DesignIsAboutYou.com

If a marketing piece only needed to look good on the designer’s screen, it would be a much easier job to design. Reality is that most designs are printed using one of a variety of techniques on numerous types of equipment. Each printing press and process has different capabilities and limitations.

To achieve the best results, it is important for the designer and production professionals to work together so that the file the printer receives is properly prepared to achieve the expected results. Over the last thirteen years, I have made it a point to become an expert in working with the production professionals who will be printing my designs. This allows me to achieve maximum results for my clients.

Some of the things these professionals have taught me, apply to all print jobs sent to any printer. Other requirements are specific to that company and to the particular production method. Each requirement is incorporated as part of our design process and before sending a job to production, we conduct a detailed production review.

Just recently, a client asked me to send a job to production with a printer whom I have not worked with. We made contact with the printer to discuss their preferred specifications. The letter of thanks we received back from the printer was similar to notes and comments received from others over the years.

“In a world where I see lots of artwork, (mostly bad) I find it a ‘breath of fresh air’ to get some easy to print work. THANKS.”

—Bill Wilkin
Red Star Printing, Inc

When a printer becomes confident that the files they have been handed have been made “Bullet Proof” for the production process it saves the client money. “Bullet Proof” designs take less time in prepress, use less materials, and take less time on press. All of this reduces production costs. These savings are passed on to the client in lower production rates.