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Printing & Mailing Services:
We support both Macintosh and PC operating systems and software.
Microsoft Publisher Service Provider, Corel Platinum Service Bureau,
Adobe Authorized Solutions Provider,
To send files directly to us Click Here for our FTP Drop Box

Although we have a professional design staff to create anything you want, many of you will want to prepare your printing projects on your computer with your software. We have several suggestions to help you do this. We can service both PC and MacIntosh programs. For a complete list of the software we service and use see our Software Page.

Helpful Hints for file preparation

First, if you are using Microsoft Publisher to prepare your files, click here for Publisher Help files.
Other helpful ideas to make your printing project go smoother . . .

  1. Try and be as specific as possible from the beginning. Tell us what software you are using, and what fonts we need to have to complete your project.
  2. Tell us when you must have your printing completed, but please do not ask us to work overtime unless it is necessary. False deadlines hurt both you and us.
  3. If you are requesting an estimate, please provide us with all the job specifications in advance and keep in mind that we will provide 3 different quantities at no extra cost to you. Please do not ask for more quantities than you need, quotes take time to produce and you will speed the process by only asking for what you need.
  4. Allow us to use our experience and expertise to help you as much as possible by telling us how you intend to use your finished piece and what post press operations will be needed. To get the best possible results for your printing job, for example; process color work will look much better on coated stock, and if you are going to address and mail your piece we offer these services and might save you valuable time and money if you tell ahead of time and allow us to do this for you.
  5. When planning your project, try working backwards from the date you need it completed and allow proper time for design, alterations and proofing.
  6. Check you proofs carefully for all spelling and numbers, do not assume that because a previous proof was correct the current one will be also. That copy may have been retyped completely due to corrections or changes.
  7. RETURN PROOFS QUICKLY, we allow a day for proofing when we quote your job, if you take more than a day to return your proof you may delay getting your job done. Please try and limit the number of people who sign off on proofs, the more people who look at them increase the likelyhood of alterations that may delay your project beyond your deadline date.
  8. Try and keep Author’s Alterations to a minimum. Author’s Alterations are changes you make after we have your file, they will result in increased cost to you, and possibly delay your project. The more work we are required to do to your file, the longer it will take and the more costly it will be to you

Scans and graphics are another problem area if not done correctly. The photo in the Columbus Museum Fall Newsletter was printed with 150 lines per inch screens and was scanned at 300 dpi for this purpose. Tips and instructions on scanning can be found at our page on also. Digital printing does not require as much information as offset printed items and can be scanned at a much lower resolution making for smaller files. Don't be mislead by your inkjet or digital printer and photo glossy paper, printed material can seldom match the hues of inkjet or digital prints. Printing on a paper to simulate the photo glossy look requires a very expensive paper.  All files will need some manipulation after we receive them unless you are a  professional and understand postscript printing thoroughly and call ahead to  insure you are using the proper Printer drivers. In some cases even with professional files some tweaking is required to get the desired results. Web art is the worst source of art for printing. Web art is usually only 72 dpi and has been processed to reduce the colors down to 8 bit color so it will load fast on your screen, where most printed objects need to be 300 dpi and in 16 bit or 32 bit color to reproduce the color properly. We can remove information from an object, but we cannot put something in that has been removed. If you use web art in your printed piece it will almost certainly have jagged edges, and the results will be disappointing. Enlarging or stretching graphics in your piece without planning for it can result in less than desirable results also. If your art is too small you must compensate for it when you scan it see our page on unless you are using vector art which can be stretched to nearly any size required. For additional information on scanning and preparing graphics for printing see our Software page.

USING COLOR--Spot or Process, what is the difference?
 We get a lot of documents designed to be 2 color that are actually 4 color documents. The reason typically is a lack of understanding of how software treats color. If your inkjet has 4 refills, you may already know something about this.  Basically there are 2 types of color we use in offset printing,. Only one form is utilized when using an inkjet or laser printer.

Process color is a process that uses 4 colors, cyan (process blue), magenta (process red), yellow, and black to produce full color as seen above.

The other is Spot Color which is, let us say, Red and Black as separate colors, and they cannot be mixed. Most programs that allow offset printing of documents have both "types" of color available, but will default to process to use in office printers. If you want to print spot color you must change your color palette. Spot Color is controlled by the ink color used on the press and Process Color always uses the 4 process colors a stated above and referred to as C,Y,M,K. If you bring us a document in process color and you want a spot color document printed, there is sometimes a substantial charge for the time it takes to convert the colors, if they can be converted at all. All programs handle color differently so look in your help files for how to set up color in your program.  If your program does not allow for separations in the print dialog box chances are you are going to have a problem, call before you bring us your file, maybe we can save you and your company a lot of time expense and disappointment.

For additional information about color click here Pantone Color.

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