How to build a better PDF
May 28, 2008
It’s amazing how many ills can be cured by the simple PDF. It’s like the aspirin of desktop graphics. Still, aspirin can’t cure the common cold. Similarly, pumping a dozen fuzzy snapshots into a Word file before converting it to PDF won’t give your annual report that National Geographic look you’re going for.
So, as many a pizza chain will remind you, your final result is no better than the ingredients. With that in mind (from Adobe’s Lonn Lorenz and researcher Dov Isaacs) here’s The Perfect PDF: Best Practices for Preparing PDF Files.
What’s on (Adobe) TV?
May 27, 2008
If you’re tired of Reality TV and have already seen the season finale of LOST, why not check out some programming that’s actually useful?
In recent years Adobe has bolstered its product support with a lot of online options, including its newest addition, Adobe TV. There are a number of “channels” including a lot of programming about photography, video, graphic and web design.
Check out the “most popular” link, and follow it to episode 1 of Caffe Fibonacci. The fireplace and country background are “Photoshopped” in, but the actual show has a number of useful and interesting tips. And don’t let the Apple logos put you off; this information is useful for Windows too!
Have any tips you’d like to share? Drop us a note!
Copies&Ink ClickPrint Online Store
May 13, 2008
Need a different quantity?
Visit our customer service page.
Full color greeting card
• Valid through Dec. 15, 2008
Foldover cards, printed in color (outside only), folds to 5″ x7″ and includes matching envelope. Available online or at our counter. Complete your purchase and upload your file(s) to our website. You will receive a confirmation of your order/artwork via PDF. Ready within 48 hours, in store pickup or UPS ground shipping available
Need assistance?
Visit our customer service page.
Full color greeting card, printed inside and out
• Valid through Dec. 15, 2008
Foldover cards, printed in color inside and out, folds to 5″ x7″ and includes matching envelope. Available online or at our counter. Complete your purchase and upload your file(s) to our website. You will receive a confirmation of your order/artwork via PDF. Ready within 48 hours, in store pickup or UPS ground shipping available
Stationery or Stationary?
May 13, 2008
Long time printers like myself are always on the lookout for typos and misspellings; here’s one I see a lot:
“I’d like to order some stationary.”
I once heard that the most frequently mangled word is “rhythm.” Do you have a favorite spelling screw-up?
And here’s a funny story about the stationery/stationary issue. Enjoy.
King James for the New Age
May 13, 2008
The King James Bible for Kindle
What’s new in the 2008 King James edition? Maybe not much in terms of real content change, but the delivery system has sure changed. You can now get it over the cell phone network! Or how about the current issue of The Wall Street Journal for 75 cents… delivered wirelessly! Gutenberg would indeed be proud. So how has this come about?
Enter the Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device
There have been many e-book solutions proposed over the years, but IMO this is the first one with merit. In addition to a crystal clear reader that wirelessly downloads books for a fraction of their printed cost, you also get lifetime free internet access using the Sprint network. OK, it’s not a killer app web browser, but it’s FREE!
I may not be able to give up “real” books quite yet, but this sure beats toting War and Peace in my carry-on for that that 13 hour airplane flight!
Control Freaks: Print is for you!
May 13, 2008
Think you’ve got your website design nailed? Here’s what Joseph Webb, Ph.D., Director of WhatTheyThink.com Economics & Research Center says:
“Content creators use graphic design techniques to ensure that images are viewed in a manner that they will make their client’s message effective. In print, they have almost full control of the physical nature of their message.” When you design for print, the print buyer can feel fairly sure that the result will always be predictable. The size and shape are predictable. The color is consistent. Even the texture and thickness of the paper substrate are known factors.
Put that same design online, and the size, shape and color will always differ from one viewer to the next. Will you message be read on a 13″ display or a 24″ widescreen? Will that sky look blue or purple? What about that fabric color? What about the guy who’s reading it on his cell phone? These are just a few of dozens of good reasons to keep print in your marketing mix. Maybe the highest and best use of internet marketing is giving your customers and prospects a convenient way to respond to your offer. That’s a must!
In any event, turning your website into a multi-page online brochure is definitely NOT guerilla marketing!
Featured Site: Brainy Zip
May 2, 2008
While working on a client’s consumer survey project I recently ran across brainyzip.com, a quick and easy way to look up a plethora of demographic information, all sorted by zip code. It’s a great research tool, and quite easy to use. Of course you’ll find the typical stuff, such as distribution of population by age group, but how about some interesting tidbits?
Only 12% of workers in San Dimas, CA carpool to work.
28% of Claremont, CA residents have earned graduate or professional degrees. And in the same city over 16% of the population is of German ancestry.
How will you use information like this? The sky is the limit, as far as I’m concerned!
