Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Bert, I`m pretty sure that`s a firefighter`s helmet on Chris`s head. My hat`s off to you, Chris, no pun intended. Firefighters, law enforcement and military personnel don`t get enough respect for the jobs they perform.

(edited to correct a typo)

LOL, ya know, yesterday I took that as "in your head" meaning I was sounding like a fool. But now I`m reading it correctly and I believe you`re inquiring about the big red thingy on my head. That`s a firefighters helmet and in the photo, I can`t seem to get the size right for this forum and I get squished. Oh and if you`re wondering, I`m not wearing it just for giggles. I`ve been a member of our volunteer fire department for 16 years.

Oh, yep, you guessed it!!!

Thanks for the kind words and you`re right, not enough respect and sure as hell not enough pay. Us volunteers get a whopping $500.00/yr. and some volly`s get zip. Zilch. Nodda.

I`d love to know the answer on the font swap if it was a PDF. I for the life of me, can`t figure out how/why that would occur. Every now and then I have to flip back and forth between my Mac and my PC. Needless to say one always has the original font while the other does not. However I can put a PDF in either and they both print the same. Strraaaaaannnnngggggeeeeee.....

Hey Everyone, I`m new here and I wanted to share my experience with online printing. I went to get some business cards, letterhead and envelopes printed. I had my concepts designed professionally and they use an .eps file for printing (or so I`m told) anyhow Vistaprint only accepts .jpg files so I wondered what kind of place does printing and doesn`t accept.eps files. So I found printplace.com they sent me samples of their work and the prices were really competetive so I decide to go with them. Well at first they had problems with my files so I had to send them the original illustrator files from the designer. When they finally figured it out there were problems with the online proofs and the .pdf proofs so after 3 or 4 days they finally sent me good proofs. (.pdf) well the proofs looked good so I went ahead with the printing. When I received the work in the mail the color in the business cards did not match. I used a dark navy blue and gold for my logo I had two sides to the business card. The front of the card looked purple and brown (as oppsed to Navy and Gold) while the back was close to what it is supposed to look but now the color in the front and the color in the back does not match. The printing in the envelopes are awful and the quality of paper is not what was in the sample. They have poor customer service and they have not resolved my issue. the manager said she was going to pull the proofs and call me back. That was 2 weeks ago and I have yet to receive a phone call. My advice to you is to stay away from the online printing unless its really simple work.

There might be a market for web-printing specifically for designers, with specialty papers, foil, embossing, etc. 

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Check out my blog: Upstarter.net: the simple habits of successful entrepreneurs

And my startup: ChatSpring Live Chat Software for Sales and Customer Service

JSondy… I think you have it right.

OK, I read everyone’s comments before me. Then wrote my comments... It took forever to accomplish, but here is my take on it…

There are several levels of service required for a printer. On the consumer side, level one is “can you copy this?” The next level is, “I have a brochure I created and need to print it for distribution throughout the company. How much will it cost?” The last level on the consumer side actually bleeds into the commercial sales side of the equation. This level is typically entrepreneurs looking to print a quality item do distribute at a one time event or to stir up interest in a particular product or interest.

On the commercial side, it requires more of a “hands on” approach in most cases. As I originally presented it, the commercial customer starts at the level of the entrepreneur. But truly the first level of printing for commercial accounts, require a higher level of attention to the customer. Commercial accounts print large quantity and typically employ a designer. That designer is sometimes part of the printing company’s team. In that situation content to the printed document is sent by email, one article at a time from many sources (writers), or as one file and the designer “plugs in” the content based on a pre-arranged “template”. So you can see how this type of printing service is more of a “hands off” process. It’s become so typical that it’s a process rather than a service.

The next commercial printing level, is generally those people looking for something more than a “template” style production. They should take advantage of a sales rep to discuss paper choice for the product presented, and other creative aspects that the commercial customer may need guidance.

The final level of printing needs for commercial account would be, those looking for special inks, unusual coverage requests, along with all those paper choices and more. Take a look at your local Ferrari dealership booklets. It’s quality printing compared to the nicely done full-color magazine you receive.

So it really depends on the level of attention your project needs. The unfortunate part is that many people setting out to print something don’t know enough about their options. They believe they don’t need “help” from a salesman. They believe what they see in their minds eye is exactly what they need, and will get. But in many cases, a sales rep can provide creative involvement and knowledge towards what a printed product will look like when the ink coverage bleeds through specific paper blends in different manners. Color shifts and many other complications can occur it not choosing the proper design with the proper paper and ink coverage.

Everyone values quality. But not everyone is willing to pay for it, or take the time to learn what actions produce quality. They just want what they want, as fast as they can get it. It’s up to the entrepreneur to decide what type of customer or demographic they can, or want to, serve.

I recently bought 1000 stickers containing my band’s name and web address, from an online printer. I want to pass these stickers out during and after our live performances. The price was right, and I don’t really care how well they come out… so long as you can read the name. For the kind of service I require in this situation, there is no need for me to employ my local printer. The cost of print, and shipping is lower than the cost provided by local printers. Maybe my local printers have too much overhead to accept a job of so little importance. After all, I am not likely their target market for this “sticker” project. On the other hand, the guy in another state may have different labor costs or might be a one-man operation who loves printing simple jobs. When the price is right, why should I deny the entrepreneur my business if he provides the service I require at a fair (possibly low) price.

Font Issues… Fonts are like songs. Someone created it and someone owns it. Each font on your system has to be registered. Of course, just as in the mp3 music trading issues, you likely have fonts that aren’t actually owned by you, or your system ships with specific fonts as a default. Those fonts are likely public domain or owned, then licensed to Apple or Windows or whatever. Anyway…

If you use fonts that your printer (and sometimes this means your personal printing device) doesn’t have, he will not be able to print the item using the same font unless you provide a properly designed PDF, Illustrator, or Photoshop document. If you are using the standard layout programs like Quark, or InDesign, you have to be sure to export all the fonts used in the document to allow your printer to print the document properly. Then theirs always the issue of each computer reading the fonts with a slightly different kern or using fonts that don’t work well with the printer’s ripping software.

EPS means Encapsulated PostScript. Full information about EPS files is found here…

It is a postscript format that allows the file to be placed into templates and ripped to a printable format… such as direct to plate or to film. Many printer like the EPS version of a file because they often imbed the file with all required font and image linking information.

Getting back on subject... I use online printing when I know the quality is not important. I also have extensive experience in the printing industry and graphic design. So maybe I have a better feel than most to determine when it`s appropriate to discuss options with a print shop`s rep.



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

UPrinting offers online printing services with a variety of customer support systems. Get dedicated customer support representatives to address your questions and concerns. To add to that, there is also a live chat option and a toll free number. One of the advantages that UPrinting has is that it has a physical location where local clients can actually walk in and request for assistance on their projects.
Online printing companies can definitely provide high quality print jobs at reasonable turn around times and reasonable cost. Going online means you save on transportation costs, and you save on time. Get everything accomplished online, from the design, to the order placement, proofing, up to the payment. Then just sit back, relax, and wait for the delivery of your orders.



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Online Printing Company | UPrinting

I think the more you can offer your customers the better as long as you make money doing it.

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Printing is essential for every business, whether it is a small one or a large enterprise. And these days, business owners prefer online printing for all their printing needs for getting fast prints. I would like to add that one great advantage of online printing is the convenience of the ordering process.

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Large Format Printing