Folding & Creasing

There are so many different ways your print can be folded. 
The most common folds are shown below. 


Paper of around 170gsm and above should be creased before it's folded, this is to prevent it from 'cracking' down the fold. This involves scoring the paper before it is folded. Creasing can be done in a few ways - the most common is on a folding machine that creases just prior to folding this allows for a faster turnaround as it's reducing the amount of offline processes. The alternate way is to run it on a separate machine that presses the same score line into the paper.


Cracking occurs when coated paper is folded - it can sometimes purely be aesthetic but at the same time can also lead to a total failure along the fold. Cracking is made worse by heavy coverage of ink across the fold.

Most Common Folds

What IS all the difference between prices...?

So you've been searching for the best quote you can find (naughty naughty, you shouldn't be doing this... read here why!). You've got all these prices in from different printers and wondered why they're so varied...!

Direct Mail

Are you using it to build your business? 

Print Management vs Print Companies

While it’s often the case in business that you want to cut out the middle man where you can, it just isn’t the case when you have a lot of expensive machinery that needs to be running constantly! 

The majority of printers know that print management businesses will keep their presses in operation even if they don’t have time to seek the business themselves, clients & customers know that a print management business will take the hassle out of ordering, and that they’ll be able to offer a better price for the same product. Is this sounding ok?

So why does it makes sense to use a print management business?
A print management business makes sure that you’re getting the most out of your resources - they'll ask you questions about what you're printing and why.

Hell... it's convenient
Tap into the expertise of people who handle print for a living & avoid disappointment. We're here to advise, that's 95% of our work day - the 5% is the actual order of print.

The Bottom Line 

Use our purchasing power and experience to reduce your bottom line & get the most out of your resources

A print management firm will work out deals with a range of suppliers work inside profit margins on individual sales in return for a guaranteed stream of income. Rather than having to spend on expanding their sales teams, commercial printers make the calculation that it’s more cost effective to sell their products for less in exchange for the sheer volume of business that a print management firm will generate for them

When a client approaches us with a a quote request we analyse the item & contact the best fit suppliers which suit the job. Any one supplier we contact will know that we’ve put the exact same request to a number of their competitors, but they won’t have any idea who, or how much they’re going to quote. In order to guarantee their income stream, therefore, it’s in their interest to offer the best price they possibly can.

A client’s view
As of March 13th 2012 a google search for ‘online printer’ threw up this information:

It might have taken Google less than half a second to find them all, but how long is it going to take for you to find the best printer for you? A print management company like Blue Star Print Solutions has done all the research already – we know who can be relied upon to keep their promises on turnaround and most importantly quality. On the other side of it - we know who not to use!

Our company exists purely to get the best deal possible for our clients, with a focus on customer service and making the printing process as easy, and as stressfree as possible. We focus on these things because happy customers who receive high-quality products for a reasonable price are more likely to use our services again in the future. Our suppliers specialise in keeping a printing press running, we specialise in building client relationships & finding the best solutions for their printing needs.
Convenience

When all’s said and done.
You wouldn’t use a hammer to drive a screw, and you wouldn’t MOT your car yourself. Your printing is no different – if you use the right tool for the job you’ll get better results, for a better price, with less hassle. Blue Star Print Solutions is that tool. If you want to get the job done, correctly get in touch.

Think of us as your helping hand

Such a Creep...

... If the title had you wondering, then don't worry - this Blog post is all about a print term called 'creep' or push out or shingling or even feathering.

If you're not sure what creep is then i'll try and explain that first. Imaging you're printing a stitched brochure - a reasonable amount of pages and can be any size. Now this part you can do on your own. Grab a handful of paper (i'd say over 20 sheets so it's exaggerated), now just bend them in half like you're about to fold them... do you see the movement of the middle pages..? They all start to extend past the first piece of paper to the thickness of all the sheets you have.. That's creep.

Now imagine you have artwork on all those sheets that have been set up with the same guides as the first sheet! You'll end up having parts of the artwork chopped off. This doesn't really happen until you're at least 48 pages in on around 100gsm paper. There are various ways to prepare for creep - printers can have automated processes involved in their prepress to crop for the page creep or you can adjust the pages yourself. It's always best for this to be accounted for at the design stage so that everything is within your control. If you're creating a brochure and you're not sure about creep - then always ask for a paper dummy from your printer - this will be an exact reproduction of your final brochure and you'll be able to account for the amount of creep needed per page.

QR Codes - Quick Overview

• QR Code stands for Quick Response Code, it's intended to allow it's contents to be decoded at high speed.

• A QR code is a matrix code (or 2 dimensional bard code) created by Japanese corporation Denso Wave in 1994.

• The use of the QR code is free of any licence, clearly defined and published as an ISO standard.

• Back in 2010 QR codes were more common in Japan, and were the most popular type of two dimensional codes. This was largely driven by the fact that most japanses mobile phones can read this code with their mobile phones. Luckily this is now pretty standard with UK smartphones.

• So what can you do with a QR code? Well it's not only restricted to URL's or PURLS.. you can send an email - create a text message or as a contact card.

• If you want to start using QR codes - it couldn't be easier. Search for a simple QR Code generator and get creating. If you need help - we'll always be here to help where we can.

Get your camera around this...

...how about this...

...or this!

This space is left for the first person to comment on how they've started using QR codes in their material - and how it's helped them. You'll get the choice of your website or twitter QR code to display here. Just leave which one you want with your comment.

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Get yourself some Print Freedom

Paper Weights

So you've probably come across the term, GSM before. If you're ordering print of any kind. Whether that's business cards, brochures, posters or flyers you'll have already used the term, maybe without knowing it!

GSM means Grams per Square Metre. Basically it's the measurement of the weight of paper. This means we can be a little more precise when we speak in terms of thick, thin or firm, flimsy!

It also allows us to mark against your item a specific measurement of what your item is printed on. Allowing for easier reprints exactly as we did them previously.

So if you're new to this term - how can we make it a little more relative... well have a look below at the normal items and their standard paper weights.

Paper Weights explained

• 400gsm - This is the weight of a premium business card. Not to be confused with some online printers that provide only around 280gsm card.

• 350gsm - A standard for Bar or Club Flyers. Needed for standing up to a night out.

• 180gsm - 250gsm - Imagine a Magazine Cover with this weight of paper.

• 130gsm - 170gsm - The majority of posters are printed using this paper.

• 90gsm - Majority of magazine text pages are using this.

• 35gsm - 55gsm - Newspaper paper weight

Hopefully that will give you some idea as to paper weights and what these numbers mean the next time you see them on your screen or in a print spec.

Remember we're always here to help you if you do have a query regarding paper stock. So just give us a call or drop us an email.

Full Colour Printing (CMYK)

You may be surprised to find out that when any photos or pictures are printed they're printed out of 4 inks. CMYK. 


C for Cyan
M for Magenta
Y for Yellow
K for Key or Black

CMYK is the standard print terms for professional print, most of the time it's referred to just as four colour process.By overlaying each of these colours you can create a wide range of colours

If you really want to get into the science of it, feel free to click here.

Lamination

Laminate is a very thin sheet of clear plastic which can be applied to one or both sides of a sheet of paper. It provides protection from handling and prevents ink from smudging or coming off on the hands (this does not apply to most digital printing which use a dry ink toner). Lamination is commonly used on the outer covers of premium brochures, corporate folders & premium business cards.


Lamination is also a great way to bring out either texture printing or Spot UV.

What Does Your Business Card Say About You?

I want each of you now to reach into your back pocket - or your bag and pull out your business card.

Take a look at it as if you were handed this at an event by someone else. What are your immediate thoughts? What does it say about you, not just in the text - but in the design and the quality?

If you're not sure - follow this step by step thought process.

• Whats the paper it's printed on like? is it thick - does it feel premium, or does it feel a little flimsy and cheap? is it protected with a laminate?

• Whats the print like? Are the colours sharp and crisp? or is the line up of colours (registration) off? Has it been printed off on a home printer?

• Now what does it say? Has it got your attention or it a little hard to read?

• What about the design - does it look personal to the company or is it a generic template? Does it look professionally designed?

• Now how about the size, is it within the standard (85mm x 55mm) or is it slim and long or too big to fit into anyones business card holders?

• This one often gets over looked - are the details all professional? i.e. The address isn't a PO Box, there's no sign of a gmail or hotmail address anywhere? It's so easy nowadays to set up a domain and email address that no-one should be using these for business anymore.

All these items may seem a little bit detailed and over the top - but I guarantee you, you'll make these observations in seconds when looking at someones card AND you'll make judgements about their business.

The same can be said for yours. The next time you hand yours out to a potential client - they will be judging your business based on this. This is (most of the time) the first & lasting piece of business marketing that stays with a client when you've gone home - YOU NEED to make it stick.

What Does Your Business Card Say About You?

Pantone Numbers - How they can help your brand

Last month we talked about the Pantone System, a standardised colour reproduction system used by almost every printer to help create specific colours. When you think of large brands, brands that incorporate colour into their identity - it's more than likely they'll use a specific set of number to represent those colours. Take for example Ladbrokes - they have a specific ink mixed for their Red, this means - wherever they choose to get their items printed, the Ladbrokes brand is the same. There are still a few limitations with digital print - but even this is becoming rare with the advancement in colour matching systems.

So you can see the power of having a 'brand colour' attached to your business. It can also help with costs. Lets say you have a Green in your logo. Without a Pantone colour for this Green - everytime you get this printed - the printer is recreating this from the 4 colours (CMYK) by using a pantone colour you've reduced this to 1 colour. So again you can see the benefit in using a Pantone colour in your branding - of course it can work the other way also - if you're printing an item with a photograph in or something with extra colours, having a Pantone colour in there would mean adding another ink and bringing the inks to 5 (CMYK+Pantone). So it really depends on what you're print requirements are and what you're having printed.

I hope this has been of interest, if you're thinking of replacing a colour in your brand with a Pantone and would like some help - I'll be more than happy to talk through any queries you have to help make this as easy as possible. Just send me an email. richard@bluestarprintsolutions.co.uk or give me a call on 0844 272 9109.

Digital Texture Printing

Wouldn't it be nice if you could feel your print as well as see it. Well with advances in digital printing - it's now possible for that exact thing.

   Lets say you were printing a picture of an Orange, there'd be no reason why you couldn't incorporate the texture of an orange peel into your artwork so you can stimulate the sense of touch as well as sight with your next marketing piece.. or lets say your business is reptiles.. there's nothing stopping you adding the scaly skin from a reptile onto a picture to really make them come to life. The possibilites can only be limited by your imagination. Together with Digital personalisation the possibilities that your next direct mail campaign could really jump out to your customers could be too big to ignore.

If you'd like more information on texture printing just drop us an Email or call us with your questions or items that you're thinking of and we'll help you along the whole process.

richard@bluestarprintsolutions.co.uk or 0844 272 9109.

Newsletters

"The single most effective tool you can use to build PROPER Relationships with your customers." 
Nigel Botterill

If you currently send out email marketing or similar. Is there anything stopping you having a hard copy of what you send and posting that out as well? You could use the e-marketing to supplement the printed edition and provide even more information to your customers! We're making it easier for you to get your hands on some newsletters and are currently working out packages that not only include the content writing, layout/design & print, but the mailing of your newsletters too! That means all you have to do is sit back and carry on with what you're good at - Running Your Business. If you're interested in this opportunity - [3]click here to register your interest. We'll send you over the package details as soon as we've finished them.

Print Freedom

What is Print Freedom I hear you shout! Well, Print Freedom is what everybody has the ability to achieve and can lead to some serious time savings if done correctly.

Think back to the last time you ordered some print - did you spend a while looking around online to find the cheapest site or a site that didn't look too suspect to order your print from? Maybe you have someone you already go to for your print? But think about whether either of these areas are actually saving you money.

There was an instance of someone in a business ordering print, a salesman I seem to remember - he had a quote given to him straight away for the item - but thought "Hang on! I wonder if I can get it cheaper..." 4 hours later - he runs up to his boss and claims "Great News! I've saved £10 on that first quote!".

He couldn't work out why his boss was less than pleased with this!

Print Freedom is within everyones reach. Combining knowledge of the market, industry and products is what will eventually save money on your items. Take us for example - we're not tied to a specific press - which means we can direct your job to the specific press intended for it.

We'd love to hear from you if you have any instances similar to the above and how you overcame it.

Customer Spotlight - The Art of Wood

This month we look at Northampton based The Art of Wood. The Art of Wood prides itself on providing a unique service, tailoring fitted and freestanding furniture to your bespoke specifications. With more than a decade of experience working for the country’s leading furniture makers we design, make and fit top quality products at the highest end of the market. Excellent customer service, flexibility and attention to detail are paramount to the company, and reflected in our wide variety of clients and repeat business. Mark is also closely involved with African charity FREED UK and travels to Ghana each year to carry out humanitarian work using his carpentry skills. Learn more about The Art of Wood here.

Customer Spotlight

In the coming months we're launching a Customer Spotlight area of our website. This great new page will have some great stories from our customers. It will also give you a more in depth look into what they do... how they do it and who they are. It will have some great pictures and what they've had produced by us for use in their business.
If you would like to send usdetails on your businessand experience with us - feel free to fill out the information contained here and we'll get you up on the page aswell.


I genuinly am looking forward to reading each and every one of these as they come in. It not only makes sure that where possible we are addressing any issues - it also takes time out of business for a moment and focuses on who people are - which is so much overlooked nowadays.

Newsletters

"The single most effective tool you can use to build PROPER Relationships with your customers."

Nigel Botterill

If you currently send out email marketing or similar. Is there anything stopping you having a hard copy of what you send and posting that out as well? You could use the e-marketing to supplement the printed edition and provide even more information to your customers! We're making it easier for you to get your hands on some newsletters and are currently working out packages that not only include the content writing, layout/design & print, but the mailing of your newsletters too! 


That means all you have to do is sit back and carry on with what you're good at - Running Your Business. If you're interested in this opportunity - click here to register your interest. We'll send you over the package details as soon as we've finished them.


P.S newsletters are perceived differently from advertising - the majority of people perceive them aspublications and will build trust and position you as anexpert in your field.

What is Bleed?

This is the most common area of artwork that is missed when supplying files.


So we'll take a quick look at what it is and why you need to add it to your artwork.


If you're creating a flyer for instance and you have a background colour that you want filling the complete flyer -  this colour needs to 'bleed' off the edge so when trimmed, there is no white space. 


Take a look at our small image above to see what we mean - this image applies to the majority of files you may supply.


For more information on artwork and relevant settings and tips - view our artwork page on our website here.