The Four Most Frequent Business Card Design Stuff Ups! - Part 1
OK, this may be a steep learning curve for most people. So you need to have a comfy chair, a coffee handy (maybe a cookie too!) and a little patience. We're going to take you on a little trip down the road of desktop publishing. It can get a little bumpy now and then, but you'll make it through with our help.
Many customers ask us for tips on designing Business Cards, Brochures and Letterheads! The following 4 articles will be covering the most common mistakes we see made.
Incorrect Page size. Yeah, it sounds like it would be a hard mistake to make, but this is one of the most common mistakes we see. Usually the cause is the designer is in a rush to begin the project and starts with the default page size of the program. This is normally A4 or Letter size.
This can cause problems when supplying your files to a commercial printer, since most printers have automatic layout applications to place your design on a press sheet. When the page size is incorrect it means it won't position it correctly and can cause it to be cut at the wrong position. This is completely undesirable! The printer then has to re-adjust the size of the page manually, before the design is submitted to the 'imposition engine'. If there's a few pages this takes a little time, but If there's a lot of pages, it can take a long time! Regardless of how much time it takes printers will usually charge for it. However you'll probably find that the printers will simply reject the job and ask for it to be resupplied.
So what's the solution? Contact the print provider before creating your document. Ask them about the exact dimensions for the final product. Then simply type that into your design application. This is usually under 'Document Setup' or "page Settings' in most programs. Now if you're using Adobe Photoshop to create your design, you will need to also make your document larger again to allow for document bleed. That's coming up in the following article
Yes it's not rocket science, but unfortunately it is a very common mistake we see in Business Cards, Brochures and Letterheads! That's why we made it mistake #1.
This article was humbly brought to you by Hollands Print Solutions! They produce high quality Business Cards, Brochures and Printing Flyers at affordable prices with excellent service! Visit their fantastic site at www.hollands.com.au
Published March 28th, 2008
Filed in Business
