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johnobryant Regular user Texas 195 Posts |
Who prints your brochures and/or post cards or any of your promotional material.
As for now I go out a buy some nice glossy material and print it with my high quality printer, everyone asks me where I print them and they don't believe me that I did it myself becasue it looks really nice. It looks good, but I would like to know some prices of companies if I bought them in bulk. Any website would be great. I have already searched throught my yellow pages and didn't find much. thanks, John |
Craig Kyle Regular user 197 Posts |
I use my printer that is attached to my computer. It prints in colour and produces great work. High DPI produces high ROI
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Magical Dimensions Inner circle 5001 Posts |
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MrHyde Special user 810 Posts |
John
I suggest you go visit Zak |
leapinglizards Inner circle 1263 Posts |
Psprint, acidflyers, flyerfaucet are three that I have used. The first is the most expensive, but have never had a complaitn about them.... Not so the other two.
Leaping Lizards!!! Who knew it was possible.
<BR> <BR>www.LeapingLizardsMagic.com |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Just remember as always that no matter what online printer you use that you 1) ask for samples ahead of time 2) make sure they allow you to receive a proof before the run is started and 3) make sure you know ahead of time how they like to receive your files. I have talked about this in another post and if anyone would like more information about dealing with online printers, let me know and I can post some information here for you. My pleasure.
Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
shawn popp Veteran user Denver 313 Posts |
I have been very impressed with VistaPrint. Their prices simply can't be beat.
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Their prices can not be beat but their quality is not always dead on as I would like it to be. They use a format of digital printing that you have to be careful when you are using certain colors and lighter colors. The color can shift on you during the printing process. This is why I try and get a proof. The only problem is that a lot of folks these days now think a PDF is a proof and it really is not.
A proof is an actual printed piece ran off for you to see exactly how the piece will print. This is your way of knowing what you are going to get before you sign off on the full run. Let me share with you some information that may be of help to some of you. I hope you find it informative. In this ever growing world of technology and the internet, there are even more ways of getting business cards and other materials printed for your promotional needs. With the advent of the world wide web, there has also been a huge growth in online printers who can print your materials at a fraction of the cost of offset printing. However it is very important to know that not every online printing place is the same. This is why as a designer I can not stress the importance of always doing your homework upfront before going with any online printer. Always ask for samples to be mailed to you. If they say they only have samples online, then move on elsewhere. You need to have real samples on the paper they print on. Seeing the product in your hands will be the only way for you to really understand the quality you will be getting and can expect from them. If they are a legit and professional business, they will have no problem with your request. Another thing you will want to keep in mind is that you can and should ask for a proof. A proof is what they run off for you after they have set up your card for printing. This way you can see exactly what it will look like and it is your way of fixing any problems before you are stuck with thousands of cards that are not right. Spend the extra money to have a proof done. Now sometimes they offer you online PDF proofing. This is ok ONLY if you want to proof the type and text and make sure the elements are where they need to be. However, a PDF proof is NOT an accurate display of actual color and quality of the color being printed. For this, you would need a live proof sent to you via mail. This is the best way to make sure the color is exactly what you want it to be. Once you sign off on a proof, you are telling the printer you are ok with what they have. If there are any mistakes on the printing and you did not catch it on the proof, then you are stuck with them. Make sure to take your time examining the proof thoroughly before signing off. If there is a mistake that was not on the proof, then this clearly means that they messed up. The proof then becomes your proof to them that what they printed is not what you approved. This is the value of a proof and why I always request them. Yes, they probably will charge you for a proof, but it is money well spent. Another topic I would like to mention is to find out what exact process they use when they do their printing. There are so many types of digital printing these days and they all produce vastly different results. Find out ahead of time by reading their site or asking a question to them. You will want to do this any ways because you will need to be sure to find out all the details on file submission. This is a key area. A lot of mistakes on cards coming out wrong can be from the customer uploading a file that is not set up properly. Find out exactly what size they need the cards to be. Find out if they need you to add room for bleed objects. Find out what format they need it in (CMYK or RGB). Find out what format they need it saved as (.JPG / .EPS) or others. All of this information is critical for you getting exactly the card you want as an end result. I hope this information is of help to some of you. If anyone has any questions pertaining to anything I covered, please let me know. It would be my pleasure to help you and give advice if I can. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Christopher Starr Inner circle Heart of America 1850 Posts |
Kyle:
Who do you use for your printing needs? |
Sam Pearce Veteran user Ontario, Canada 309 Posts |
Although I have had some colour problems with their magnets, I use Vista Print for all my printed promo products.
Sam Pearce |
johnobryant Regular user Texas 195 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-10-02 01:23, MrHyde wrote: I am printing from my own computer right now. It is high quality, but I just wanted to shop around and look at prices that might be cheaper. -john |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Starr: Actually I end up using whatever printers my client requests of me to use. That is the nature sometimes of my professional design work. some clients have printers they want to use that are close to them.
However, no matter what printer I am using, I always ask to see samples. I always get a full proof and go through a lot of the steps I mentioned above. As a designer it is my responsibility to make sure that my design for my client comes out the way it is intended to. When I am at home, I use a state of the art printer that is very hi end. This allows me to run off my own prints up to 12 by 18 and customize my mailings and promotional kits as required. My work also has a wonderful system I use after hours for higher volume output runs. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Mr Amazeo Regular user 186 Posts |
I've had really good results from http://www.zooprinting.com. I just make up my material in printshop and convert it to a .pdf file. They send back a proof via email that is pretty much what I've sent them, but you want to check for bleed (I think that's what they call it). This is the area near the border of of your proof that might get cut off. I've never had a problem with quality, and frankly I think it's cheaper than burning through ink cartridges, quicker, and way better looking.
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shawn popp Veteran user Denver 313 Posts |
For quality I've used 4by6.com
They are a bit more expensive but offer different options as far as coatings. They offer a satin coating that is really nice. Just FYI As far as vistaprint goes, I would agree, they tend to print a bit dark. As a designer myself, I know how to correct this. If one doesn't have the ability and the your image is an issue, you may consider one of the other printers mentioned over vistaprint. shawn |
Leland Stone Inner circle 1204 Posts |
John:
After you carefully consider Kyle's advice first, here are two sources I use and recommend: vistaprint.com (they print ALL of my business cards and postcards) colorsourcegraphics.com (they print my flyers) Take this advice FWIW; I'm not a designer, and lack professional discernment, but for me, these sources are just what I need. Leland |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Thanks Leland for the kind words my friend. It really does come down to what you personally feel is a good quality for you. Thisis why I stress so much that if you do nothing else, ask for printed real samples to be mailed to you before working with any online printers. This way you can really see for yourself how the prints are going to come out and you can determine if that quality works best for you or not. Hope this helps.
Also, you may also want to take into consideration what the piece looks like. if something is more flat and even colors, you may want to go with one printer who does more of that. If your material is more photographic in nature, then perhaps another printer handles that better. I keep a list of places I use myself and work with each places graphic dept. to make sure that my client's work comes out the way I have designed it. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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