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Useful Info |
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Printing Unless otherwise stated the published prices are for 4-colour process (CMYK) sheet-fed offset lithography (litho) using computer to plate technology (CTP). In addition we can also produce:
Graphics
from web pages It's not a good idea to simply lift an image from someone's website -
and
it's almost certainly an infringement of copyright. There's no problem printing graphics acquired from web pages but the quality is generally very poor. Images on the web are only 72dpi when, to get maximum quality from commercial printing, they need to be 300dpi or higher. For top quality results text and headlines should be produced in a programme that can use both vector graphics and bitmap images. Examples are Adobe PageMaker, Quark Express, Corel Draw, InDesign, Microsoft Publisher, PagePlus - and there are many others to choose from. Cutter
guides and folder templates We have a variety of cutter guides and folder templates available in either oversize A4 or A5 sizes and in a variety of graphic formats. Email us with your requirements. Or we can custom-build them to your specific dimensions.
Can I use
Microsoft Word? Yes.
It's excellent for text - but scanned images and graphics are of low quality,
usually only 72dpi when, for commercial printing, they need to be 300dpi or
higher. If
you send us any high quality graphics separately we can replace them prior to
printing - at a small extra charge. Can
you print from Microsoft PowerPoint? Yes
we can. Please
click here for more information about how to set up your Powerpoint files for high quality printing. Can
you print from Microsoft Excel? Yes. Text is fine but scanned images and graphics are of low quality, usually only 72dpi when, for commercial printing, they need to be 300dpi or higher. File formats The best format for high quality printing is PDF (Portable Document Format) with all fonts converted to curves (outlines). If you don't have a PDF creator we can accept native files from most professional graphics packages (both Macintosh and PC). We'll process them to make them CMYK 'print-ready' and send you a proof for checking. These files need to be checked very carefully for processing errors before printing. If you are running Windows® and using any modern Microsoft software then just send us your documents and we'll do the rest. If you're using older software (pre 95) then that's more difficult. But don't worry, if you supply something we can't read we'll do our best to sort it out. NEVER enlarge images in your artwork - this can seriously degrade quality. For good reproduction scan/create your images at the size you intend to print them (or do as graphics professionals do, scan oversize and do any retouching and airbrushing before reducing them to the required printed size). Create/scan your images at 300dpi and save them as TIF, PSD or EPS formats. JPG (or JPEG) files are fine as long as you use minimum compression and you don't alter and save the images too many times (you lose quality each time you save). BMP and PCX formats are ok, but tend to produce
very large files. Internet
images: GIF
format can only cope with 250 colours so they give inferior results when
printed - and most JPG images on the internet use
extreme compression which can cause colour shifts and blurriness. Resolution - dots-per-inch - dpi For
photographs, drawings and all colour images scan at 300dpi or higher. For black & white line art use 1200dpi. Always
scan your material at the size at which it will be printed.
Enlarging images in your artwork can seriously degrade quality. In other words don't scan your stuff and then enlarge it in your layout program! This is another reason why you should not use images that are lifted from websites; they are usually only 72dpi and will look very blurry indeed when printed on a 'litho' printing press. Click here for detailed information about scanning and photo manipulation. Digital
photographs Pictures
from digital cameras are designed to be printed and generally
reproduce very well (much better than the equivalent film camera). As always
though, the better the equipment, the better the result. As
a rough guide divide the image dimensions (given in pixels) by 300 to give the
approximate 'litho' printing size. For example - a picture of 1800 x 1200
pixels would be adequate for a printed size of up to 6in x 4in.
Bleeds Bleed
is the term for printing that goes off the edge of the paper. If
your software doesn't allow you to do this then a good way around it is to
make your document 3mm larger all the way round. For instance, if the final
size is A4 (297 x 210) then make your document 303mm x 216mm. Draw guides on
the layout that are 3mm from the edge all the way around and produce your
design with the idea that the layout will be trimmed where the guides are. Make
sure that any photographs or backgrounds that you want to bleed go right to
the edge of the document, past the guidelines. Then after we have printed your
work we'll trim it down to it's correct size. Fonts - do I need to send them to you? If
you only use the fonts supplied with Microsoft Windows, then no (because we
have them too). But if you use any other fonts from other sources then you
need to make copies of them and send them to us with your file. Alternatively
fax or email us print-outs of your fonts and we'll substitute them with our
closest match.
Colour matching: will my work look exactly like it does on my monitor? Unlikely,
not unless you have a professional calibrated monitor. Scanners
and digital cameras create images using combinations of just three colours:
Red, Green and Blue (called RGB). These are the colours that computers use to
display images. Printing
presses however print pictures using a different set of colours: Cyan (blue),
Magenta (red), Yellow and Black (called CMYK). So at some stage your RGB file
must be converted to CMYK in order to print it on a printing press. This is
easily done using an image editing program like PhotoShop or Corel Photo Paint.
When
we receive RGB images, we do a standard-value conversion to CMYK, which may
not be perfectly to your liking. So if you have the facility please convert
all RGB images to CMYK before you send them to us. There
are some colours in RGB that you can't make with CMYK. They are said to be
'out of gamut'. CMYK orange and CMYK blue are good examples of this (see
below). In these cases the conversion filter just gets as close as
it can to the original colour.
Above
is an example of a 'before' and 'after' conversion. Colour photographs don’t suffer very much from CMYK translation - it's usually more noticeable if you pick very rich, vibrant colours for a background or some other element of your layout. It probably won't look bad, it just won't look exactly the same. If
you see printed material with stong oranges or blue Coloured text Using
colours on headlines or type above about 12 point is ok, but smaller sizes can
be a problem. What
happens is that printing presses have a small amount of movement in the
positioning of the different colours. This is called mis-registration. The
cyan, magenta, yellow and black portions of the text characters don't line up
exactly - the result is little coloured halos around the characters. The
same thing holds true for white text on a dark or coloured background. You can
do it but don't use point sizes smaller than about 12 point. Text
over an image Be
careful about using photographs for backgrounds. If you put text (any colour)
on top it can be very hard to read. So the secret is to lighten the photograph
a lot - much more than you may think is necessary. Use a photo editing program
like Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Photoshop. Designing
promotional literature It
takes readers just a few seconds to decide whether the stuff they are looking
at is worth further attention. Here are a few points that you should think
about when producing your material. What’s
in it for the reader? Use
a photograph of yourself or your product
List your services or products Use
a testimonial Use
the word ‘free’ Call
for action Adobe
Acrobat If you have Acrobat Distiller then select the 'Press Quality' setting to create Adobe PDF documents best suited for high-quality prepress printing. Created PDF documents can be opened with Acrobat and Adobe Reader 5.0 and later. Portable Document Format (PDF) has become a world standard for transferring files and documents. Use whatever application you prefer and simply select Acrobat as your output device - and then, depending on the settings you choose, it will embed your fonts and images and convert your work into high quality artwork files for printing. It can also compress stuff for easier emailing. If you take printing seriously - a PDF creator is a must. Go to www.adobe.com for more info. Colour WARNING:
There can be a
noticeable difference between viewing your work on a computer screen and
seeing the final printed version - this is because computer screens are RGB
devices whereas most printers are CMYK (see
below for more info). For more accurate viewing use a colour calibrated
screen and convert all your RGB images to CMYK. There
are thousands of regularly used colours and millions more that can be
distinguished by the human eye. To give a name to each of them would be
impossible, so scientists have devised various ways of assigning numeric
values to colours. These
systems are called colour models,
and they provide precise methods for naming and reproducing exact colours.
Some are based on the optical components of the colours and others are based
on how people "feel" colours are related to each other. Digital Printing The low set-up costs of modern digital machines makes them ideal for small quantities - and the quality is excellent, far superior to photocopying. These systems work directly from electronic data and avoid the intermediate stage of films. Because these machines use an inherently four-colour process (CMYK) there is no cost saving to be made from using one or two-colour designs. The quality is not yet up to the standard of modern CTP litho printing - but the 'man in the street' would find it difficult to spot the difference. Full colour (4-colour or CMYK) printing The vast majority of colour magazines, brochures and leaflets are Litho printed using the CMYK 4-colour process. The initial set-up costs are higher than digital presses but because they run at much higher speeds they're more economic for larger quantities. '4-colour' printing presses use the CMYK colour model. By using cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks, you can mix nearly any colour. When
preparing a colour image for printing, the operator makes four printing
plates. Each plate is for one of the four colours of ink in the CMYK model.
When all four plates are aligned and printed on top of each other, the inks
will combine to simulate the proper colours. This method is referred to as
'process colour' (or '4-colour') printing.
RGB
Colour Model
(Red, Green, Blue) In
the RGB system, the red, green and blue dots are assigned brightness values
along some scale, for example 0 to 255, where 0 is dark and 255 is bright. By
listing the three values for the red, green and blue phosphors, you can
specify the exact colour that will be mixed. Additive
colours get lighter when mixed. As each component of light is mixed in, the
combination becomes a new colour. Red, green and blue are the three additive
primaries. You can mix any colour of light with different combinations of the
additive primaries. When you mix all three together in balanced amounts, you
get white. These
three primaries are the basis of the additive colour model. It's called the
RGB model, and it's usually used to create colour on your computer display as
well as other electronic devices. By mixing together various amounts of red,
green and blue light, you can make almost any colour. The RGB colour space is
a multi-coloured cube with different points showing what colours different
mixtures of red, green, and blue make. Television
screens and computer monitors make their colours by mixing red,
green and blue lights. A monitor or television screen mixes a colour by
illuminating tiny dots of red, green and blue phosphors with an electron gun
located at the back of the monitor. By illuminating each of the dots to a
different brightness, the monitor creates different colours. Because
the RGB model is only capable of producing a certain range of colours, there
are some colours that cannot be reproduced accurately by a computer monitor.
The number of colours visible on a monitor is further reduced by the
limitations of the video hardware in the computer, which may display anywhere
from just black and white up to 16.7 million colours. HSL
Colour Model (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) The
HSL model is very similar to the RGB model. In fact, when they're expressed
mathematically, they're identical. The difference lies in how colours are
expressed numerically. The hue determines which basic colour it is. Red,
green, blue, yellow, orange, etc. are different hues. Saturation and luminance
tell more about the variations of these basic colours. Saturation is the
vividness (or "purity") of the colour, i.e., how much of the
colour's complement is mixed in. Finally, luminance refers to the
"whiteness" of the colour. It may
also be termed "brightness," "value" or
"intensity." Other
models related to the HSL model are the HSB (Hue, Saturation, brightness) and
HSI (Hue, Saturation, Intensity) models. These terms are all similar but not
interchangeable. CIE
Colour Model
(Commission Internationale l'eclairage) The
CIE model is a more subjective description than the others. In 1931, the Commission
Internationale l'Eclairage tested many people and found that the
sensitivity of the receptors in the eye caused certain colours to be
associated with others. The CIE colour space includes all visible colours,
whether or not they can be defined in the RGB or CMYK models.
Computer printers and other
devices for displaying colour have practical limitations that prevent them
from making ALL of the visible colours. The colours that they CAN create are
collectively called the colour gamut. The CIE model is useful in part
because a printer's colour gamut can be drawn on the CIE colour space showing
what colours cannot be printed. Other colour models closely related to CIE are
UCS (Uniform Colour Space), CIELAB and CIELUV. PANTONE Matching System See pantone |
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Credit and Debit cards All online payments are handled by Paypal. You can use a credit or debit card or use a Paypal account if you have one. Click the button at the bottom right of the screen to go to the payments section. Click here to view different payment options. Can I open an account? YES, you can apply online by clicking here and completing the application form. Value Added Tax Print4biz is a virtual printshop, a website that promotes and markets printing services. All production is outsourced and made-to-order which means that VAT is applicable to every order. As the name implies, Print4biz is aimed at the business market. This is not a retail site. Charities. If you're a registered charity you are exempt from VAT - but we must have your Registration Number before proceeding. For more information about VAT have a look at the HM Customs & Excise website. www.hmce.gov.uk Our VAT Registration Number is: 567 4068 16. Proofs All our prices include a proof copy (PDF format) that's either put online or emailed to you within 48 hours of receiving your work. If everything is OK simply sign and click submit or email back your approval using the form provided.
Turnaround Our standard despatch is normally 5 working days + 1 day for delivery - after receipt of your Proof Approval Form. Production is very reliable but does depend on pressure of work. Large quantities and work needing special finishing may take longer. We offer a cheaper service.
Quicker service We don't operate an instant print service - but we do offer a quicker service of 3 days + 1 day for delivery at PLUS 50% of the invoice value. We can also turnaround in 24-hours if required. Please use the Contacts Form to get prices and confirmation before ordering. Delivery Delivery is by overnight courier and is free to one address anywhere on the UK mainland. All work is delivered in unmarked packages except for consignment labels - this makes them extremely difficult for your customers to track back to us. We will never approach or deal with your customers directly. If they contact us you will be informed immediately.
Quotations The prices on this site are accurate - but errors can creep in. As a safeguard we always confirm the price by e-mail after an order has been placed and before commencing any work. E-mail your specification and we'll confirm the price. Use the Contacts Form. Sending Material Email your material as attachments. There's no actual size limit but you would be wise to limit the size to below 5-meg if you can (split your files into separate pages if you have to). Use the email address below. If you intend to regularly send large files we'll set up an FTP account for you - it's much faster and more secure. If you prefer you can post your material to us at the address below. Print4biz Promotions Office, PO Box 256,
Bristol BS16 5WW Types of media Send us floppy discs, CD-ROMs, ZIPs, DVDs, SyQuest, USB drives etc. - but e-mailing is our preferred method. Maximum sheet size Litho printing up to A0 size (841mm x 1189mm). Digital printing up to SRA3 size (305mm x 430mm). We can also inkjet print LARGE FORMAT work onto a variety of material - including self-adhesive vinyl. Maximum width is 1400mm by any length. Please use the Contacts Form to get more information. Different types of paper Our standard stock is white 150gsm coated art paper (gloss or silk), white 100gsm un-watermarked bond for stationery and white 400gsm board for business cards. These papers give excellent printed results and by buying in bulk we get very competitive prices. Paper merchants can supply any paper you like - but please bear in mind that non-standard papers tend to come in A1 size with a minimum order of 250 sheets (i.e. 2000 sheets when cut to A4 size) so they can work out quite expensive for smaller quantities. Use the Contacts Form to get a quote. Tip: If you want a coloured, mottled or marble effect paper just use a background image in your artwork. Business card sizes Credit card size has become the standard (54mm x 85mm, this fits most card wallets) - but you can use any size up to a maximum of 90mm x 55mm for the same price. Larger sizes are by quotation only. Traditional artwork and colour separations Using traditional artwork and film is by quotation only. Quality full colour printing is now almost entirely reliant on digital artwork (it's much higher quality). We recommend that you convert your old artwork and film into 'print-ready' digital files. Use the Contacts Form to get a quote. Minimum order value £35 plus VAT. No minimum spend on photocopying or laser printing. Advertising We're happy to place our clients' advertising on the site free of charge. The ads can be hyper-linked to a website at our discretion. The size is 60 x 468 pixels (see adverts at the bottom of the page) - this is a standard size for banners on the web. Please supply the advert in either JPG or GIF formats (static advert) or in just GIF format if it's animated. If you're not a customer, but you want to advertise with us, there's a small 6-monthly or annual charge. Use the Contacts Form to get a quote. Please note: we do not accept free advertising on the opening page. Confidentiality We never approach your clients directly. This is a confidential service and our contract is with whoever places the order. All work is delivered in unmarked packages except for the courier's consignment labels which makes them difficult to trace. All customer's material, publications, documents and artwork are archived and stored offline and kept for future reference. This material is not vulnerable to hackers or internet viruses. We never reveal details to third parties Distance Selling Regulations Distance selling regulations do not apply to manufacturing sites. For confirmation of this or for further information click this link - The Office of Fair Trading Exceptions to the regulations. Die-cutting, stamping, embossing and debossing As a very rough guide this process adds a minimum of £100 to any job. This covers the cost of manufacturing the metal die-stamp and machine set-up. The costs are dependant on the size and complexity of the metal tool and the number of copies required. We always supply a price in writing before beginning any work. Photographic and large format prints Because of the technology and the number of inks used, it's possible to print images of a much lower resolution/quality than you can with litho printing - and they can still give acceptable results. As a rough guide reduce the dimensions of your artwork by half (i.e. a quarter size in area) and include all images at a minimum of 200dpi. Vector images are unaffected by size so use them whenever you can. Tip: if your images are poor then print them on a high gloss paper (this applies to printing in general) - the glossiness fools the eye. You'll need much higher quality images (and higher quality printing) if you're using a matt material. Click here for cheap photo and large format prints. How to describe your printing (specifying) The following 6 points help to describe all printed material.
EXAMPLE 1: A double-side A3 colour leaflet folded in half.
EXAMPLE 2: Four double-sided A4 sheets, printed in black, folded, collated and stapled into a booklet:
If in doubt simply email a pdf of the article you need printed and we'll take it from there. |
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