Going Green? Are you sure?

A friendly competitor told us they had a client who was no longer going to order brochures about it's services to mail to clients because it was "going green" and emailing them a PDF instead. This is, of course nonsense. They believe that they can save the cost of printing and distribution while bragging about being green at the same time, it won't work! First, the likelihood of their PDF's being opened and read by the recipient has dramatically fallen because the cover email is now one of the hundreds received every day by their clients, most of which are captured by spam filters or deleted before opening. We would think that only a tiny fraction of the intended audience will actually open the PDF, print it out and or actually read it. So, the results of the piece are totally lost. Second, the "green" argument (saving trees and landfills) blithely rises above the reality that the trees that are grown for wood pulp are grown like a crop, just like wheat or corn and consume nothing but energy from the sun. The paper that is produced from them is the most recyclable of products and if it winds up in a landfill, is completely biodegradable. On the other hand, the servers that operate the interned to send those billions and billions of emails every day consume enormous amounts of electricity generated largely by the burning of fossil fuels that send out thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
source: PIASC


Fact, most consumers prefer to receive offers via USPS/mail, and direct mail continues to produce the best return of advertising dollars.

Equivalent Weight

While different paper types have different basic sizes, papers can still be compared by using equivalent weight. In this chart a 24 pound bond has the equivalent weight as 60 pound offset.

With all the new digital equipment coming out lately things are trending toward Metric, grams/sq meter (gsm) see the last column to find its equivalent. I know, it was all very confusing to me too. Until I received this chart from one of my vendors. Give me a call or send me a message if you'd like me to e-mail it to you.

Basis Weight

The basis weight of a paper is the weight of 500 sheets, measured in pounds, in that paper's basic sheet size. It is important to note that the "basic sheet size" is not the same for all types of paper and it is never 8.5 x 11. 8.5 x 11 is the result of cutting a basic sheet of "bond" paper.
source: www.paper-paper.com

Caliper

Caliper is the thickness of a sheet of paper expressed in thousandth of an inch. This measurement is taken with a micro-meter, Normally, paper caliper should not have more than a plus or minus 5% variance throughout the sheet run. The greater the caliper the thicker the paper, or the greater the paper weight, but this depends on the density of the finish as well. Dull will have a greater caliper than gloss, and feel thicker to the touch, but both gloss and dull finishes will have the same weight.
source: www.paper-paper.com

Top 10 problems with Customer Files

In a study conducted last year, eight printing companies agreed to track the problems they encountered on disks submitted to their prepress departments. Nearly 1,000 files were examined, and following is a list of the "Infamous Top Ten."

1. Missing or incorrect fonts (22.2%)
2. Incorrect trapping (11.5%)
3. RGB vs. CMYK color defined incorrectly (10.9%)
4. Scans supplied in the wrong file format (7.8%)
5. Incorrect page settings or page set up (7.4%)
6. Graphics not linked (5.3%)
7. Incorrectly defined or undefined bleeds (5.2%)
8. No laser proof supplied (4.6%)
9. Missing graphics (4.5%)
10. Resolution too high or low in supplied scans (3.2%)

Because problems like these directly affect how smoothly your project moves toward completion, it is good to ask yourself if you have been careful about them as you prepare your files for submission.

Pocket Folders / Press Kits

Ever since that first Bible rolled off of Gutenberg's new invention over 500 years ago, the primary purpose for printing has been to provide information. However, an important secondary purpose has evolved, namely to make a favorable impression on people while providing that information. • A popular piece that often serves both of these purposes is the pocket folder. One way designers go about making an impression is by being creative with the die cutting and pocket configuration. • The "standard" pocket folder is a 9 x 12 piece with two 4" glued pockets; but many different designs are possible. To help stimulate your thinking a few of them are shown below. • Pocket folders are one of our specialities at Chromatic Lithographers, and we do all our die cutting in-house. We would be happy to help you with any of these options or virtually any other design you might come up with. Feel free to contact me to discuss your ideas at any time.

Paper Surface

In addition to its weight, brightness, and opacity a distinguishing characteristic of a paper is its surface pattern.
• COATED PAPERS - The surfaces of all coated papers are smooth and glossy. They do, however, come in a range of glossiness. For instance, matte coated paper is not very glossy, with dull, velvet, gloss and cast coated papers the next steps up in shine and cost.
• OFFSET - With few exceptions, the surfaces of offset (or UNCOATED BOOK) papers have no surface patterns. Though they come in both smooth and slightly roughened (or “vellum”) finishes, the differences are subtle enough that few people can tell which is which.
• BOND AND TEXT - Bond papers are those typically used for laser printers and copiers, as well as both ordinary and fine letterhead. Text papers are those with a surface pattern which is often an important part of a printed piece’s design. Among the various surface patterns for bond and text papers, the following are the most popular. WOVE finish papers are smooth. Indeed, in practice the word “wove” means the same as smooth. Some wove papers, however, receive special treatment to make them smoother than others. LAID finish papers have a grid of lines on the surface which makes them resemble hand made paper. The horizontal lines are close together and run against the grain. The vertical lines (also called “chain” lines) are spaced further apart and run with the grain. LINEN finish papers also have a grid of lines running horizontally and vertically on the sheet, but the lines are much finer and closer together than on Laid papers. This pattern is embossed onto the paper after it is fully dry. To visualize the finish on linen paper, think of the look and feel of a fine linen napkin. FELT papers have a soft, random, dimpled pattern. Think of how paper would look if it went through rollers covered with felt fabric before it was dry. For indeed this is one of the methods used in the manufacture of felt papers.