Printing Made Easy

Flyer Printing|Brochure Printing

|Postcard Printing|Poster Printing

|Cheap Online Printing

Hi there, if you are in the process of looking for a good online printing company/service for your flyers, posters, postcards,brochures etc; then you are in the right place.

When you think of printing, there are several elements that one should consider

The number of copies you want to print

 Do you want your printouts to be one sided or two sided. A two sided print is usually expensive than a one sided print but if the artwork/design is the same on both sides, then it will not affect the cost much but only if you use the offset printing method which I will explain here as we continue.

In digital printing the more you print the more expensive it gets.

 

Size

When it comes to printing, the size of the printouts matter a lot, for instance;

Do you want the printouts to be distributed with ease, for example by hand distribution?

Do you want them to be pinned up or stapled on a notice board etc?

Would you also want them to be seen from a far?

Do you want them to be portable in such a way that they can be carried in the pocket or a wallet?

The commonly used sizes are:

A3 (297mm X 420 mm) -Good for posters, folded brochures

A4-half of A3 (210mm X 297mm) -Good for posters, folded brochures, letter heads

A5-half of A4 (148mm X 210 mm) -Good for flyers, post cards, flat brochures, invitations, birthday cards

A6-half of A5 (105mm X 148 mm) -Good for flyers, post cards, flat brochures, invitations, birthday cards

DL (110mm X 220mm)-Perfect for flyers, good for post cards, invitations, birthday cards.

***You could research on more sizes but make sure that you can get fitting envelopes for each size, especially printouts like invitations, birthday cards, or even  postcards  which are usually enclosed in an envelope.

 

Color of the artwork and design concept

This is very important because in some cases, it could determine the cost of printing. Some printing companies could charge you less if you decide you only want black and white print-outs. Especially digital printing companies

Also if you have artworks which have colors like gold and silver, then you best be advised by the graphic designer or you could just shoot an email of inquiry to the printing company that you will finally choose to work with.

Less colored designs (where white is the dominant color) tend to be printed fast, because of obviously the lack of details and complexity on the design, which makes the printing machines to do fewer calculations and less spooling.

Some online printing companies  give templates for all kinds of print types, which you download and they act as a guide for your graphic designer .They are also important, because they guide you on how to place your artwork on the paper and you will be able to know the printing margins or the printable areas of the artwork.

 

Type of paper

The paper you use depends a lot on the goal, functionality and aesthetic of the printouts. You will find that papers vary in texture, durability and weight and sometimes even color e.g. recycled papers usually have grains and in some cases they tend to be darker

There are so many types of papers out there, but for the sake of not confusing you guys and complicating it, I will just mention a few which I feel are the basics and good for any kind of printing. And they are:

1. Gloss – As the name suggests, they are very glossy/shinny and provide a good base for rich colored publications. They come in different weight or thickness. This variation in thicknesses are important because they make it flexible to play a lot with different types of publications for example a light gloss paper is good for the inside pages of a magazine while a thicker gloss paper will be good for a front and back cover of the magazine.

 The variation of weight is also important, because you will  be flexibility to use any type of digital printer. Printers usually have a maximum number of weight of paper they can take in.

Gloss papers are good for Brochures, Calendars, Posters, Door Hangers, Flyers, Catalog Inserts, magazines, etc

2. Matte- Matte papers are not shiny as a matter of fact they are quite dull. And like the gloss papers, matte papers also do come in different weight  variation which again enables the flexibility of using a wide range of printing machines. 

There dullness is important because it makes matte papers among the best paper for text publication. It’s easy to read text on a matte paper than on a gloss paper because it doesn’t reflect light. They are suitable for publications such as magazines, calendars, stand alone flyers, company profiles, presentation pints etc 

3. Uncoated – This is the standard paper that we are all used to and It’s not shiny. They are good for laserjet printers and inkjet printers too. They are usually not optimized for cmyk (will explain the meaning just continue reading) printing though they can still be used for whatever printouts .They also come in different weight or thickness. They are the best for pints like letterheads, quotation sheets, exam papers, receipt books, etc   

4. Aqueous Coated-This kind of papers are very high glossed. They are also very superior in quality and durability. What usually happens with them is that your artwork is printed on them and a sort of a transparent water based coating by the name of uv varnish/uv coating is applied on it thus making the paper thicker, durable, semi water-proof, glossy, richly colorful, dirt proof, and makes it more anti receptive to finger marks. The uv protects the art work from wear and tear, therefore making this kind of paper good for heavy duty publications/print-outs like business cards, brochures, flyers, postcards which are hand-held a lot and undergo different processes e.g. mailing companies .They are also good if the publications/print-outs are for outdoor purposes e.g. posters on an exposed notice board and lawn signs.

 

 

File format

When saving your artwork for a printing company, there are some few things to consider:

1. File size of the artwork. It is always advisable to compress your artwork to a smaller size especially, if you will be using online printing companies (preferable). This is because small files are easy and are fast to upload or send via email.

2. File resolution. In simple language, resolution means the clarity and the sharpness of the work to be printed. The best resolution for printing is always 300dpi (dpi means dots per inches) or high to avoid pixelation (unclear printouts where the pixels are visible ). The problem is that the more resolution the more the file size increases.

3. File type. There are so many file types you could use, but the most important point to consider is; which file type will compress a file to be smaller and at the same time maintain the resolution of the artwork. Among the file types you could use are: pdf files , Jpg (pronounced as jpeg),Tiff, Tif, Eps

The best is pdf because its color on the screen does not change from the original artwork even if you view from different computer screens. Plus it compresses files to be smaller and still maintains the resolution.Eps and jpeg are also not bad.

Make sure that the color mode is cmyk as opposed to rgb (it will be explained just continue reading)

And a point to note; it is always important to proof read the content or text on your artwork or file before sending/uploading to the printing company. You don’t want to find yourself having printed 2000 pieces and all with spelling errors on them.

 

Click here to checkout this amazing software that simplifies the creation of the above mentioned print types. I highly recommend this with all confidence.

 

Deadline or time factor

Printing is a time consuming process and the time taken to print publications is determined by the method used for production. It is also determined by the printing company’s ability to handle mass productions in an efficient work flow and processes. Therefore it is important to plan ahead and part of planning, is to have a deadline or a time limit in which everything needs to fall in their right places before a given time.

You have to think about what amount of time it's going to take for the printing process to be completed. You could also think about some sort of contingency time(extra or additional time) in which you will use to redo the printing process in case there was a correction or something was added to a print job after completion (believe me from experience, i have had to  make changes made by a client after the printing process has ended).

You should also think about the time it will take for the print job to be delivered to you off course this will depend on the delivery service used and the distance between you and the printing company.

Make sure that there is time for review and critiquing the job among your colleagues or friends or even the client.(best be done before taking/sending the artwork for printing)

One should also consider the time for distribution e.g. dishing out flyers, pinning posters, placing brochures on counters and so many other time consuming tasks that could come in the post production process.

In summary, time plays a crucial role in determining a place for printing. The only advice I could give is; make sure that you plan ahead and give yourself some good time before you partake in this process of printing to avoid time related pressures. And make sure you are comfortable with every step of the way.

All this will guide you into knowing and understanding the best options for you when it comes to choosing a printing company and the best method to use for printing. There are two effective methods that printing companies use.

•      Digital printing

•      Offset printing

Digital printing

 Digital printing is simply a printing method that involves electronic prints or imagery from a computer into printers either laserjet or inkjet printers for both small scale or large scale printing- from flyers to billboards .Digital printing is the fastest method so far for printing as compared to other methods of printing. Depending on the printing machine/printer you use, digital printing has good quality. Laserjets produce quality artworks than inkjets this is because laserjet printers use heat to press the ink on the paper. It’s suitable for personalized prints and quick-run color prints

Now, the only problem with digital printing is that it is very expensive if you want to more than 1000 pieces. Digital printing is good when you want to produce a small amount of prints

You can even do these at home all you need is a good paper (glossy) and a good printer      (I would recommend the"Canon PIXMA MX870 Wireless Office All-in-One Printer";for more details click the image on the right or here).              

       

So if you have a tight schedule or your prints/publications are kind of urgent, then you should probably consider digital printing. The reason is, as compared to offset printing, digital printing doesn’t have a lot of processes such as separation of colors, transferring of artworks to plates e.t.c .it’s simply sending your artwork from the computer to the printer and that’s it. Most commercial printing companies use inkjet or laser technology. Inkjets are printing machines which propel tiny droplets of ink to the paper and laser printing uses toner adhesion in a heat process to apply ink to the sheet. Also laser printers are fast and produce good quality prints than inkjet printers. Inkjet printers are cheaper and fairly good especially for simple office tasks.

 Offset printing

Offset is a commonly used printing technology where an inked image is transferred to an aluminum plate, to a rubber blanket, and then to the printing surface. It could also be called flat printing or lithography.

In offset printing the image from the computer is burned on the aluminum plates using a chemical developing process identical to that of photocopying. It uses a process called color separation. Color separation is where colors are converted from RGB (computer image) to CMYK (ink based) into color component films/sheets of cyan, magenta, yellow and black (K stands for black so that it’s not confused with blue;CYMK).

Offset printing is one of the best printing processes if you want to produce a large quantity of print works.We are talking a large amount of even 50,000 and more print pieces printed both front and back. The offset technology makes it possible to print large volume of prints and to be finished fast without any variation in color or tone.

You can get your own unique templates here  or click on the  image below.

 

The good thing with offset printing is that it is economical and cost effective. It is cheaper than digital printing especially when printing large volumes of printouts (how ironic).Offset printing is like using a template where by, no matter how many prints you do, the template will still be one.

The quality is very good because the color distribution  on the paper surface is consistent though, it needs a lot of expertise and guidance . Another advantage with offset printing is that you can use a wide range of paper from matte paper, glossy papers to even aqueous coated papers. So the best thing to do is to ask the printing companies what type of papers they have and try to see how much using each paper would cost you and compare and see which one fits your budget without compromising on the quality and goal of the publications. This is the mostly used printing method by the printing companies.

 

When you are looking for an online printing company or any physically addressed printing company, you should research and do the following.

•      For online printers.

1.    Check their website for f.a.q,(s)  (frequently asked questions) page. Most questions and inquires are sometimes answered on that page.

2.    Try and know their experience in the printing field. You do this by checking their ratings or by checking whether they have the accredited or security signs on their web pages.

3.    Most importantly, check if they have a customer care phone number.Where you can reach them anytime for specific questions or inquiries

4.    Investigate and see their payment options.

5.    It will also be good if they have some sort of a learning tutorial or a guide so that you get to know the processes involved.Being clear on the processes makes them earn your trust and and goes along way to make you confident with their services.

6.    Check and see if they have some promotions or offers. This offers come in handy especially if you are working with a large quantity of prints.

7.    Check if they print the specific print type you wanted. For instance, if it is postcards you want printed look around their website to see if they actually print postcards

8.    Try and see if they have testimonials on their websites so as to hear or read what people are saying about their services.

•      Get quotes from at least two - three companies and compare. Too many options causes decission-making hard and time consuming.

•      If it is possible for the printing company to send to you a sample (especially for physically addressed printing companies), it would be great.

•      If possible try save your work in PDF format as mentioned earlier unless  the printing company has specified other formats. PDF colors,  images and text never change even when they are viewed from other computers regardless of their operating systems.

•      Try and see what time they would take to print and finish all pieces.

•      If you have a chance, observe their packaging while delivery the final print-outs .Good packaging protects the printouts from moisture and rough damaged edges or even dog eared corners.

•      Try and see what delivery services and the payment methods they use and their policies. Make sure that you are comfortable with that.