Glossy or Matte?

Have you heard us ask you glossy or matte when you ordered your color copies or posters?  Have you ever wondered which one is better?  The answer is both!  The choice is determined by the purpose of the print or just by your personal preference.

As you probably know from developing your photos (back in the olden days - smile), glossy paper is shiny and more eye catching.  It gives the impression of being high quality.  The colors appear more vibrant and rich.  Glossy is often the choice when producing marketing materials because it is an attention grabber.

Matte paper has a dull, no gloss finish, and gives printed pieces a more artistic or sometimes textured look.  Matte finish is more easily read in most situations and lights.  Matte finish is often chosen for art projects, for black and white photography, or when the print with be framed behind glass.  Matte finish also wears best over time because it is less likely to show finger prints or to attract dust.

Both finishes have cons.  Items printed on gloss can be hard to read in bright light. Gloss will sometimes stick to glass if the item has been framed.  And gloss finished papers attract dust and fingerprints.  The downside of matte finish is that it is less likely to attract attention.  And colors are less vibrant than those printed on gloss.

Can’t make up your mind?  We have samples of both papers and examples of projects printed on them.  Stop by today and let our experts help you chose the right finish for your project!

Elements That Make A Perfect Logo Design

It is usually created with a combination of elements such as graphics, illustrations, symbols, font, typography etc. A well-crafted logo does wonders for a brand; however a bad one can damage the reputation or create negative image. A logo immediately connects the target audience with the brand, provided it conveys the business philosophy and contains the right elements.
Following are some elements that should be taken care of to come up with good logo design:
1. Simple yet creative: Always remember the KISS rule (keep it simple silly). Logos which are full of colors with no logic behind them always create bad impressions. Hence is utmost important to keep the design simple yet creative. Too many elements can make the logo design complex; therefore it is advisable to use elements in subtle way. It is also important that a logo is esthetically appealing. Presentation of a logo is of utmost importance. The skills of a good logo designer come into play here. Using elements in a way that logo is simple yet esthetically beautiful creates a winning design.
2. Business philosophy: Since a logo provides the brand identity, hence it is extremely important to incorporate the business philosophy and values into the design. A good logo needs to include the brand and marketing message the company wants to convey to consumers.
3. Memorable: Elegant, stylish and creative logos are always memorable. There are several logos which look plain and simple but they are the big brands of the world. A well-designed Logo always creates brand re-call with the target audience.
4. Utility: A logo is used in various mediums. Since it is the brand identity, a logo is used on business stationery, website, brochures, promotional material etc. However, different variations of logo are used on different mediums. A good graphic designer creates a logo with its variations so that the brand owner gets to see its usability. Usually a logo is created in full colors along with a reverse option of Black & White. Hence it is important that the graphical elements are versatile to be used in different mediums. A logo should also be compact enough to be re-sized without compromising its esthetic value.
5. Eternal: A good logo withstands for a long time. It may need minor changes to keep it fresh and prevent it from being outdated. You don't need to change your logo when it already has associations created with your target audience.

Jason Samuel has experience in the field of online brand marketing. His interests includes Internet marketing and research on emerging online design trends logo design & web design.
  
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Samuel

Are You Using QR Codes?

This is a QR Code.  Your smart-phone has the ability to scan it to take you immediately to a website where you can learn more about our services.  Go to the app store for your phone and search "QR code reader".

What is a QR Code

QR Codes (Quick Response Codes) are the latest in high tech marketing.  Businesses large and small are using them because they are an inexpensive way to direct your customers to your marketing information, or to the information you want them to know and have at their fingertips.  They improve the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns by linking your branded messaging.  They are a call to action that makes the action easier for your customer.  And, they are measurable and track-able, making the return on your marketing investment clear.

You are on the go, and so are your customers.  And your customers are using their smart-phones more and more to gather instant information, and to conduct business.   QR Codes eliminate the need to type in a long web address to get to a website, or to type in your phone number.

A QR Code is scanned with your smart phone camera.   Google “QR Code Reader” to find any number of free (and instantly down-loadable) apps for your phone.  Apple iPhone users will find several Apps available in the App Store.  Then a quick scan with a smart phone camera and you connect print marketing (magazines, postcards, brochures, flyers, product tags, and more) to mobile & online websites (your website, Facebook, Twitter, a special offer, or a product page).  A QR Code printed on your business card can initiate a call from your customer’s mobile phone to you!  It can also create an effortless way for your customer to save your information to their contacts.   You could even create a QR code for every product you sell, linking to that products detail information page.   One recent customer printed a QR Code on their event invitation, linking to a map of the venue.  The choices are endless.

Although used primarily on printed materials, QR Codes can be scanned from a computer screen too.   Try scanning the one above.  It should take you to the Copy Doctor website!

Ways to Use QR Codes

Add them to any print advertising, flyers, posters, invites, etc containing:

• Product details
• Maps to events or of a venue
• Contact information
• Event details
• Special Offers
• Twitter page
• Facebook page
• LinkedIn page
• Website
• Real Estate Listing Details
• You Tube video link
• Customer Surveys
• Grow your mailing list

Tips for Getting Started

Design your marketing program, or print piece, and determine where you want your QR Code to take your customer.  Create your own QR Code at one of the many FREE QR Code Creator websites.  Just Google “QR Code Generator”.  Want help with this, just ask us!

Remember, this is NEW technology, and many of your customers don’t have a clue about it yet.  Educate them ON your marketing piece by telling them what a QR Code is and what they should do with it, like we did below our code above.

One final thing to remember; anything that helps drive traffic to your website helps you increase your sites ranking with search engines.  There is no “pay per click” with QR Codes.  Since you are already investing in print material, add a QR Code without adding any additional cost.  Call us today, and let us help you!

Do you Need to Bleed?

On of the most often used element of design is a bleed.  What is a bleed?  It is any part of your graphics that comes right off the edge of your page.

Just like your home printer, all of our copy machines and presses leave a white margin on the paper.  To achieve a bleed, we must use paper which is larger than your finished size.  For example, an 11x17 print with a bleed must be printed on 12x18 paper, and then cut down to 11x17.  Including a bleed in your design will usually increase the cost of your print job, but materials printed with bleeds are simply more visually attractive and professional looking than materials printed without bleeds.

Art with Crop Marks.  The area outside the dotted line will be trimmed.

The secret to success with your design that will bleed is to place the elements so that they overlap the border edge of your page by ¼ inch.   Then, when you create your PDF file that you will send to us for printing, use the option to show printer marks or crop marks.  Most design software has this capability.  You will not see the crop marks until you open the exported PDF file.

If you are using design software that does not have this option, design your document ½ inch taller and wider than the finished page will be.  For example, if you want your document to be 8.5x11 after it is printed and trimmed, design it 9x11.5, making sure there is no text or necessary image in the additional .25 inch margin.

Finished art after trimming.

After we finish cutting down your prints, none of the printer marks or crop marks will be visible.  You will simple have a beautiful, high-quality print.

Great Tips from iStockphoto on Image Enlargements

Great advice copied from monthly Tip email from iStockphoto.com:

During more than a few episodes of crime shows like CSI, you can observe "experts" take a grainy, low-res photo, press a few buttons and magically create a crisp blown-up version that clearly shows who the bad guy is.

This is, of course, patently ridiculous.

The magic "clean it up" button has no basis in reality. If you upscale an image you will always lose quality. This is because when you upscale an image, either you're increasing the size of each pixel or you're adding new pixels that your computer more or less has to guess at. If you need a larger image, your best bet is to buy an one that's already big enough. Unfortunately, that's not always an option, so let's take a look at how to minimize the damage when you have to upscale.

In Photoshop, click on "Image > Image Size" in the menu. Under the "Document Size" section, you can modify the size of your image by inputting new values into the width and height boxes. For best results, increase by a percentage instead of using exact dimensions. Also, it's generally believed you can optimize the results by increasing the image size through multiple smaller increments instead of a single large one. If you need to boost the image to 150% of the original size, try doing it 10% at a time (or even 1% — create an Action in Photoshop to speed the process along). This way you can monitor the quality loss as the image grows, and determine exactly when enough is enough.

It's important to make sure your image resampling is set to "Bicubic Smoother," which is more clearly marked in the latest version of Photoshop as being "best for enlargement."

If you're planning on printing the image when you're done, the professional standard resolution is 300 ppi. However, you can usually get away with 240 ppi, and if your project doesn't need perfectly crisp images upon close inspection, you can get it down as far as 200 ppi. (If you're just printing personal photos to stick to your fridge, 140 ppi might even be enough for you.) This cheating can score you precious size for your upscale.

You can try to hide problems that do arise in the boosted image through a combination or sharpening and blurring filters, though there's no hard and fast rules as to what works, so it will require some trial and error on your part.

Finally, if you're enlarging the image for large-format printing, keep in mind that if the poster or banner is being viewed from a distance, a lot of the defects (especially blurriness) won't be readily visible. Basically, if there's some physical distance between the image and the viewer, the upscaling is a lot more forgiving.

Hopefully this will help you get the most out of upscaling. Again, it'll never be perfect. It's just not possible. At least not until those CSI "clean it up" machines become a reality. 

Copyright © 2010 iStockphoto LP. All rights reserved. iStockphoto®, iStock®, iStockaudio®, iStockvideo®, iStockalypse™, Vetta® and CopySpace® are trademarks of iStockphoto LP. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.