriented to the back. In the case of a brochure,
you normally turn it over right-to-left (like you turn
the page of a book) in order to have the back side read
correctly -- not upside down. Seems simple until you get
to a postcard where one side is laid out in landscape
(horizontal) orientation and the other side in portrait
(vertical) orientation. We use our best judgment when
imposing a job so that it backs up in the most natural
or normal manner. Some designs, however, contain both
portrait and landscape elements on both sides making it
difficult to make a clear call. When reviewing your proof
online, we will always post the front and the back in
the orientation that they will print in relation to each
other. So, if page 2 appears upside down, that is how
it will be printed on the back of page 1. (Some people
want it that way so that the recipient of the piece must
turn it over top-to-bottom in order to read it correctly.)
Be sure to print out a copy of your online proof and attach
the two sides to each other to create a "mockup"
or "dummy." This is especially important when
a job will be folded. |
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Do
I need to impose my business cards 8-up or 10-up if they
will be printed more than 1 to a sheet?
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No, send
us a single layout for each card of your job unimposed.
We will handle any imposition needed on our end. |
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How
should I take pictures with my digital camera?
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Digital cameras
are wonderful tools that allow us to capture our images
in many different ways. The camera is designed to actually
take three pictures; one in red, one in green and the
other in blue (similar to the way a projection TV works).
It then combines the colors together and saves the image
onto the picture card. It is very important to make sure
that the camera is set to the highest quality setting
possible. This means that if you can only save one image
on the picture card instead of 12, 64 or 128 images, then
this is good! You want to create the best quality picture
that the camera can make. This will mean large file sizes
and slow downloads from the camera itself, but it will
get you the best possible results from your camera. Remember,
images should be at 300dpi in their final size in the
layout!
More often than not, we notice that images that come
from digital cameras print darker than expected on the
printing press. Check to see if you have a brightness
option in your image editing program to lighten the
entire piece. If you have the opportunity to change
the color space from RGB (red, green, blue) to the printing
press colors of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black),
then do so! It is always better to have you change the
color space if you can than for us to do it. Remember,
not all colors that you can see that are created by
elements of light (RGB) can be created by the elements
of ink (CMYK) on press. If you do not have this capability
with your software, do not worry about it. We can change
it for you. Finally, we recommend that you apply a little
sharpening to the image. This will make the image a
little crisper and will print better on press.
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How
can I tell what resolution the image from my digital camera
is?
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Some digital
cameras will let you know what the image resolution is
while others will tell you what the pixel dimensions of
your image are. If you know what the pixel dimensions
of your images are, either from the camera itself or through
the image editing software, you can do a little math to
determine the resolution and the size you can print the
image at for clear and crisp printing.
Simply write down the pixel dimensions of your image
and divide those numbers by 300, if the image does not
include text and 400 if the image does include text.
For example: An image without any text has a pixel dimension
of 600 x 900 pixels. Once each dimension is divided
by 300 the result is 2 x 3 inches. This means that you
can use this image at 2 x 3 inches or smaller in your
layout for quality printing results.
If your image editing software does not tell you what
the pixel dimensions are but it does tell you what the
resolution is, then you know the maximum size you can
use that image in your layout. We recommend that images
be at 300dpi in their final size in the layout and 400dpi
if the images include text. Please keep in mind that
resolution and physical dimensions are in direct proportion
to each other. If you have an image that is 2x2 at 300dpi
and increase its size in the layout to 4x4 the new resolution
is now 150dpi. So remember, when you bring an image
in to your layout you can shrink it down in size (because
the resolution will increase) but you will be limited
as to how far you can increase it in size.
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What
is your turnaround time on business cards or postcards?
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Approximately
7-10 business days from date of approval from the client.
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What
is meant by bleed?
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Bleed is
the area outside the trim area of a document in which
graphical elements are printed. This area is then trimmed
off, resulting in color going all the way to edge of the
piece. If you didn't bleed elements and instead placed
them up to the boundaries of the trim area, irregularities
encountered during cutting might produce a piece where
a thin line of unprinted stock shows along one or more
edges. And that could ruin the overall effectiveness of
the card's design. Standard bleed is 1/8 inch. |
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I
need cards but I can't design them myself. Can you help?
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Yes, we specialize
in custom design cards. We offer design services for an
additional fee. Any additional text changes in the future
will be included in the initial design setup charge. |
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What
is meant by linescreen?
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Simply put,
linescreen is how tightly the individual printing dots
that make up a printed piece are placed on the paper.
A fine linescreen, like we use, minimizes the appearance
of the dots resulting in a smoother image. |
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What
is meant by CMYK?
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Full color
printing is generally done with only four colors; cyan,
magenta, yellow, and black. CMYK is just another way to
say process, or full color, printing. All elements to
be printed must be separated into the four color channels.
Scanned color images are RGB. At some point, they must
be separated; either automatically on the scanner or manually
in an image editing program. |
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