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Casual Articles - Four Color Printing - Is It Worth The Price?
Considering or currently running a DRTV advertising campaign? Here’s why you should read this paper.Direct response television (DRTV) advertising can be very effective at driving profitable sales. However the high cost of creating and modifying the ads and the lead times associated with DRTV leave room for another more nimble medium to serve a significant purpose. Radio fills that void extremely well, and done right it can significantly enhance the profitability of any DRTV effort.DRTV is the bread and butter of any huge success. Why? Because you can make the most money the fastest via TV. It’s also the most expensive and risky channel – so one has to consider the risk/reward tradeoff. As you’ll learn, radio plays the role of “risk minimizer” – that’s why including radio in your marketing efforts is such a smart business move.We routinely work with DRTV agencies to craft a strategy that allows radio to provide the most strategic value to a DRTV campaign. Below you’ll find out why the most successful, most profitable DRTV campaigns also include radio advertising.Before You Launch – How Radio Will Boost Profits1. Radio will create a profit stream that can fund DRTV development efforts DRTV development and media testing is costly and requires a long timeline. In contrast, radio ad development and testing is inexpensive and quick. What costs $100,000 in TV costs $1000 in radio. What takes 3-6 months in TV takes 2-4 weeks in radio. With these advan
If you talk to printers, you will find that few, if any, are willing work with client-provided files such as Microsoft Word, Publisher and other programs that are aimed at creating basic documents. More often than not, these applications are just not compatible with the software and output devices used by printers.
Programs such as Adobe InDesign and Quark XPress, are designed to be compatible with the software and standards used by lithographers, and will provide for greater flexibility and accuracy for everyone throughout the pre-press and printing process.
Check with the printing company you will be working with before you start designing your project to see what programs and file types they prefer to work with.
Achieving Color Quality
Avoid doing pre-press work yourself unless you have the pre-press expertise or an experienced resource to do the work for you. A pre-press professional will have calibrated monitors so there is less of a chance of color problems, and they will have a work flow process so they can make sure all pre-press elements work together. Digital files delivered to a printi
1) If we accept that every business must have a mailing list. To me this is fundamental. The new business with one customer has a mailing list of one plus prospects?That list is a means of communicating with the customer, verbally or in writing. Failure to communicate could mean losing the most valuable asset of the business, so your potential customers are just as important.Cherish your customer(s) and grow your mailing list to consist of customers, lapsed customers, potential customers (qualified prospects), prospects and possibly new leads.You can tailor your communications to the whole list or segments of the list. Learn how to grow and manage your list.2) How do we grow the list? One of the most profitable ways is to use classifieds advertisements.Classified advertising is best used to build a list of qualified prospects. A qualified prospect has been turned from a prospect (someone who may have a need for your product or service) to someone who has an identified need for your product or service.Because they have responded to your advertising efforts they have indicated a possible need. Use classifieds to offer a free catalogue, booklet or report relative to your product or service.3) Generally you can sell anything from classifieds so they are great for pulling enquiries with lines such as: Write for further information; free booklet offer, send for product or service information. Be creative in what you offer and have fun developing your adver
For example, a direct mail piece or marketing brochure that is introducing your company for the first time to a potential customer should make a great first impression and four-color printing may be the best way to communicate your products or services. However, an assembly instruction booklet to be included with a product may work fine as a one- or two-color printing project.
Four-Color Pros:
Many clients and designers often feel that four-color process printing gives them the most design flexibility. With four-color process printing, any color imaginable can be created, allowing the designer to make text in color or to use graphic elements for emphasis that literally jump off the page.
Photographs can be reproduced in color, making product images much more believable and many different colored screen tints are possible giving a designer an almost limitless palette to work with when designing.
If you are trying to produce a show-and-tell brochure where photographs are vital to explain a service, process or product, then four-color process printing is your logical choice, regardless of the price.
Four-Color Cons:
Four-color printing is usually considered much more expensive than one and two-color printing. Generally, the same brochure quoted as four-color versus two-color can easily be as much as 200-400% more expensive since there are four printing plates involved, and there is a lot more pre-press work involved.
While printing costs have become much more competitive over the last few years as more printers have gone to digital printing (with digital files outputting directly to plates), the pre-press work is still quite involved, though much of it is now done by graphic designers, instead of by printers.
If you have photographs or transparencies, they will need to be scanned, though digital photography does eliminate the need for scanning. Color images will still need to be color corrected and in some cases, some work will need to be done in PhotoShop to improve a photograph's contrast and clarity.
Other pre-press work may include converting photograph files from RGB to CMYK and making sure all images are sized properly and have adequate resolution for printing.
Simple one or two-color printing jobs have less pre-press work and fewer plates to be made, and tend to be less expensive to print than four-color.
Trying to reproduce some PMS (Pantone Matching System) colors using four-color process can be difficult if not impossible with some colors. Often a client will have a logo or design element that has been printed on past materials as a PMS spot color and are upset when the same color cannot be created accurately using four-color process.
Most four-color printing requires coated paper stock in order to produce the best color fidelity. While you can print four-color process on uncoated and textured stock, many clients find the softness and lack of contrast of the printed reproductions to be less than desirable when uncoated stock is used.
Often it is necessary to varnish or apply liquid lamination to large four-color areas or large solid areas in order to limit finger printing, especially on brochure and pocket folder covers. This is sometimes viewed as an option, but is really necessary to make sure a quality piece makes a great first impression.
Four-color printing also requires proofing of all color proofs prior to printing to ensure true color fidelity, and it is a common practice for the client and designer to be present during press runs to approve all color and supervise press adjustments if necessary.
Pre-Press—Where Things Go Right—Or Wrong
There is an old saying that you should use the right tool for the right job, and with creating pre-press files for your project, this is very true.
When you are producing high-quality, offset lithography materials, there is no substitution for high quality graphic design tools such as the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, PhotoShop) and Quark XPress. There are some other applications that can be used, but these are the most widely used, because they are designed to work within the exacting color standards and protocols demanded by four-color printing.
If you talk to printers, you will find that few, if any, are willing work with client-provided files such as Microsoft Word, Publisher and other programs that are aimed at creating basic documents. More often than not, these applications are just not compatible with the software and output devices used by printers.
Programs such as Adobe InDesign and Quark XPress, are designed to be compatible with the software and standards used by lithographers, and will provide for greater flexibility and accuracy for everyone throughout the pre-press and printing process.
Check with the printing company you will be working with before you start designing your project to see what programs and file types they prefer to work with.
Achieving Color Quality
Avoid doing pre-press work yourself unless you have the pre-press expertise or an experienced resource to do the work for you. A pre-press professional will have calibrated monitors so there is less of a chance of color problems, and they will have a work flow process so they can make sure all pre-press elements work together. Digital files delivered to a printin
The European Union is fining yet another American Company that it cannot compete with. Why? Because this time Microsoft has just become too efficient in its operating systems. The Computer companies of the EU will not seem to get off their rears to build a better system or better features for personal computers and small business work stations.But why is the European Union even bothering to attack Bill Gates and Microsoft? Well it is simple; the EU is following the lead of the Federal Trade Commission or FTC. I liken this agency to the Federal Terrorist Commission, which attacks the winners of free markets.The FTC claims that they are indeed protecting consumers from predatory marketing practices and Monopolies, yet in reality their rules and regulations along with other over bearing regulatory bodies, which have no real clue as to how free markets work, are in the very agencies and reasons why Monopolies form in the first place.What does all this say about the United States Government and their over regulation on business? Well it shows us that rather than protecting the people, government’s number one responsibility, the government is forcing companies to outsource to foreign lands and off shore their companies.We now see that our own government is attacking American Companies and encouraging other nations to attack them as well. In doing this; the even more corrupt foreign regulatory bodies are using these excuses as a way to curtail US based companies and use Machiave
If you are trying to produce a show-and-tell brochure where photographs are vital to explain a service, process or product, then four-color process printing is your logical choice, regardless of the price.
Four-Color Cons:
Four-color printing is usually considered much more expensive than one and two-color printing. Generally, the same brochure quoted as four-color versus two-color can easily be as much as 200-400% more expensive since there are four printing plates involved, and there is a lot more pre-press work involved.
While printing costs have become much more competitive over the last few years as more printers have gone to digital printing (with digital files outputting directly to plates), the pre-press work is still quite involved, though much of it is now done by graphic designers, instead of by printers.
If you have photographs or transparencies, they will need to be scanned, though digital photography does eliminate the need for scanning. Color images will still need to be color corrected and in some cases, some work will need to be done in PhotoShop to improve a photograph's contrast and clarity.
Other pre-press work may include converting photograph files from RGB to CMYK and making sure all images are sized properly and have adequate resolution for printing.
Simple one or two-color printing jobs have less pre-press work and fewer plates to be made, and tend to be less expensive to print than four-color.
Trying to reproduce some PMS (Pantone Matching System) colors using four-color process can be difficult if not impossible with some colors. Often a client will have a logo or design element that has been printed on past materials as a PMS spot color and are upset when the same color cannot be created accurately using four-color process.
Most four-color printing requires coated paper stock in order to produce the best color fidelity. While you can print four-color process on uncoated and textured stock, many clients find the softness and lack of contrast of the printed reproductions to be less than desirable when uncoated stock is used.
Often it is necessary to varnish or apply liquid lamination to large four-color areas or large solid areas in order to limit finger printing, especially on brochure and pocket folder covers. This is sometimes viewed as an option, but is really necessary to make sure a quality piece makes a great first impression.
Four-color printing also requires proofing of all color proofs prior to printing to ensure true color fidelity, and it is a common practice for the client and designer to be present during press runs to approve all color and supervise press adjustments if necessary.
Pre-Press—Where Things Go Right—Or Wrong
There is an old saying that you should use the right tool for the right job, and with creating pre-press files for your project, this is very true.
When you are producing high-quality, offset lithography materials, there is no substitution for high quality graphic design tools such as the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, PhotoShop) and Quark XPress. There are some other applications that can be used, but these are the most widely used, because they are designed to work within the exacting color standards and protocols demanded by four-color printing.
If you talk to printers, you will find that few, if any, are willing work with client-provided files such as Microsoft Word, Publisher and other programs that are aimed at creating basic documents. More often than not, these applications are just not compatible with the software and output devices used by printers.
Programs such as Adobe InDesign and Quark XPress, are designed to be compatible with the software and standards used by lithographers, and will provide for greater flexibility and accuracy for everyone throughout the pre-press and printing process.
Check with the printing company you will be working with before you start designing your project to see what programs and file types they prefer to work with.
Achieving Color Quality
Avoid doing pre-press work yourself unless you have the pre-press expertise or an experienced resource to do the work for you. A pre-press professional will have calibrated monitors so there is less of a chance of color problems, and they will have a work flow process so they can make sure all pre-press elements work together. Digital files delivered to a printi
Secondly, a customer take a view on the payment procedure and all other little things like how much time it will take to search an item on the site, is the site get maintained regularly, how much time it will take to register and lots of other things. To select a brand people search for manufacturers means if you are Delhi citizen then you will search online shops so that you can make your work easy.To fulfill all his need he selects the brand. Now a question arises in mind while selecting a brand name where will he go and how to get the list of brand or showrooms.To solve this problem some sites provides a listing of these companies so that people can save a lot of time while shopping. In Delhi you can see that there are some sites which provides a great listing of Delhi manufacturers and exporters from where anyone can find these listing and make shopping easily.Here I want to say something on these sites which provides a listing of brand names. These are the sites which is an archive of Delhi manufacturers and exporters and such type of web sites provides benefit to two type of people. One is the people which place their ads on these web sites. Suppose there is a business man and he wants to make his business popular.These persons can get a lot of benefit from these sites. They place their business ads with the brand name or the companies which are already popular and get a good benefit. This archive of these online web sites provides this great services.
Other pre-press work may include converting photograph files from RGB to CMYK and making sure all images are sized properly and have adequate resolution for printing.
Simple one or two-color printing jobs have less pre-press work and fewer plates to be made, and tend to be less expensive to print than four-color.
Trying to reproduce some PMS (Pantone Matching System) colors using four-color process can be difficult if not impossible with some colors. Often a client will have a logo or design element that has been printed on past materials as a PMS spot color and are upset when the same color cannot be created accurately using four-color process.
Most four-color printing requires coated paper stock in order to produce the best color fidelity. While you can print four-color process on uncoated and textured stock, many clients find the softness and lack of contrast of the printed reproductions to be less than desirable when uncoated stock is used.
Often it is necessary to varnish or apply liquid lamination to large four-color areas or large solid areas in order to limit finger printing, especially on brochure and pocket folder covers. This is sometimes viewed as an option, but is really necessary to make sure a quality piece makes a great first impression.
Four-color printing also requires proofing of all color proofs prior to printing to ensure true color fidelity, and it is a common practice for the client and designer to be present during press runs to approve all color and supervise press adjustments if necessary.
Pre-Press—Where Things Go Right—Or Wrong
There is an old saying that you should use the right tool for the right job, and with creating pre-press files for your project, this is very true.
When you are producing high-quality, offset lithography materials, there is no substitution for high quality graphic design tools such as the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, PhotoShop) and Quark XPress. There are some other applications that can be used, but these are the most widely used, because they are designed to work within the exacting color standards and protocols demanded by four-color printing.
If you talk to printers, you will find that few, if any, are willing work with client-provided files such as Microsoft Word, Publisher and other programs that are aimed at creating basic documents. More often than not, these applications are just not compatible with the software and output devices used by printers.
Programs such as Adobe InDesign and Quark XPress, are designed to be compatible with the software and standards used by lithographers, and will provide for greater flexibility and accuracy for everyone throughout the pre-press and printing process.
Check with the printing company you will be working with before you start designing your project to see what programs and file types they prefer to work with.
Achieving Color Quality
Avoid doing pre-press work yourself unless you have the pre-press expertise or an experienced resource to do the work for you. A pre-press professional will have calibrated monitors so there is less of a chance of color problems, and they will have a work flow process so they can make sure all pre-press elements work together. Digital files delivered to a printi
A printing press is a specially designed machine used for a wide range of printing processes. Such machines consist of a press, which contains impressions of material to be reproduced and are mechanically transferred or pressed against printing paper or other materials. These printing presses could provide black and white or colored print depending on the requirement.Installation of appropriate printing press for home or commercial purpose could fulfill printing needs. Many small printing presses provide adequate services to commercial clients. These commercial clients are generally small time companies and professionals. These small printing companies provide similar services to that of a large company but on a smaller scale. Printing methodology used by these small presses could be somewhat traditional. Use of older techniques may not make any significant difference to overall quality of the product.Not many workers need to be employed in small commercial printing press. Also, automatic machines may be utilized to do the work of additional workers. These small companies provide their services for printing smaller number of books, catalogs, brochures, and other related items. They usually charge a lower fee than big companies on their services as infrastructure is comparatively smaller and technique of printing is also simpler. It is possible for customers to experience inadequate or average service as compared to big companies. This may happen, as smaller companies do not have advanc
Four-color printing also requires proofing of all color proofs prior to printing to ensure true color fidelity, and it is a common practice for the client and designer to be present during press runs to approve all color and supervise press adjustments if necessary.
Pre-Press—Where Things Go Right—Or Wrong
There is an old saying that you should use the right tool for the right job, and with creating pre-press files for your project, this is very true.
When you are producing high-quality, offset lithography materials, there is no substitution for high quality graphic design tools such as the Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, PhotoShop) and Quark XPress. There are some other applications that can be used, but these are the most widely used, because they are designed to work within the exacting color standards and protocols demanded by four-color printing.
If you talk to printers, you will find that few, if any, are willing work with client-provided files such as Microsoft Word, Publisher and other programs that are aimed at creating basic documents. More often than not, these applications are just not compatible with the software and output devices used by printers.
Programs such as Adobe InDesign and Quark XPress, are designed to be compatible with the software and standards used by lithographers, and will provide for greater flexibility and accuracy for everyone throughout the pre-press and printing process.
Check with the printing company you will be working with before you start designing your project to see what programs and file types they prefer to work with.
Achieving Color Quality
Avoid doing pre-press work yourself unless you have the pre-press expertise or an experienced resource to do the work for you. A pre-press professional will have calibrated monitors so there is less of a chance of color problems, and they will have a work flow process so they can make sure all pre-press elements work together. Digital files delivered to a printi
Have a favorite charity or non-profit community cause to which you contribute time and resources? Chances are your company will be interested in supporting it, too.According to the Giving USA 2004 study released by the Giving USA Foundation in the summer of 2004, American individuals, estates, foundations, and corporations gave an estimated $240.72 billion to charitable causes in 2003. In the US, during the five years spanning 1998-2002, corporations contributed $55 billion, (5%) of the total $1135 billion. Corporations also gave through foundations, which contributed an addition $121 billion (11%) of the five year total.People tend to be aware that there are financial benefits to corporations for donating to charities and that corporations want to be good, forward-acting citizens. What people—and many organizations—don’t realize yet is that there are still other motivators and benefits for corporate giving. The fact is, increasing numbers corporations are extending the benefits of their corporate giving activities by leveraging them as team building programs and employee support initiatives that increase even further the benefits these activities bring to the company itself.For example, according to Marjorie Polycarpe in a December 2003 article Re-Examining Workplace Giving Programs (http://www.onphilanthropy.com/bestpract/bp2003-12-31.html), she quotes the manager of the employee giving campaign at American Express, Angela Woods, who discussed how her company involved emp
If you talk to printers, you will find that few, if any, are willing work with client-provided files such as Microsoft Word, Publisher and other programs that are aimed at creating basic documents. More often than not, these applications are just not compatible with the software and output devices used by printers.
Programs such as Adobe InDesign and Quark XPress, are designed to be compatible with the software and standards used by lithographers, and will provide for greater flexibility and accuracy for everyone throughout the pre-press and printing process.
Check with the printing company you will be working with before you start designing your project to see what programs and file types they prefer to work with.
Achieving Color Quality
Avoid doing pre-press work yourself unless you have the pre-press expertise or an experienced resource to do the work for you. A pre-press professional will have calibrated monitors so there is less of a chance of color problems, and they will have a work flow process so they can make sure all pre-press elements work together. Digital files delivered to a printing company need to work together flawlessly so there are no surprises after the job is printed. Also, four-color process printing is very exacting—what may look fine on a desktop printer may be blurry and lifeless when printed by offset lithography.
You should work through a graphic designer who has a lot of printing experience or work with a printer who will include in his price some time to go through your files and correct any pre-press problems before the job goes to press.
If you get several printing quotations, do not assume that the lowest bidder will necessarily deliver as good a print job as the high bidder or that because someone who is more expensive will deliver a better quality job. Be sure to look at samples of a printer's work, especially projects that are similar in size and complexity as your project. Make sure your printing quotes are really an apple to apple comparison.
Working With Printers
If you do not like creating printing specifications and working with printers, consider using a graphic designer as your go-between. If you are working with someone to design your projects already, they may have several printers they like to work with and your designer can handle the technical issues and work with the printer on your behalf.
If you are working with a new printer, be sure to get a number of samples of their work (and samples similar to the project you are having quoted). If you are on a tight deadline or the project is very complex, be sure to get some references from the printer; ask about the printer's ability to deliver as promised and how they deal with potential problems.
All printers are not created equal because printers vary in terms of press sizes and what is considered their ideal printing project. A printer with a smaller press might be more economical, but might have greater press limitations and could deliver a less than first-rate job. Make sure that the printer you select has the equipment and expertise to handle your project.
Before your project is printed, be sure to look at digital or matchprint proofs to make sure you are happy with the quality of the proof. Many printers will allow you to critically examine the first color proofs and make color adjustments, providing you with a second set of color proofs prior to printing. Keep in mind that making color corrections will send your job back through pre-press and may delay the printing schedule significantly.
Press Proofing Press proofing is one way to make sure you have no surprises after your project is printed. Usually press proofing is done by the client, the project's designer or the printing sales representative handling the job. Keep in mind that some printers may charge extra to press proof as it means holding up the press run until the press proof is complete. Press hold-ups can be costly, especially if the press proof requires sending the job back to pre-press.
Press proofing is probably more important with long press-runs where you are printing tens of thousands of a brochure or other marketing materials. If you have a small print run of a few thousand, the time and effort required to press proof may not be worth it.
During a press proof, you should look for color fidelity by comparing the printed sheet against the matchprint or digital proof. You also will want to look at solid areas making sure there are no dust spots creating white specks. Be sure to inspect small type or type that is created using screens or reversed out of a color background.
Generally, minor color adjustments can be made to enhance or create final color balance in a four-color piece, however, extensive color adjustments on-press is not the way to correct poor quality pre-press work. When correcting on the press you are "tweaking", and you will just not have the controls over individual images used within your print job as you do when the job is still in pre-press.
While slight color adjustments on-press is perfectly acceptable, keep in mind that any color adjustments will affect the length of the sheet; that is, anything ahead of or behind the area affected by color adjustments on press will be affected as it passes through the press.
Saving Money With Out of Town Printers
While it is tempting to use printing companies who advertise through the Internet and offer great pricing on four-color printing, keep in mind that many of these printers "gang" print, that is, they put your printing job on a large press sheet along with many other customers, so it may not be
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