Print Buying Direct

Keep Mailing – 3rd February 2009

In any recessionary period there’s always a danger to panic and start looking into what areas of expenditure can be cut quickly in order to reduce a companies outgoings. Reducing the number of printed or mailed out items is an easy option to cut, especially with the rising cost of postage, but are your competitors increasing their mailings and taking some of your market share?.

There is a cheaper way to send out your existing number of printed newsletter, leaflet or brochure mailings and with the money saved you can actually increase the number of items you send. How?, by speaking to Cheshire’s largest print and mailing company – The Printing House.

Talk TODAY to one of our mailing specialists about the options available via Mailsort.
Mailsort 1 – 1st Class next working day delivery
Mailsort 2 – 2nd Class delivery in 3 working days
Mailsort 3 – Economy package with delivery within 7 working days

So what are you waiting for? Call now and see how we can save you money on your mailings.

When designing for Variable data printing we use our uDirect XMPie Software. Please read on for details of what it does and how to design for it. For more information see our Variable data printing webpage.

BENEFITS OF USING VARIABLE INFORMATION APPLICATIONS

The output file is created such that static elements should get ripped only once and reused as needed. Both static and variable images, graphics and text can be printed on the same page. In many cases, large elements such as images, are not embedded in the output fi le, similar to an OPI workflow (referred to APR
by Creo). This allows the output file to be much smaller. It is commonly used for producing postcards, leaflets, brochures, annual reports, parish plans, town plans and business cards.

DESIGNING DOCUMENTS WITH VARIABLE INFORMATION

Unlike designing documents for offset presses, careful consideration must be given to the placement of static versus variable information. Graphic artists should have a good understanding of database and printing technology. They must also understand the capabilities of the software and hardware they are
using in order to successfully design a variable document.

LAYOUT AND DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

• Avoid using Quark frames on elements that contain variable information.
• When designing VI documents, keep in mind that trapping text at the RIP may not be applied to variable elements.
• When using variable imposition, ensure that all document pages are the same size and orientation.
• Printing documents containing simplex and duplex pages within the same document may not be supported. If documents must be printed with simplex and duplex pages within the same document, insert blank pages in the original layout and duplex the entire document.
• Whenever possible, embed all fonts or else the font must have the exact match at the RIP. However, OpenType fonts are cross-platform compatible.
• Type 1 fonts may have problems with kerning (may not be able to supply the kerning file).
• Some VI applications that create VIPP will take PDF resources and convert them to EPS but the result can be unpredictable.

IMAGE QUALITY CONSIDERATIONS

• For the best performance, ensure that all images are set at 300 dpi. Using a different resolution may slow down the RIP or reduce image quality.
• Ensure that all images are at their final resolution, size and orientation.
• All variable elements for a specifi c area should be cropped to the same size. Rotating, scaling and clipping images during the RIP will slow down performance and could cause improper placement or scaling.
• Do not save TIFF images with LZW compression.

VARIABLE FORMATS

• Some VI languages may not comprehend layering.
• If the VI authoring tool allows, position variable elements above static objects (bring to the front).
• When using APR with variable images, ensure that the names of the variable images conform to the same naming restrictions associated with APR and static images.

Information provided courtesy of The Printing House Ltd incorporating Print Buying Direct.