Start Your First Commercial Printing

Commercial printing is easy as everyone who tried it says. Even if it is your first time, you can easily start designing and start talking to a commercial printing company. You can try to follow these easy steps and see how it works out for you:

1) Have your finances ready
You will need a budget ready of course but be sure to have the right sum on hand or the right percentage for the down payment. Check with at least three printers their rates with packages in mind and other inclusions.

2) Clarify and identify your print needs
Are you requiring various prints like folders, business cards, letterheads and inserts together? List them all out and tell your printer what you want so they can see the whole picture and give you the rate for your package. Most of the time, the more prints put together the cheaper it can be compared to each of them printed separately.

3) Have your text ready
Try to draft your text even before you meet or choose your printer, that way you can easily let them know how much pages you require or how huge the paper needs to be to house all your text. Avoid jargons or highfaluting words that no common reader understands unless your main goal is to attract only a particular type of people.

4) Major and general items you need to take time to choose from -

• Fonts
Fonts should be simple and easy to read but you can always pick a different font if you have a special design going on. If you are however using it for a more formal need, simpler fonts that are very common are the best ones to use.

• Colors
If you have decided who your target users are, think about the colors they may like or the emotions they might release as they see the design. Read a little on color psychology and how it affects people’s moods.

• Pictures
Your pictures should always say something about the print and generally summarize everything in it. Your images must have high resolutions and should be taken well with the proper processing, editing or lighting. If you think your own shots does not make that much oomph then go search for a professional photographer that specializes on your particular need.

5) Ready your art file
Is your art file ready for submission or have you not checked your printer’s checklist of must do’s before printing. A few things you must remember is to save your files according to the files your printers can read like PDF, jpg and tiff. Make sure that your fonts are imbedded in your files as well so that all prints can easily be printed. Your file must also stay in the 300dpi resolution to make sure all prints are crisp.

6) Double check everything
Ask your printer what they require on make sure to check that you have followed all of it. Check for any misspelled words or grammar mistakes and edit them before any prints.

Commercial printing is the perfect way to advertise your company, so try to have a good working relationship with your chosen commercial printing company so you can always get back to them when you need any prints for your company.