Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Chris, I took a look at your profile, to find your Web site. You`ll want to put a live link in your signature (I can`t remember how, but you can do a search on the forums for text about it).

Google crawls the Startup Nation (SuN) forums, and lifts information all the time. To that end, you`ll want to flesh out your profile with some sort of introduction so people who pick you up will have a sense of who you are.

On your site, I clicked the Portfolio menu item, expecting to see graphics that showed off your work. Other than the Foundation logo, I didn`t see much. I`d encourage you to use those graphics. You`re a print media company, after all, and should capture the viewer`s eye with graphics...even if they`re examples of jobs you`ve done for other companies.

I`d also suggest taking the time to read the long thread about Brand Building, and a 10-word elevator pitch. There`s been some really terrific advice in that thread about writing in general.

For example, you have on your About Us page, "We`re Different." When I read it, I didn`t see how you`re different. It was just sort of generic stuff about how you "do" things, not so much what you "offer."

I`d also like to see some general rates, if possible. I know you want the contact for quotes, but I think I`m not alone in tending to walk away from sites like this. I`d like a ballpark idea of what kind of money is going to be involved, before I can even consider if I should ask for a quote. Y`know? It makes it more friendly, in my opinion.

How did you come up with the name Gonink? :-)

Craig,

Thanks for the feedback on the site and it`s ironic you bring those specific items to my attention, as I have been reconsidering our identity as of late. It`d be yet another revamp of the site, but I think it needs it.

The company name "Gonink" is part nickname and what we do. I`ve been known as "gon" (sounds like cone) for at least 20 years. Funny thing is, I`m the only who remembers how I got the nickname and yet people still call me gon, but don`t know why.

Now I need to go figure out my signature.

testing sig again.....

Signature changes will be reflected in all old posts. No need for testing. Just reload a page you once posted. And look at your signature. Did it work?

-------------------------

Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Yep, it looks as if it worked.

Craig, I was wondering, what type of general rates would you want to see? Things such as what it costs to get things printed or are you looking at items such as web design or logo design?

Couple of things. In the "small" department, under the "Thank you!" heading, the first sentence should be:

Secondly, under the Portfolio tab. I`d like to see more examples, and when I see a thumbnail, I`d like to click it to see larger---around 750 px high, and whatever wide. In other words, I really want to see what you`ve created, read it, and see it clearly.

As for rates, here`s what we`ve just experienced. We designed a flyer in Paint Shop Pro, at 8.5 x 11, 100 ppi. We then went to Alpha Graphics, thinking they`re a very major printing company. They printed it to a color copier-laser. The entire flyer came out magenta.

We then went to Office Depot. The first one we did was perfect. The second came out mostly magenta. Also to a laser-color copier, not a plain printer. When we asked about CYMK press, they said it wouldn`t be "cost effective."

Finally, we stopped at Kinko`s Fed-Ex. For 89-cents, they too printed to a laser-color copier. At last the colors mostly matched....still too magenta, but close enough.

I want a crisp, sharp, color flyer that looks like the back of a magazine. If that means 4-color press, fine...we`ll pay the money. How much for 100 copies? What file extensions should I provide when I break it into the 4 channels? How many pixels-per-inch should I develop this image in? I don`t care about DPI, that`s for printers....I want to know pixel resolution.

None of the places above had a clue. Nobody is a printing professional, they`re all working for minimum wage. The assumption is the machines will do all the thinking. Except the results sucked. They`re going to call "the guy from Xerox" to come and re-calibrate their machines.

Yes, there`s a reason for printers to still exist! When I look at an ad in Vogue, BH&G, McCalls, People Magazine, etc., it looks professional! The colors are right, the type is crisp, no matter how small! I can do make the flyer, but if I don`t know what I`m supposed to do for it to print that well, so what?

I`d like to see a printing company site that gets into all this! Sure, most people only want 1,000 copies of a Word document. They may want 20 copies of a plastic report. Fine. But that`s not why I want a real printer! I want a really perfect, GREAT looking flyer....! :-)

Craig,

So essentially, when you go to a printers site, you would want to be informed prior to production as opposed to trying to fix the problem afterwards. Is that the basic idea you have in mind?

And I will agree with you that going to Office Depot or Kinkos means you`re going to be dealing with someone who is just there to earn a paycheck. Knowing the reasons of why something prints wrong probably isn`t in their employee handbook.

Finally, I wonder why I`m not being emailed replies? I didn`t know you responded until I checked into the forum.

Check up at the top of the page, at the right margin, even with "Create poll" and above the page indicators. There`s the "Notify me" button.

What I`d like on a real printing site is content areas where I can learn something about pre-press, CYMK, resolution, and the "theory" behind printing. The content shouldn`t be just an abstract, but should continually remind me to use this company.

For example, "...and so pixels per inch are used to measure the resolution of the graphic you`re creating. DPI (dots per inch) refers to how many dots of ink a printer can put onto paper. If you`re confused, we here at Gonink have a friendly, helpful staff of people who can clear up the mystery." Something like that.

After I`ve learned what it is I need to do to my original artwork (assuming you`re not creating it and doing the layout), then I`d like to know ABOUT how much things like this would cost to print to a copier, print in 4-color, or what other options you have.

So for example, you might say, "Although we can`t give you a detailed estimate until we`ve seen your artwork, generally speaking a 1-page black and white standard letter costs 50 cents to print one time. It costs about 90 cents to print in color. We offer discounts for large quanties, so feel free to ask us via phone or email."

"For more professional jobs, such as 4-color press, we have an initial setup fee, then additional costs based on how many copies of how many pages. So for example, a 1-page flyer where you provide the electronic file(s) would typically cost around $150-200 to set it up, and $1 per page."

What`s nice about the Web is that you could also show an actual picture of a 1-page flyer, or 3-fold brochure. Next to it, you could say "This example was produced by our customer, who gave us all the files. We then set it up and printed 500 copies at a cost of approximately $1500."

Each picture would do two things: serve as a portfolio and give examples of pricing.

It`s not that you need a rate sheet for everything, but you can give us examples. There aren`t all THAT many weird print jobs, right? Most people are going to look for 1-page flyers, single or double-sided. Or they`re looking for 3-fold brochures. Then they`ve got some sort of pamphlets and those have a sort of standard number of pages.

Reports, advertising packages, business cards, letterhead, those are all standard, and you can just do a typical rate-sheet on those. It`s the authentic printing that people would like, but can rarely find any prices on....even ball-park. Y`know? :-)

Craig,

Okay, I`m certainly going to take your ideas into consideration. Your points are definitely valid and I want my customers to be informed as possible when contacting me.

And now I`m getting e-mail notifications of replies. Must be the New Year.