Making it look good, even if you are the one printing it
Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers
It is inevitable: you will sometimes have to print stuff out and send it off to your client.
And, it’s just not economical or practical to print your stuff out professionally — every single time.
So, how can you make sure that what you print will still look good? Or, looks as good as it possibly can…
Tips and tricks to make your documents look good:
You can still make what you print look more professional, even if you are doing the printing on your desktop printer.
Here’s my list of what you can do to make that happen:
- Get a Laserjet printer: You can always tell when something has been printed on a Laser printer and on an inkjet printer. Nowadays, the cost of a Color Laserjet has dropped significantly in price and they are very affordable.
- Use good quality paper: The difference between a good job and a crappy one boils down to the paper. Don’t use the good stuff for everyday printing, but do have some on hand when you have to send stuff to your clients.
- Don’t design with bleeds: There will always be a margin with your household printer. So, unless you will trim the paper yourself after it’s printed, refrain from printing designs that include bleeds.
- Use hybrids: Your professionally printed letterheads can also serve double-duty by printing your invoices on them (just make sure you design around your logo). You can also use them as the first page of your creative briefs.
C O N C L U S I O N :
There really is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to print something out that looks professional — even if it’s on your own color printer.
FURTHER READING:
- Here’s a list of what you can safely print on your color printer
- Read this post to find out what you should never, ever think of printing yourself
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