May 2nd, 2014
Posted in Design | Comments Off on Custom Printing: A Few Color and Type Design Tips
Here are some things to think about when designing commercial printing products in black and white and color:
Designing with Black and White Type on a Gray Screen
Picture two lines of type on a gray screen. Let’s say you’re designing a promotional flyer for an art museum. The first line of type is the name of the artist printed in a sans serif typeface. Let’s say you want to reverse it out of a 20 percent gray screen. The second line of type is the same size. Perhaps it is the title of the art exhibit. Let’s say you want to surprint it (print it in black) in a light serif face, for contrast, on the 20 percent gray screen. Above the name of the artist, you set some type in a much smaller type size (in black ink), and below the name, in white type (i.e., reverse type), you set a subtitle referring to the title of the art exhibit. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Design | Comments Off on Custom Printing: A Few Color and Type Design Tips
April 28th, 2014
Posted in Book Printing | Comments Off on Print Book Case Study Revisited
This is a continuation of a prior blog article on custom printing and binding a 488-page, 8.5” x 11” perfect-bound book for one of my clients.
She and I have been in almost continuous contact to discuss options for the print book she is producing for a US government agency. Early this week, her clients had some concerns about the binding. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Printing | Comments Off on Print Book Case Study Revisited
April 26th, 2014
Posted in Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Two Responses to Printing Problems
In a prior blog, I mentioned a print book directory, the custom printing of which I had been brokering. I had requested F&Gs for the client: folded and gathered signatures, printed but not bound. I had suggested this as a final press proof prior to binding, to give my client an opportunity to check all printing prior to the binding stage. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: Two Responses to Printing Problems
April 25th, 2014
Posted in Large-Format Printing | Comments Off on Large Format Printing: Producing Signage on Coroplast
Ever since the basement electrical fire, Home Depot and Lowes have been my homes away from home. And these first few weeks of Spring, in particular, I have seen brightly colored signage printed on Coroplast, urging customers to plant trees, shrubs, and flowers. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Large-Format Printing | Comments Off on Large Format Printing: Producing Signage on Coroplast
April 22nd, 2014
Posted in Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: Too Many Variables; What to Do?
A client of mine does work for the federal government. She has a large book that’s mostly complete, and she’s looking for printing options. She has a firm budget. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: Too Many Variables; What to Do?
April 17th, 2014
Posted in Printing | Comments Off on Commercial Printing: Print Samples in a Hotel Room
My fiancee and I are now living in a hotel. We had a house fire, just like a surprising number of other tenants on their way through hotel rooms to their final accommodations in a long-term rental house or condo. Fire is a big business. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Printing | Comments Off on Commercial Printing: Print Samples in a Hotel Room
April 14th, 2014
Posted in Business Cards, Integrated Marketing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: An Approach to Integrated Marketing
A few weeks ago while visiting with a book printing client of mine, I made a few suggestions about promoting three new titles this small publisher was about to produce with my help. He and his wife had a website and some marketing postcards, and they had asked my opinion of how to approach the promotion of these new print books. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business Cards, Integrated Marketing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: An Approach to Integrated Marketing
April 3rd, 2014
Posted in Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: How to Review a Book “Blueline” Proof
I realize they’re not really “bluelines” anymore, now that printer’s proofs are produced via inkjet technology, but the term is resilient, and some printers still call these digital inkjet proofs by their former name. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: How to Review a Book “Blueline” Proof
March 31st, 2014
Posted in Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: Seeking Quality, Service, and Price
It is a truism that in custom printing you can have any two of the following: “Quality, Service, and/or Price.” In the recent past, however, to be competitive in a tight commercial printing market, the motto has become more like “Free, Perfect, and Now” (which also happens to be the title of a book by Robert Rodin). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: Seeking Quality, Service, and Price
March 24th, 2014
Posted in Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: A Print Media Renaissance
I have been overjoyed recently to have read several articles on the return to favor of print materials.
The first of these appeared in a magazine called E-Content (Digital Content, Media, and Publishing Strategies). This March 2014 article, as noted on the cover of this print magazine, is entitled “Is Print Making a Comeback?” Written by Lin Grensing-Pophal, this article answers the question with a resounding “Yes.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: A Print Media Renaissance