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The power of your printed piece is usually conveyed most strongly through your type. If your type is sharp, it best communicates whatever message you want to send to your audience. Here are a few tips to make sure that your type remains crisp and sharp.

First, make sure you’re using the Type tool in whatever program you’re working in. If you are sending your applications files to your printer, use the Package feature (InDesign) or Collect for Output feature (QuarkXPress) if it’s available, to send your original fonts.

Don’t inadvertently rasterize (turn into pixels) the type. This softens the type, and it loses its crispness. The stair-stepping on the left letter indicates it has been rasterized.

If want to place type you’ve created in Photoshop into a program like InDesign, save it as a Photoshop PDF file. Unlike Photoshop PSD format, this keeps the sharp edges.

If you’re creating a PDF file, be sure to embed your fonts. If you’re using an Adobe application, or using a Macintosh, this usually happens automatically. If you’re using an older version of Microsoft products, you may need to look for the option to embed fonts.

If the fonts are not embedded, they may be substituted. The original font, Stone Sans, is shown above, and the substituted font, Adobe Serif MM, is shown below.

Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

Check out the Open Gatefold Brochure Printing for Less printed for Western Sustainability Exchange.

WSE promotes a healthy local environment and profitable local economy through responsible agricultural stewardship. For their annual appeal letter, WSE chose to engage their members with a Gatefold Brochure that resembles a local Montana Barn.

Open the “barn doors” and the brochure unfolds again to reveal an ample 9” x 17” display of information. Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

 

A common complaint when printing from Adobe Reader or Acrobat is that the page is not the right size. Often you find that when you print your pages to your desktop printer they have gotten smaller.

This is an easy problem to solve. You just need to look closely at the choices in the Print dialog of Adobe Reader or Acrobat.

The dialog boxes will look different depending on what version of Reader or Acrobat you’re using. Here is how the Print dialog (File > Print) looks in the current version of Reader 10.1.3. Notice that it defaults to Shrink to Page. You just need to switch to Actual Size.

The dialog looks different in Acrobat or Reader 9. Here you need to choose None (meaning “no scaling”) if you want to print at actual size. It defaults to Shrink to Printable Area.

Need help with your printing? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

Check out the Tri Fold Prezzo Folder Printing for Less recently printed for Kiddo Tags, a unique company that produces convenient and stylish name labels for use on children’s items.

Kiddo Tags founder Gabby Turner needed labels that would effectively mark her kid’s items at school, but also look stylish and be extremely durable.  The solution was Kiddo Tags, a uniquely customizable name tag that’s both dishwasher and microwave safe.

In marketing Kiddo Tags, Gabby wanted a piece that was as stylish as the tags themselves. The resulting Presentation Folder features a Tri Fold design, awesome Die cuts, and loads of color. Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.

 

Check out the Die Cut Greeting Cards Printing for Less recently printed for Hashim Thomas, an accomplished artist and Creative Director of VisuaLogic, LLC.

VisuaLogic’s latest venture is a greeting card line based on Hashim’s “Icon Series” paintings. As noted on his website, Hashim “believes in sharing meaningful moments with the people he cares about, and extends this philosophy into a fitting product for that sentiment.”

Printing for Less experts went above and beyond with this project – creating six custom die and foil lines for the cards. The shape of the rock star’s hair line for example, has more detail than Printing for Less has ever created in a Die Cut before.

With a combination of modern art and historic significance, these cards bring a fresh look to your favorite cultural icons. Need help with your print? Talk to a live print expert today: 800-930-7978.