Wednesday, November 25, 2009

I was in your shop today to sign off on a color check for my brochure. Why do I need to wait two more days for the job to be complete?
One of the inviolate rules of bindery is not to handle wet press sheets. After your brochure was printed, we put it on a drying rack to allow the ink to dry thoroughly. The next day we were able to cut down the press sheets, fold and trim without risking the ink smearing or cracking. Then your brochures were packaged and considered ready for delivery, either via our courier or by having you come in to pick up the job.
Our policy is to have jobs completely finished, packaged, ready for presentation to you on the agreed-upon due date. That's why we needed two days after press to deliver your job---one day to complete bindery work and the second day to have your job ready for you when we open at 8:30AM.
Here at B.C. Printing we perform some bindery functions in-house; we also use the services of a trade bindery when we lack the proper equipment or if the job quantity makes it too time consuming to do here. In this case we may need even more time for bindery--we will factor that in when we commit to a delivery date. Call me at 303-320-4855 or email me at dan@bcprintinginc.com.

Friday, November 20, 2009

What is Bleed and how does it affect my printing costs?

A bleed is any printed element on the page that extends beyond the edge of the sheet. A full bleed means that printed elements extend beyond all four edges of the sheet.

Even though it looks like we have printed to the edge of the sheet, we actually have trimmed away the paper and an extra one-eigth of the image so it looks like we printed to the edge of the sheet. This process is called trimming to the bleed.

To include a bleed in the design, the image must be extended by one-eighth of an inch (0.125) past the trim line, and the press sheet must be larger than the finished size of the printed piece. Depending on the finished size of the piece, this may mean we get fewer finished pieces out of a standard press sheet. If you would like to include a bleed as a design element, let us know and we will advise you. Call me at 303-320-4855 or email me at dan@bcprintinginc.com

Friday, November 13, 2009

Just as with offset printing, the selection of paper for digital printing is crucial to the success of the project. Because of technical factors, the range of papers that can be used for digital printing is more limited than that for offset. Our equipment manufacturer has provided us with a list of recommended papers, and we'll offer these to you as a starting point. Here are some tips for selecting papers for digital printing;

1. Papers with a smooth finish and good formation (an even distribution of fibers) provide the best results in digital equipment. Bright white paper contrasts with toner, making colors look more brilliant.

2. Toner does not adhere well to uneven paper surfaces, so heavily textured or embossed papers are not recommended.

3. The paper's basis weight should fit within the equipment's specifications. Our machines must run stock no heavier than 110# cover. We are happy to show you samples.

4. We recommend using a paper with higher opacity and sufficient weight when printing on both sides of the page.

As always, we will assist you in selecting a stock that is within the specifications for our equipment and will produce an outstanding result for your project. Call me at 303-320-4855 or your can email me at dan@bcprintinginc.com if you have questions.

Friday, November 6, 2009

One way to get the benefits of both offset and digital printing is to use them in combination. A common application is business card shells printed on the offset press and imprints with personalized information done digitally. When combining offset and digital, here are a few things to keep in mind;
1. Select paper that works well for digital printing. Some coated stocks and stocks over a certain thickness may not feed well through the digital printer. Ask for recommendations.
2. Toner does not adhere well to heavy ink coverage, so have the digital image printe directly onto the paper. If you must overprint digitally, use a halftone screne to achieve the desired color.
3. For marketing material and brochures, the sheet we use for digital print needs to be 8.5x11, or 11x17 for best results.
For specific information about what works well in our digital printing equipment call me at 303-320-4855, or email me at dan@bcprintinginc.com