LEARNING CENTER

Oh the times they are a changin’

“Well I guess this digital thing isn’t just a trend,” I overheard "Fred" say as I walked the floor of Graph Expo last week in Chicago. For those who don’t know, Graph Expo is the biggest annual Print and Graphic Communication trade show in North America. For "Fred" and other career printers like him, this year’s expo must have been a total cultural shock. Certainly, the past two years have not been easy on the printing industry. However, what was glaringly obvious is that out of that struggle has emerged a bright new digital future for the industry.

Forget One Piece... Have the Whole Pie

Something happened to me the other day; I received a piece of direct mail. Now normally this would not be a momentous occasion. After all, we all receive piles of direct mail every day. However, what made this particular piece of mail extraordinary was the sender – GOOGLE!

When it comes to Internet giants, Google stands out as greatest behemoth of them all. The company is pervasive in our daily lives, and its brand name itself has become a verb (“google it”). So what does an innovative, online company like Google do when it wants to market a service or offer a special promotion? They send out a printed direct mail piece!

Social Media as a Tool for Business

Everyone has at least heard of the “social media” buzzword. Things like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs have become an everyday part of life for many of us. For most, it’s a terrific way to waste time while at work. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. At its core, social media offers an easy and effective way for business to connect with customers. However, don’t expect a Social Media campaign to “ring the register” right away. In it’s purest form, Social Media is about building relationships. After all, the heart of any marketing strategy is just that – building stronger relationships with your customers and your community. A well-run Social Media campaign will then in turn help turn those relationships into sales.

The Printing Industry is full of jargon that serves to confuse and frustrate customers and outsiders. Below are some common terms used in the printing industry.

Against the grain: Folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain direction of the paper. On some stocks folding against the grain can result in quality control issues.

Aqueous Coating/Flood Coat: A coat of varnish applied to a sheet on press that protects a printed piece from scuffs and scratches.

Basic size: All papers have an assigned basic sized. For example; 25 x 38 for book papers, 20 x 26 for cover papers, 22 1/2 x 28 1/2 or 22 1/2 x 35 for bristols, 25 1/2 x 30 1/2 for index.

Basis weight: The weight in pounds of a ream (500 sheets) of paper at basic size (see above). Example, 50# Book paper: 500 sheets at basic size of 25" x 38" weighs 50 lbs.

Blanket: A rubber-surfaced fabric wrapped around a cylinder that is used to transfer an image from the plate to the paper. A primary component of offset printing.

Print is unique amongst all other forms of communication in that it is textural as well as visual. Both the “look” and the “feel” are benefits of print.

Paper selection is one of the most important aspects to consider when designing and producing a printed piece. Paper selection can have a profound affect on the finished quality of a job, and yet it is often overlooked. Paper selection is not as easy as choosing the most expensive paper available for high quality jobs, or choosing the cheapest paper in order to cut costs. By remembering a few important steps you can ensure that right paper is being used for your job and learn how to choose the right paper. 

Okay, okay. I am a printer but I admit it: The Internet is an amazing media tool. As providers of traditional print communications, we need to NOT be Ostriches. Instead, we need to strive daily to keep our heads firmly out of the sand and see the value of electronic media. Having admitted that, nevertheless, the forecast for print is bright indeed.

Now hold on, Casey Printing may be located in a little farm town in rural California, but we do have electricity, and consequently, access to the World Wide Web. Yes, it’s stupendous, glorious and sexy, but, like the frosting on a cake, its only part of the mix. When you want to have your cake, and eat it too, you better put print in the mix.

Consider the following from the 2008 Publishing Advertising Trends Study:

In a recent typography class, I had the opportunity to learn about typographers quotes. Although the type of quote that is used is a fairly minor component of a document, using the correct type of quotes is an easy way to make sure that your document is the best that it can be.

The most important thing to remember when you are using quotes within a document is that 66 comes before 99. This means that the opening quotes should be the ones that look like a 66 and the closing quotes should look like a 99.

One of the most common mistakes that people make when they are preparing images for print is that they incorrectly size their images. Making sure that your image's size and resolution match is one of the easiest ways to ensure that your project will look its absolute best.

When you are preparing pictures for publication, it is important to think about how it will be reproduced. The two different methods that I usually use are print and internet.

Images destined for the internet are simple. Computer screen images are made up of little red, green, and blue dots that are placed right next to each other. There are 72 rows of these dots per inch, and therefore a 72 dpi image is sufficient for the web, or any other graphic that stays on your computer.