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Jim The Printer Flyers Leaflets And Business Cards I run the show at The Printing Press ... an online printing company that specialises in business cards, leaflets, flyers, posters, stationery, folders, and more... I\'m usually found working the litho printers and folding machines in the print shop. I love helping and serving our customers and try to answer your questions as best I can on my site. I\'d love to hear from you so please drop me a line on the contact page...

19 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Can I Scan Images And Photos For Printing

I quite often get asked the question – Can I Scan Print Images And Photograhs For My Print Artwork?

Quite often a customer will have an existing leaflet, flyer or business card but no artwork. It may have been mislaid or lost. Or some people want to scan photographs to use as artwork. In all cases the answer to the question is yes.

When scanning your photograph, leaflet or anything else for that matter, you must ensure that you are scanning at an absolute minimum of 300 dpi (dots per inch).

You have to be careful that your scanner is free of dust or other particulate as they will show up on the final print. Also be sure to keep all images for scanning straight. Many a time i have received a slightly wonky image which if not corrected will be printed wonky!

When preparing your artwork with images and photographs, please ensure that they are all embedded within your final artwork document rather than supplied as layers.

Of course, on the flip side, any scanned image is very difficult to change. As an example, i have been sent scanned images and asked if i can change the phone number or add some information to the leaflet etc. This is sometimes easy to achieve, but quite often very difficult to do without leaving a trace (when there is a complicated background pattern for example). So scan away for your artwork.

17 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Offset Litho Printing And Digital Printing: What’s The Difference?

As we all know, printing can be a confusing topic, and one of these ever-mysterious subsections is the difference between the printing methods of digital, and offset litho. There are three main factors that should be considered when comparing these methods:

Cost – Whereas digital printing will involve little more than minor expenditures in setting up, there is then the matter of a cost for each copy printed using the system.

Offset litho printing involves more setting up and a printing plate to create the first copy, but then the cost per copy is much cheaper. As a general guide, up to 500 items is cheaper printed digitally and over 500 is cheaper using offset litho printing.

Speed – Digital printing jobs are generally turned from order to product in around the space of half a week (working days), whist offset litho projects are seen as slower, with a 5 working days turnaround.

This is because digital print items are printed dry (albiet slowly), but in offset litho, where the actual printing is fast, real, and wet, ink is used in the process, meaning that drying time is needed before packaging.

Colour – Both digital and offset litho printing use a ‘full colour’ process to create different colours, but offset litho can also allow for the use of dedicated ‘spot’ colours, which are very accurate and can include features such as metallic silver and gold effects, or even fluorescent inks.

Overall, it is still difficult to choose a clear and favourable method, but if the user is looking for specific features for their printing, then it is wise to weigh up which printing method is best for their particular needs. However as a rule of thumb. If you only need a few then go digital. Thousands calls for litho printing every time.

13 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Use Our Free Printing Templates For The Perfect Prints

The biggest hold up for delivery, and the biggest problem our customers have is getting the artwork right. Apart from having a high enough resolution (300dpi) your artwork needs to be the correct size and more importantly, have the correct bleed area and safe area. Making sure you get this part of the order right ensures you print order arrives exactly as you want it.

To help in this task we have a selection of printing templates to help you setup your artwork ready for printing and get your order quickly. Here are some popular ones in PDF format:-

Leaflets / Flyers Templates
A4 Leaflet / Flyer (210mmx297mm)
A5 Leaflet / Flyer (148mmx210mm)
A6 Leaflet / Flyer (105mmx148mm)
DL Leaflet / Flyer (99mmx210mm)

Business Card Templates
Business Card (55mmx85mm)
Folded Business Card (Folded size 55mmx85mm)


Follow the itemplate instructions and not only will your order go through smoothly and arrive quickly but most importantly, your print will look fabulous. Visit our printing templates page for more templates and guides in various formats to make sure your artwork is right and for a great printed finish.

11 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Leaflet Printing The Most Cost Effective Way To Advertise Today

Everyone is in a tough place right now, with the ongoing recession and people tightening their belts. This holds true for both the general public and companies small and large. But even with a suffering economy, life goes on and sales are their to be made. Money is still to be made and the most effective way to do this is by advertising your message to prospective clients. The most cost effective way to advertise today is leaflet printing.

Using Leaflet Printing For Advertising

Since the inception of the printing press, leaflet printing has been a big part of businesses marketing and advertising plans. This is because printing leaflets is a relatively cheap and efficient way to spread the word about your business or event.

So we know that leaflets are a prominent marketing source, what is the best way to start promoting your business? A good starting place is the Internet. Choose from a wide selection of leaflet sizes such as:-

A6 leaflets, A5 Leaflets, A4 Leaflets, Folded Leaflets

Their are many good printing companies online that will design and print your leaflets. You can not only save money when using an established online print company, but you also get a friendly and helpful service. Then look at our guide for distributing your leaflets

So while everyone else is bemoaning the state of the economy, take advantage of the Internet and cheap leaflet printing to stretch your budget that little bit further and reap the rewards that effective leaflet promotion bring.

10 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Why Correct Artwork Is Important For Printing

The biggest problem i face as a printer, are the sheer number of artwork uploads that are incorrect. From art sent in the wrong format to wrong resolutions or incorrect sizes. So before ordering leaflets, business cards or posters, please read my guide to sending the correct printing artwork.

Resolution – The correct resolution needed is 300dpi or even higher. Many packages (especially Word) save out their clipart in 72dpi which is way too low for printing onto flyers and cards. Although it may look fine on your PC, 72dpi will look fuzzy when printed.

File Format – Please send your artwork to us in the correct format. The order of preference is PDF, JPG, PSD, TIFF. Try to avoid word and also do not include any crop marks/guide lines when flattening your image.

Bleed area – When designing your artwork, try to keep all important information (text and numbers) inside the bleed and safe area. Litho printing involves printing leaflets or cards on a big sheet which is then chopped into the relevant size. This means anything close to the edge can get cropped off.

Size – We have a great selection of printing templates that give the correct sizes needed for any leaflet, business card etc. Please make use of them to avoid any delays

Colours – Colours need to be set to CMYK format. Many files are sent in RGB format, which when printed in CMYK can alter the colours from what you see on the screen

Fonts – If you are using a fancy font then embed it before saving. Otherwise when we open the file, it may use standard fonts instead wiping out your desired effect.

See also our post A Guide To Creating The Correct Artwork For Your Printing Order

So there you have it. Perfect artwork and quick printing and delivery to your door. We always try to correct artwork that is sent incorrectly, but live in hope that more customers will help us out.

06 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Why Use Leaflets?

In this day and age of internet, high speed broadband and and blutooth services, why should you use leaflets for promotion?question-mark

Leaflets: endless possibilities, and a plethora of benefits. It is regarded as one of most affordable and effective mode of promotion. They are designed with the specific purpose of handing them out to your targeted markets in an attempt to promote your prorduct, service, or organisation. They can also be distributed by inserting them in local newspapers, or by leaving them in popular places where people are likeley to take or see one. The main, and obvious purpose of a leaflet is to catch the attention of your prospective customers and to get your message delivered convincingly to them.

Why create leaflets?

With leaflets, you get a great chance to present your argument and impress your targeted market into choosing to use your organisation over the competition. The layout of the leaflet printing is so handy that if the targeted customers do not find time to read them when handed over, they can easily folded and safe, ready for future use. When the targeted customers find your leaflets alluring and take them to their respective homes, it certainly signifies that they will devote more time in absorbing the content and will definitely act on it in the near future. When a leaflet is well designed and looks ‘interesting’, it can often have a further positive effect on the customers’ decision.

Going further than intended

Once you distribute the leaflets or send them to your targeted customers via mail or post, you can rest assured that they will indeed be read by many more person than the one which was recipient of the leaflet.

If your targeted customers find the content and the offers appealing to them, then they will usually act upon it by visiting your nearest store and also by telling their friends, family and colleagues about theinr experiences. As a result, you can gain more exposure and win extra customers with leaflet printing, without lifting an extra finger. The joy of leaflets is that if you make them well enough beforehand, they could end up responding by doing even more than first intended.

Creativity and content matters

When you get along with your leaflet designing, always make sure to perfect the act with online printing. A small mistake on your part can jeopardize the whole promotional campaign and your time, money, and effort will all be in vain. With the assistance of a leaflet printing company, you can get the most creative and well designed leaflet printed. Well structured content will help your prospective customers to make informed decisions quickly and in the favor of your company. Remember to check your work, and check again if you are not sure, and try to get other people’s opinions, and not just your own. Imagine that you are a customer, and ask yourself: is the leaflet appealing, and does it make you want to buy the product in question? If the answer is yes, you are halfway towards a successful leaflet.

Overall, leaflets are cheaper to make, cheaper to distribute, and have a great cost-benefit ratio, provided they are used in the correct manner, so it is easy to see why people use this marketing method, with this information perhaps influencing your decision as well.

05 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Pixels and DPI: What Is The Difference?

When looking at images on a desktop or Internet browser, you may notice different figures alongside the image, displaying the screen resolution and the DPI. But what are these figures, what do they mean, and what is the difference between them?

Pixels are a very basic unit used to measure computer imagery, and have been a general term associated with computer systems and processes for a long time. It is present in every aspect of computing where an image is displayed, including pictures, and the screen itself, all measured in pixels.

The problem with pixels, though, is that it does not exist in the physical world and there is no direct correlation to any physical quantity. DPI, meanwhille, stands for dots per inch, and provides a link between the computer and physical world often trading quality for size or vice-versa.

The basic formula involved with these factors is that, increasing the number of pixels in the image while keeping the DPI the same would result in a much bigger image. When this theory is reversed, increasing the DPI count while keeping the resolution the same, would ‘shrink’ the image. The concept of pixel count and DPI are very apparent in two common devices, screens and cameras. This of course transfers to printed matter.

It has been common knowledge that in order to have a high quality image, you would need to have a very high resolution or a great number of pixels in the image in order to capture the maximum amount of data.

High resolution images don’t have much of a difference when printed in a small piece of media, but it allows you to scale the image to a much bigger media without noticeable degradation.

With screens, the difference can be seen in a similar manner to Standard Definition and High Definition TV sets. With TV sets of the same size, HD sets offer a better looking and more vibrant image than SD. This is because HD sets have more pixels in them and therefore, a higher dot per inch count. SD screens are forced to enlarge each pixel in order to fit it onto the larger screen. The bigger pixel size can then be easily distinguishable. The resulting picture from the SD would then be blocky and very unappealing.

Pixels cannot be easily added to images without deteriorating the final output; this makes it a priority to maximize the resolution of images when taking pictures. DPI can be easily changed in order to fit the desired size later on. This makes it less of a priority as long as the resolution is high enough.

To Summarise:
– Pixels are the unit of computer images, while DPI translates how big the image is in the real world
– As you increase the number of pixels the image size increases but as you increase the DPI count, the image size decreases
– To maintain the quality of the image, you would need to have a high DPI count which means that a higher pixel count is needed for larger images

Overall, this means that DPI can be easily increased, but the number of pixels can only be increased by a certain amount before the overall image quality deteriorates. It is important to know about this when preparing an image to send off to print, as the image may not turn out as expected if it is not properly considered.

28 July 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Advice On Flyer Distribution

Business owners have always been looking at ways to promote their business, trying to get a leg-up amongst all the competition. You will be aware that potential customers have to be informed about your business, products and services. As a result, promotion is now one of the most effective marketing tools you can use to lure customers to your product ahead of your competition.

Of course a key method of promoting your business is through flyers. A flyer is a great and effective way to handle mass promotion for a product or service. It may be a simple one page material, but when done correctly and creatively and when designed with appropriate templates, flyers will get you the customers you need. Here are some key advice towards distributing your flyers as your method of promotion:

Do not put your flyers on car windscreens, as they will often get thrown away, which can be seen as a waste of your money and effort, and everybody’s time. And of course many places frown on people marketing this way.

Do attempt to post flyers through letterboxes of houses within the vicinity of your business, as they will be more interested due to being near to the business and reading the flyer in their own time.

Do hand out your flyers to people in your target audience (such as in places where there are likely to be many of these people in one place). On the other hand, Do not just give your flyers to every person you see on the street as, this will most often be they will only be wasted. This will help you a lot in saving time, and especially money.

Do hand out flyers in trade shows, open houses, conferences, and other gatherings, as the people attending are often there for that sort of purpose (finding new businesses to deal with).

Do post your flyers on notice/bulletin boards. Again, try to do this in a place where your target markets are likely to see it.

Do try to strike a deal with various business establishments that allows you to promote and hand out your flyers. This is an effective method in reaching a large number of customers.

If you keep all of these tips in mind and you are likely to be much more effective with the distribution, and therefore success, or your flyers and of course, your business.

22 July 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Finding An Affordable Online Printing Company

It can be a difficult decision as to what printing service to use for your printing needs, but there are methods towards finding some of the best deals.

It is simple to purchase custom printing items by searching for online printing websites. You can find discount-priced printing whilst receiving top quality colour and image printing. Online printing sites can offer a variety of printing options including the printing of: inexpensive flyers, stickers, leaflets, letterheads, and business cards design (just to name a few).

Online printing firms are useful for business, individuals and other organizations. They can be used for main stream companies and groups as well as small businesses and organizations. Websites are usually able to offer consumers outstanding quality printed products at affordable prices.

Companies will enlist the use of external printing services for a variety of reasons, as printed materials are very useful for marketing and advertising functions. Business cards are a must for any business that wants to expand and find new clients, while flyers are seen as an effective way to get in touch with a larger client base and also serve as a good source for announcing a new organisation to potential clients. Prints are, overall, seen as effective in updating customers with the latest news or trying to reach out to new clients.

Even those that are not-for-profit organisations can also benefit from the use of printed materials. Groups that are seeking to raise money or offer services for a good cause can get the word out using printed materials, and the printers may respond to the prospect of goodwilll and enhanced reputation by offering a strong or full discount.

Individuals can also find plenty of uses for the services of online printing companies, such as advertising a party or special event. might want to order some printed leaflets. Many cheap online printing services also offer personalized appointment cards, address labels and an assortment of other products to meet anyone’s needs. Overall, this means that whatever your purpose and budget, there should be a printing service out there that suits your needs.

21 July 2010 ~ 0 Comments

The History Of The Printing Press

800px-Metal_movable_typeWe all take printed material for granted nowadays, but back in the days of quills and parchment the idea of a printing machine that could produce thousands of copies per day was unthinkable. The printing press is a long-standing and strongly developed means of applying print (words and images), to paper, without the need for the tedious process of writing out every page of every document. What started out as a complicated approach to what we see as a minor tool, a rubber stamp, has developed to a seamless computer-supported processing of content through a large roomfull of machinery, almost like a production line at a factory, that prodcuces large quantities of print, such as books or newspapers, in a short space of time (this is the source of the famous ‘breaking news’ phrase: ‘stop press!’). But what actually happened in the development between these two extremes?

Below is a timeline of the key developments in printing press technology:

  • 618 – 906: T’ang Dynasty in China use ink on carved wooden blocks to make multiple transfers of an image to paper
  • 868: The Diamond Sutra is printed by the Mahayana Bhuddists
  • 1241: Koreans print books using movable type
  • 1423: In Europe block printing is used to print books
  • 1452: In Europe, metal plates are first used in printing. Gutenberg begins printing the Bible which he finishes in 1456
  • 1457: First color printing (by Fust and Schoeffer)
  • 1476: William Caxton begins using a Gutenberg printing press in England
  • 1605: First weekly newspaper published, in Antwerp (Belgium)
  • 1725: Scotsman William Ged invents stereotyping
  • 19th Century: Invention/developement of (in chronological order) iron printing presses, rotary printing press, embossed printing (invented by Louis Braille), type-composing machine, electrotyping, cylinder press (Richard Hoe, speed of 8,000 sheets per hour), rotary web-fed letterpress (William Bullock, soon able to print on both sides of paper at once), linotype composing machine (Ottmar Mergenthaler), mass-manufacture of paper from wood pulp, photogravure printing (Karl Klic), mimeograph machine, diazotype (print photographs on fabric) (by this time, printing presses could now print and fold 90,000 4-page papers an hour), 4-color rotary press
  • 1904: Offset lithography becomes common, and the first comic book is published
  • 1947: Phototypesetting is made practical
  • 1955: Teletypesetting is used for newspapers
  • 1967: Newspapers use digital production processes and began using computers for operations
  • 1971: Use of Ooffset presses becomes common
  • So, in a process that has its monumental development supported by statistics (impressions per hour, from 240 pre-1600 to over 40,000 in the present day (from professional, industrial-size presses)), what can we expect next from the printing press? Only time will tell…