Helpful Information

LOOKING FOR QR CODE HELP?

QR or Quick Response codes enable print media and web mobile media to work together. With any smartphone (iPhone, Blackberry, Droid etc.) enabled with a QR Reader app (free software that can be downloaded), you can click a picture of the QR code and it will launch your smartphone's browser and take you to whatever URL is embedded within the code.

QR codes were invented in 1994 by the Japanese corporation Denso Wave. Originally designed to track parts in vehicle production, they have now become an open source ISO standard free for the world to use. Because of its 2 dimensional design, it is capable of encoding up to 7,089 characters. This is far more data than a typical one dimensional bar code such as the standard UPC symbol. A QR code can encode any web address no matter the length of the URL.

Here are a few examples of how QR codes can be used in your print media:

• A Realtor can place a QR code on the printed information sheet outside of a home for sale. A prospective buyer can snap a picture of the QR code which contains a URL taking the user to a YouTube video featuring a virtual tour of the home.
• At a scientific conference poster session, a scientist could place a QR code on their poster containing a URL leading directly to a PDF of the poster so as colleagues reviewed the poster's content they could also save a PDF to their phone and email it to colleagues not in attendance.
• An online retailer can send out postcards in a direct marketing campaign that would include a QR code containing a URL to an interior page on their site containing a discount or a promotion only available via the QR code. This would drive mobile customers to the promotion with the additional benefit of allowing measurement of the effectiveness of the postcard campaign.
• A manufacturer of equipment could use QR codes in their instruction manuals that would have direct links to their website or YouTube highlighting "how to" videos complementing the information in the manual.
• Print your business card with a QR code on the back which leads to your public profile on LinkedIn. This is a natural extension of the business card's content where a more detailed bio is now available to the reader.

It is clear that QR codes are incredibly versatile and are only limited by your imagination. QR codes can encode a static URL or can also be dynamic in nature. QR codes can embed PURL (Personal URL) technology in a cross media direct marketing campaign so that response can be measured in a very detailed way.

Call Premier and we can help you use QR codes in your marketing campaigns.

IT'S OK TO PRINT AND "GO GREEN"

"When people use more paper, suppliers plant more trees.  If we want bigger forests, then we should use more paper, not less.  Our policies should directly protect important wildlife habitats, not try to reduce our demand for paper."
-Edward L. Glaeser, Professor of Economics, Harvard University

Have you heard someone suggest that by using less paper, you can save a tree?  The fact is, when the demand for paper declines, tree farming also declines, taking all of the ecological impacts like clean water and wildlife habitat right along with it.  Every day the forest products industry plants more than 1.7 million trees in the U.S.  Today, there are 12 more million acres of forests in the U.S. than in 1987.  

So it's ok to print and use paper.  In fact, our forests are depending on it!


GENERAL TIPS FOR PRINTING QUALITY

Please include a laser or inkjet printout of the project you would like us to print.  Laser or inkjet proofs help us double-check that your files are accurate when opened on our systems. If your project is being folded, please include a folded sample.

Make sure all lines have a designated point size. Please do not use the hairline setting. It may produce unexpected results. Instead use the numerical point size (example: .25 pt)

If your document bleeds (color extends to the edge of the page) we will need the image or color to extend at least 1/8 inch beyond the edge of the page. When the piece is printed, it will be trimmed to the correct size.

Delete all unused items that are outside of the page.

Always keep a backup of your file.

COLORS

Please make sure your full color documents are created using CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). CMYK is the color model used for commercial printing. These 4 colors create all the colors you see when looking at any printed piece. RGB (red, green, and blue) is the color model used on monitors. This color model works well for web media, multimedia and slide output, but cannot be printed unless it is changed to CMYK color space. It is best to work with CMYK when submitting files to be printed. When RGB files are converted to CMYK, the color shifts slightly because RGB has a wider range of colors than CMYK. RGB colors tend to look brighter on your screen than the CMYK printed version.

Please make sure all Pantone® colors (also called spot or PMS colors) have the same name. Pantone® 300 CV, Pantone® 300 CVC, and Pantone® 300 CVU might seem to be the same color but because they have different names, the computer will interpret them as 3 separate colors and the file will separate out into 3 separate negatives. Also check to make sure they are Pantone® colors and not the CMYK equivalents to Pantone® colors.

Check to see if your files can color separate. Color separation is when each color is output separately in order to make plates to run a job on a press. A business card with 2 colors would have 2 negatives, one for each color. The press operator would put 2 plates onto the press. The press would first print one color and then the second color. If your file cannot color separate, then it cannot be run on a commercial press. In the past, all Microsoft® software could not color separate. Publisher® 2000 is the first Microsoft® program to allow color separations. The main layout programs, QuarkXPress™, InDesign®, PageMaker®, Illustrator®, PhotoShop®, FreeHand® and CorelDRAW™ can all color separate.

Do not rely on your monitor for accurate color display. As explained earlier, a monitor uses RGB to show color and a printed piece uses CMYK. Also, most monitors are not calibrated. Next time you are looking at TV's in an electronics store, look at the colors that vary from set to set. The same is true for computer monitors.  Even with a sophisticated color calibration system, RGB and CMYK are two separate color models and will look a little different. Look at the CMYK color percentages for accurate color. Or use Pantone® spot colors for color that must be accurate such as a corporate logo. Currently the Windows® platform is less accurate for color calibration, and Microsoft® programs do not produce consistent accurate color. If you are using Microsoft® Publisher® on a Windows® operating system, keep in mind the colors will look different on your monitor than they will on the final printed piece.

If you are working with Adobe Illustrator®, set the document color mode to CMYK (File>Document Color Mode>CMYK Color). Be careful when applying blending modes to objects with spot colors. Don't use spot colors with the Difference, Exclusion, Saturation, and Luminosity blending modes. Doing so can add unwanted colors to a document.

The Overprint Preview display option (View>Overprint Preview) in Ilustrator®, InDesign® and Adobe Acrobat® displays the closest possible approximation of how overprinting will look in your color output. In Illustrator® 10, uncheck Ignore Overprinting in Composite Output in the Illustrator® 10 pane of the print dialog box. This ensures that the printed output will match as closely as possible the onscreen display with Overprint Preview enabled.

FONTS

Please include all fonts with your files. This includes the fonts used in your page layout program and all fonts used in your supporting files. There are now three types of fonts:OpenType®, PostScript® (also called Type 1™ fonts) and TrueType® fonts. PostScript® fonts have both a screen font and a printer font. When submitting printing projetcs to us, please send us both. OpenType® and TrueType® both have only one font that functions as a screen and printer font combined.

Also, send us all styles you use for each font. Times Bold and Times Italic are two different fonts. Be sure to include both. If you are using a Macintosh®, please designate each font with the font menu. Do not bold or italicize a font using the palette buttons. If you do, your font will not print correctly to film or plate.

Postscript Type 1™ fonts and TrueType® fonts are what we call "platform-specific" which means the fonts are different for the Macintosh® and Windows® operating Systems. You cannot use Macintosh® Type 1™ or TrueType® fonts on a Windows® machine nor can you use Windows® Type 1™ or TrueType® fonts on a Macintosh® except under OSX. OSX the new operating system from Apple® which is based on UNIX will now allow Macintosh® users to use Windows® TrueType® fonts. To use Postscript Type 1™ fonts under OSX they must still be Macintosh fonts.

OpenType® fonts however are the latest standard and are completely "cross platform" which means the same set of fonts can now be used both in the Macintosh® OS (both OS 9.x and OSX) and the Windows® OS. OpenType® seems to be the new font standard for the future and Adobe has now made their entire Font Folio™ available in OpenType®.

SUPPORT FILES

Check to see that the image resolution is 300 ppi (pixels per inch) at final size in your layout application when working with photographs and scans. Photographs and scanned images are raster images. Raster images are created with pixels. Each pixel has a level of color and together the pixels create an image. Images need to have enough pixels in order to print clearly. Low resolution images (images that do not have enough pixels) look jagged and muddy and will not yield desireable results.

Check to ensure that the image resolution is 300 ppi at the size it is in the page layout document. If you have a 300 ppi image and enlarge it 200% in the page layout program, it is no longer 300 ppi - it is 150 ppi. Graphics used on the web are 72 ppi. These are NOT suitable for printing. If you take images from your website into PhotoShop® and upsample them to 300 ppi this will just add noise and unwanted artifacts to your image. Your resolution will now be correct, but your image will be degraded and will yield subpar results when printed. Please use the original images scanned at higher resolution and not the ones that have been downsampled to72 ppi for your web content.

There are two kinds of support files, raster and vector. Vector graphics are created with mathematically defined curves and lines so they may be scaled to any size and remain crisp and sharp. Most clip-art drawings and company logos are vector images. Almost all files created with Illustrator®, FreeHand®, or CorelDRAW™ are vector graphics. Raster images are created with dots or pixels. Photographs and scanned images are raster images. Anything out of PhotoShop® is a raster image. Below are a list of the most common file formats:

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) This format is for raster images. All photographs and scans (or anything out of PhotoShop®) can be saved in this format.

EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) This format is for raster or vector images. All vector images (anything out of Illustrator®, FreeHand®, or CorelDRAW™) should be saved as an EPS file unless working with InDesign and then we recommend you leave Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop files in their native .ai or .psd format. Any raster images that have a clipping path or duotone information should be saved as an EPS file.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) This format is primarily used for storing full color images or transmitting graphics via the Internet. The JPEG format compresses images in order to create a smaller file size. When an image is saved as a JPEG, then reopened, the image looks the same but is missing information that was thrown out in order to compress the image. This type of compression is called "lossy" compression. Please do not send us JPEG files because when we open them, they will not have all the image information. Instead, save your files as TIFF or EPS. If you are sending us your files by e-mail or ftp and want to compress your files, use a compression program such as StuffIt™ or WinZip™. These programs will store your files together into one smaller size file so that they can be transmitted faster. When we receive the "stuffed" or "zipped" file, we will be able to open it and have all of your original files in their original file sizes.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) This format is primarily used for web media and is used primarily for logos and graphics that are not photographs. Please do not give us these images for printing. This format is limited to 256 colors. Save them as TIFF or EPS images instead.

It is important to have high quality scans when using images. If you do not have a quality scanner, please let us scan your photos for you. A poor scan will look good on your monitor but will yield poor color separations that will look poor in print. A high quality scan will produce a high quality print.