Designer info Vol.1 “To bleed or not to bleed”

“Bleed is a printing term that refers to printing that goes beyond the edge of the sheet before trimming. In other words, the bleed is the area to be trimmed off. The bleed is the part on the side of a document that gives the printer a small amount of space to account for movement of the paper, and design inconsistencies. Artwork and background colors can extend into the bleed area and after trimming, the bleed ensures that no unprinted edges occur in the final trimmed document.”

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1. Trim is where the product will be cut.
2. Bleed is a safe zone outside the trim area.
3. Margin is a safe zone inside the trim area.

Without the bleed, there is no guarantee that your print job will come out printed as intended. This is only true for full color artwork. If the background of your artwork is white or needs no printing, then there is no need for bleed (so poetic).

Typical bleed are is 1/8″ outside of the finish size or “Trim line”. This means that your artwork should have an extra 1/4″ added to the full size before you send it to print. For example, an 8.5″ x 11″ document should be 8.75″ x 11.25″. Most print companies offer templates for the products they sell and they are always free. It’s always best to download and utilize these templates to avoid any printing errors.

This is just something that you will want to keep in mind when designing anything for print.

First impressions “shape” perceptions.

The fact is, regular Business Cards can get a bit mundane. Run of the mill rectangles, even when beautifully designed, don’t really stand out when you hand them to someone. Imagine a Triangle or an Octagon. Something unique. Imagine the impact of an amazingly designed BC printed on an unusual shape.

There are other interesting aspects of a shaped BC, the main one being shapes that pertain to a theme. A Cloud computing firm would certainly benefit from a cloud shaped business card. Flower for a florist and so forth and so on. The potential is limitless, it really is. Only stymied by your own lack of imagination.

Below are a few stats pertaining to Business Cards. They may or may not interest you, but it’s always fun to have little tidbits of info 🙂

The very beneficial Brochure

There are plenty of marketing materials you can print to promote your company. While business cards and letterheads are terrific for branding your business, anyone can spend a few dollars and have their own. Full color Brochures tell potential customers that your company plans on longevity and is willing to invest in telling you their story. Another benefit is the amount of time you can save. Writing an individual letter to every person that shows interest in your company can become a very daunting task. A brochure can be shared with anyone and understood by all (well most).

The perfect Brochure will entice customers with just enough information to convey the purpose of your company, give them an idea about what you can do for them and explain how you can be of assistance all without being overly wordy. Let’s face it, nobody likes wordy.

Vivid imagery and well pointed verbiage are always the best approach. Keep it informative and easy to understand, the rest is purely up to your imagination. Happy printing.