Printing Tips
Before You Hand Off Your Project, Remember these Helpful Hints!
Remember the Bleed
The bleed is the part on the side of your project that gives us that small amount of space to move around paper and design inconsistencies. Sometimes during a print run, a document will shift slightly here and there. That is why it is important to build in at least an 1/8 of an inch around your entire document for us to cut down to. Thus eliminating any small movement the print project might experience during a print run.
Think Outside the Paper
The human mind fills in gaps and will see the bigger picture if your design pushes that way. Creating a natural border within your design is a great way to frame important elements.
Papers do come in conventional sizes, but don't let convention hold back your creativity. Custom sizes or custom shapes can help your print project stand out from the crowd.
Proofread, Proofread, Proofread
After working on a print project for awhile, the simple things like spelling or grammar errors might slip by your radar. Use the built in spelling and grammar tools of your document software to help avoid human error. Even then, have a fresh set of eyes look over your work as the last step before sending it to us for print.
Less if Often Times...More!
Avoid visual confusion for your viewers and don't overwhelm them with too much text. Give the eye a rest with some nice whitespace or break up long blocks of text with a pull-quote or graphic.
Think in the Grid
Using a grid layout is CRUCIAL for any design. Standard sized columns and spacing keeps your layout legible and aesthetically pleasing. For good grid examples, check out any magazine for ideas and take the best from them.
High Resolution Photos for Print
There is nothing like a high quality image or graphic to really help make a project pop! On the otherhand, a low resolution image can stick out like a sore thumb and can turn your project from ravishing to rookie in no time flat! Try to use images that are at least 300dpi (dots per inch). Most cameras these days take photos at high resolution. Another good rule of thumb is to never use images found on the web for your project - typically they are low resoltion. If you have no idea about what dpi is or if your pictures are high enough resolution for your project, Contact Us and we'll help you out!
