Don’t be laid out by your files | File Preparation

Are you stuck in your page layout program? Does it feel like a foreign adventure for you to layout your book or your business card? Do you fear that you have made a mess you can’t recover from? Call us - we can help! We are familiar with almost all design-related software and can assist in most circumstances to get your file ready for print, or take what you’ve started and turn it into the masterpiece you were striving for.

We recently had a client working in PageMaker who had never used that program before. She was worried that she messed up her page layout to the point of no return. Upon meeting with her, we were able to put her at ease and offer some coaching. Sometimes an experienced eye is all it takes when a computer program is making you feel like you are on another planet. Use us as a resource to help you in preparing/building your next file for print!

Beyond assisting with troublesome files, we also offer a full array of design services to take your project from a simple idea to a creatively designed piece. Ask your sales rep or CSR for more information today!

Proof It!

In a rush for a printed piece? Think you’ll just skip the proofing stage to save time? We advise you to think twice. Proofs can save your print job and your wallet.

The pace of our world continues to increase these days, while the time to produce (planning for an event, creating an invitation, brochure, or mailing, for example) is decreasing. We all tend to find ourselves running on this inevitable treadmill. But, even as deadlines get tighter and expectations grow, accuracy still needs to trump speed. As Charley Lindemann, one of KPB’s owners, often  says, “You may feel like you don’t have time, but you certainly don’t have time to print it twice”. In most cases, not only do you not have time to print something twice, you likely don’t have the budget.

That’s where the proofing process comes in to save the day. Proofing is essential to an accurate final product. Seeing something one last time before you print it can save you the headache of spelling someone’s name wrong, realizing your corporate red actually looks pink, catching an incorrect event date, or seeing that holes punched are going through critical data. These are just a few examples of the many things that clients catch at the proofing stage of a job. Always remember, bypassing a proof might save you time in the short run, but ask yourself, what could it do to your budget, or even worse, your clientele, in the long run?

Picture Perfect

Make sure your photos stay picture perfect and print-appropriate! Follow these quick and easy rules of thumb for photo resolution and learn how to play it safe every time.

Often, people think a photo that looks clear on screen or online will print high quality as well. This may not be the case. It all depends on the resolution of the photo, or details the imagine holds, and the scale to which the photo will be enlarged. A file will usually be fine if you need to reduce it; it’s enlarging it that can get you into trouble.

To better understand the restrictions and limitations, and in order to know just how much enlarging is too much, here is our trick: Never blow a file up more than its current resolution. For example, if a file is 72 dpi don’t enlarge it more than 72 percent; if it’s 250 dpi, don’t go any bigger than 250 percent and so forth.

Always remember to be thinking about your end product as well. If you are building at file at half size, you have to do double the math to make sure your photos will stay in top-notch quality. Still confused? Just remember, we are here to help. Anytime you are in doubt, send us the image in question. We can take a look at it and guide you through the process!