August 7th, 2009

Online Customer Service

Customer Service for Book Printing

Online ordering promises the streamlined delivery of products and in many cases it does. And then again, sometimes it doesn’t.

Take the case of computer software. A product that can be ordered, paid for and delivered online. It seems like software would be the prime example of efficient, hassle free purchasing. Until of course something goes wrong. Although I’ve ordered and received programs this way for many years now, the process is far from perfect. Just this week I ordered a product from the worlds largest software company. Low and behold, there was a problem with the order. At the time of this post the problem has yet to be resolved.

This illustrates how a relatively simple task can become rather difficult to execute successfully when doing so strictly over the internet. The reason that the problem hasn’t been fixed yet is that trying to navigate online customer service on such a large and overly complex company website is a nightmare. They have made it easy to submit the order but nearly impossible to resolve a customer service issue.

This experience underscores the difference of our philosophy here at Colorwise. We try to make the ordering process as easy as possible, yet are ready to deliver superior customer service if things don’t go as planned. When problems pop up, we are ready and willing to resolve the issue for the customer as quickly as possible. We offer several contact options and never drop your call into voicemail.

The cornerstone of our customer service is to have knowledgeable and experienced people answering the phones. When calling Colorwise, chances are that you will be talking directly to someone involved on the production of your job. And if the first person that you talk to doesn’t have an immediate answer, they will find out who does or will contact you as quickly as possible with the answer.

July 27th, 2009

Straight Paper Weight

paper-weight

To the new print buyer there are certainly many confusing aspects to commercial printing. But there is one aspect that remains confusing even to the well seasoned print buyer. Paper weight.

Paper terminology starts out confusing even before we start to discuss weight. A few of the same words are used to describe both paper grade and paper type. Our three most common paper grades are Bond, Offset and Coated. These grades describe how a paper is manufactured.

Paper types are categorized by their intended use and are grouped together based on their Basis Weight which will be defined in the next paragraph. Common paper types include Bond (encompassing bond, writing, ledger and copier papers), Offset (also referred to as uncoated which includes offset, book and text papers), and Cover Weight. So from these two lists, we can see that there are crossover words. This is a problem because we can define a Coated Cover Weight or an Offset Cover but not a Coated Bond or Uncoated Writing stock.

Despite the grade and type issues outlined above, the true root of the paper weight problem is Basis Weight. This is defined as the weight of 500 sheets of a paper’s base parent sheet size. The catch is that each paper category has a different base sheet size. Bond papers (bond, writing, ledger and copier) have a base sheet size of 17″ x 22″. Offset papers (offset, book and text, both coated and uncoated) have a base size of 25″ x 38″. Cover stock (coated and uncoated) has a base size of 20″ x 26″. So a 80# Text weights nearly half that of an 80# Cover.

I’m sure you’re thinking that there must be a better way. There is. GSM or Grams per Square Meter. This is the weight of a single sheet of paper in grams that measures 1 meter by 1 meter square. There is no basis weight for different types or categories of paper – all paper is weighed in the same way. Paper type, finish, bulk, brightness and color still have to be defined just as it would with basis weight stock, but we can at least avoid having to use equivalency charts and confusing terminology to specify weight. Unfortunately GSM is rarely used in North America for offset printing. The one bright spot is that it seems to be catching on in digital printing and as this segment matures, it may provide the catalyst to finally embrace GSM – or at least an imperial version that only North America will use. Ounces per square fathom. Grains per square inch. Drams per square foot. Only time will tell.

July 10th, 2009

Affects of Paper on Color

paper-color

In printing we are often confronted with the problem of expectation versus reality. The color that you see on your monitor, your laser printer, your color proof, your press proof and the final printed product can look surprisingly different from one another. This is the reality. Of course the expectation is that they are all the same.

Reasons for these differences are many. RGB vs. CMYK. Inkjet vs. offset. Coated vs. uncoated. I could go on all day. So the printing process is not perfect and we’re going to have to do some work to arrive at pleasing color. But to start, we need to have a realistic expectation of the end result and an understanding of the limitations in the printing process.

One of the variables that is rarely considered with regard to color is paper. Examining your paper options at the beginning of your next project can save wear and tear on your stressometer when your final product arrives. Going about choosing a paper is no big deal as long as you have a few bits of information.

For the most part you are going to have a choice of two types of paper. Coated or uncoated. Coated stocks are just as named, they have a coating applied on the paper’s surface that enhances their printability. Conversely, uncoated stocks lack this coating, but are generally less expensive and offer features that coated stocks can’t.

With coated stocks, the idea is to keep the ink on the surface of the paper until it dries. Their enhanced holdout reduces dot gain which in turn allows for higher ink density, finer line screens and faster drying. On the other hand, coated stocks are not offered in textured finishes such as linen or laid. Due to their extra processing, they are thinner at a given weight than their uncoated counterpart and they are susceptible to cracking when folded. And if your favorite paper color is white, you’re in luck, otherwise you’ll need to print a flood color over the sheet to arrive at another background tone.

So we can see, coated paper has a few downsides which is why uncoated stocks remain popular. You have a great many finish options and color choices when going uncoated and most of all you can save some money too. Just don’t forget that ink behaves differently here and most likely will result in color shifts, loss of density and possibly some loss of detail. Especially so when using a very thin or colored stock. Keeping these things in mind, when used properly, you can still have a great looking product on uncoated paper.

So we’ve touched on a few ways that paper affects color. There is ink holdout, absorbency, dry back, dot gain, ink density, line screens and the paper color itself. In future posts, I will give additional information on some of the other variables. We have yet to touch on texture, ink type, matte and gloss finishes, inline coatings, curing speed, opacity and paper brightness.

June 23rd, 2009

Multi-page Document Layout

Page Layout

When laying out a multi-page document such as a book or business cards its best to use a page layout program such as Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress. Try to avoid using art programs like Adobe Illustrator (a vector based program) or Adobe Photoshop (a pixel based program). Here is why:

Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, although excellent programs, do not have the option to make a multi-page document.

My suggestion is to use Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop to design the background of the business card or cover art and then place the art into your InDesign layout on a master page. Once you place the art into InDesign set the text.

You will find that using master pages ensures that each spread or card has an identical and uniform look. With each new book page or card name pull a master page and add body copy or card contact information.

This is also helpful if you decide to make a last minute layout change. All you have to do is make the change on the master page and it will show up automatically on all spreads or business cards. If you have set 50 different Illustrator documents you have to open up all 50 and make the change one by one. Or if you chose to create the background art in Illustrator just open up the one file, alter it and then update it in InDesign and all pages or cards will update in a few seconds. Not only does it make your life easier but it makes your printers life a lot easier as well!!

June 2nd, 2009

Best Book Press Release

Best Book Printing Press Release

As noted below, Best Book Printing was launched earlier this year and following on the heals of the website launch was our first press release. Here’s a link to the article: http://www.prweb.com/releases/digital-book/printing-publishing/prweb2325184.htm

The reason that I bring this up is that our book printing customers may want to consider doing the same. Although the press release wasn’t a grand slam, we did see a spike of activity when released and our ranking moved up as a result. This didn’t deliver any long term gains, but to get some attention early on never hurts.

For information on how to write an effective press release, you can checkout the Tools and Tips section at prweb.com: http://www.prweb.com/pr/press-release-tip/quick-tips.html

There’s no exact way that you have to write your release, but as always, try to identify your audience and objectives before your start writing. Use hyperlinks and quotes to add some interest to your article and keep in mind that your press release is intended to generate news articles that relate to your press release.

May 20th, 2009

Digital vs. Offset Book Printing

Digital Versus Offset Book Printing

Most print buyers don’t know and don’t care about how their materials wind up on paper. That’s fine, we get paid to worry about that. But there is one thing that we get asked about often and that’s the difference between digital and offset printing.

The end result is roughly the same – an image on paper. In the case of offset printing, that image is applied to paper using ink. For digital, the image is formed using toner and intense heat to fuse the image to the paper.

As with everything, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. In terms of quality, offset printing still has a leg up (or two, or three) over digital printing. The difference though is eroding every year as digital presses continue to be refined. At some point, quality will likely be a non-issue. Other advantages to offset include a much greater choice of papers, the ability to print on large sheets (generally up to 28″ x 40″ or 20″ x 28″ on a half-size press) and the ability to print exact spot colors.

Digital printing has it’s benefits too. Although limited in stock choices, output size and ink colors, the digital process allows for short run efficiency, full color imprints on items too small for an offset press and the use of very sophisticated variable data solutions. The greatest advantage is the ability to print small quantities cost effectively. As quantities start to go up though, there is a point that offset printing becomes more cost effective and generally by a wide margin.

This brings up an important point. When searching for a printing company to work with, it will pay to understand if they offer digital printing, offset printing or both. A printing company that can do both will be able to give you the lowest cost option regardless of quantity.

April 20th, 2009

Is Preflight and Prepress the Same?

Book Printing Prepress and Preflight

For most new to the world of commercial printing, there is quite a bit of terminology to absorb. As with any industry, the printing world has its own acronyms and glossary. I won’t delve into that right now, but one thing that might need some clarification for the first-timer is the subject of electronic prepress.

To answer the title question, no, prepress and preflight are not the same thing. Preflight is the process that is used to check over electronic layout and art files before they are allowed to enter the production workflow. It is a series of checks that are preformed in various ways to make sure that the job will print without error. This typically involves the use of several different applications and may require that we send the files through a RIP (Raster Image Processor, the computer that translates electronic files into printable data) in order to discover any problems early on.

Electronic Prepress is the department that is responsible for all production procedures that lead to final print production. Prepress activities have traditionally included typesetting, preflighting, production planning, file management, archiving, file corrections, proofing, workflow management, scanning, color correcting, color management, imposition, separation, RIPping and plate production.

With the advent of digital printing, the line between prepress and press production has blurred. Traditional offset printing presses require very skilled and experienced operators to produce a great looking, sellable product. It is both an art and a science. By comparison, digital presses have a more straight forward, albeit a less flexible way of getting an image on paper. Digital devices require a greater technical and less mechanical aptitude to operate effectively. For this reason, It is not uncommon for prepress operators to be tasked with digital print production.

Technology has decreased the production cycle in almost all phases of printing over the last several decades. What use to take weeks to produce is now delivered in days. I think it’s safe to say that in the future, what takes us days to do right now will be done in hours. One thing is for certain, your prepress operator will be there helping to make your project a reality.

March 20th, 2009

A Not So Simple Postcard

Postcard Printing Hints

Before you send a postcard to print there are many things to consider before pulling the trigger:

Size: Square mailers usually have higher postage rates than rectangular pieces, as they cannot be sorted automatically. There are also three main classes for mailers: true postcard size, letter and flat size. A true postcard can range from 3.5″x5″ to 4.25″x6″ and will have the most cost effective postage and sorting rates. Letter size mailers can range from 4″x6″ up to 6″x11.5″ and flat size mailers can go up to 12″x15″.

Layout: Don’t forget that there are rules to follow with layout. There must be clear areas for the postage, address and barcode. There are of course specific requirements for the size and location of these elements.

Paper/Stock: Depending on the type and size mailer the post office requires a minimum weight. You also need to consider if the stock should be coated or uncoated. If you would like your recipient to mail a reply card, you need to choose an uncoated stock so that the ink does not smear.

If you are thinking about designing a postcard and need a few tips feel free to call us and we will be happy to get you started. You can also visit the following link to get information straight from the USPS:  http://pe.usps.gov/default.asp

February 25th, 2009

Book Discounts and Pricing Info

Book Printing Prices

Colorwise has always focused on providing the best value in printing. And of course, the best customer service and top quality printing can sometimes require a small premium over a cut rate printer. The good news is that we can often match or beat our competition’s prices by remaining more efficient.

As with any business, we have our fast times and our slow times. We have regular production meetings to schedule upcoming work and plan our incoming jobs. Whenever we see that there may be a gap in scheduling, we do our best to fill it by offering deeper discounts and/or free shipping.

The bottom line is that we will do our best to let you know if we can save you additional money from your current quote. Of course it never hurts to call us up and ask if there’s anything more to be saved when you’re ready to move forward with a job.

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