December 9th, 2019
Posted in Book Printing | 2 Comments »
Over time, small errors often grow in their scope and effects, and in book printing this can mean that a problematic file you submit today can delay the ship date for your project (or incur extra fees). If your project is time sensitive, this can be a serious source of stress. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Printing | 2 Comments »
December 3rd, 2019
Posted in Magazine Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: Design Unity and Variety Aid the Reader’s Eye
I found myself back in the hospital recently with an infection following a total hip replacement. After fasting for the better part of the day at the surgeon’s request, I was pleased when a change of doctor’s plans enabled me to finally eat. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Magazine Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: Design Unity and Variety Aid the Reader’s Eye
November 26th, 2019
Posted in Box Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: A Box of Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
One of the few benefits of having been in the hospital, aside from supportive comments like, “You’re still alive,” is the occasional gift of food. I am a creature who runs on its stomach, so I was pleased to receive a box of chocolate-covered strawberries, a sinfully delicious treat I had not heretofore sampled. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Box Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: A Box of Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
November 18th, 2019
Posted in Industrial Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Functional Printing in the Hospital
About five years ago my fiancee and I had a house fire. Being a student of printing, and initially having extra time on my hands, I noticed printing samples in all the hotels we lived in. I found printed maps on the walls, informational brochures on the hotel room tables, and pad-printed or screen printed letters and numbers on the stove and microwave. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Industrial Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Functional Printing in the Hospital
November 10th, 2019
Posted in Design | Comments Off on Commercial Printing: Creating a Design Grid
If you’re a designer, with a blank page-spread on the computer in front of you, how do you start your design? Perhaps you have photographs, some captions, a pull quote, and several paragraphs of text you want to organize and present to the reader as an advertisement. How do you put all of these elements together in such a way that your reader will “get” your most important point, then move on to your subsequent points? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Design | Comments Off on Commercial Printing: Creating a Design Grid
November 3rd, 2019
Posted in Paper Coatings | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Fooling the Eye with Cover Coatings
A lot of good things in life involve fooling the eye. It’s what magicians do. Once you know the trick, it’s no longer magic. But once you know the secret, perhaps you appreciate something larger, such as the skill of the magician and the limits of human perception. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Paper Coatings | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Fooling the Eye with Cover Coatings
October 28th, 2019
Posted in Design, Typography | 2 Comments »
I know that a term like “greyness” when referring to a block of black text on a print book page sounds somewhat esoteric, but bear with me. This simple concept can affect everything from the look of a book’s design to its readability and even its printability. And all of this can change based on the age of your readership. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Design, Typography | 2 Comments »
October 21st, 2019
Posted in 3D Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: 3D Printed Rockets
A dear friend and commercial printing colleague recently shared with me some information on a firm that prints rockets. Not plastic, model rockets for science fairs but huge, metal rockets that take satellites into space. They use 3D printing technology (building up layer upon layer of metal rather than plastic), and they can do this faster and less expensively than with more traditional technology. Wow. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in 3D Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: 3D Printed Rockets
October 13th, 2019
Posted in Corporate Branding | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Whole Foods Equals Great Branding
After a medical procedure today and nap during which I slept like the dead, I stumbled downstairs and grabbed the mail on my desk. I could barely see anything. My eyesight wasn’t right yet. But I knew by its colors and its feel that I held in my hand the new Whole Foods Market catalog/brochure—even if the address panel of the folded marketing piece didn’t contain the Whole Foods logo. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Corporate Branding | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Whole Foods Equals Great Branding
October 7th, 2019
Posted in Design | Comments Off on Commercial Printing: Thoughts on Designing and Tweaking a Logo
A custom printing client of mine recently asked me for help with her rebranding efforts. Over the years, I have been a designer and art director, and I have also done marketing writing and design work. In addition, I have focused on marketing as subject matter for the PIE Blog articles and Quick Tips articles, so I spend a lot of time studying this aspect of communications and commercial printing. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Design | Comments Off on Commercial Printing: Thoughts on Designing and Tweaking a Logo