On your way to the paperless office

Thursday’s Management Tip for Graphic Designers

I don’t know about you, but I have A LOT of paper. Stacks and stacks of it.

So, I went browsing on the Epson website (the US side) and came across a wonderful new scanner.

It’s the Epson Perfection 4490 Office and I now covet this scanner.

I don’t really need a new scanner, but this one may be just too good to pass up.

It’s got a document automatic feeder. So, put the papers you want to scan, and wham it creates a PDF for you. How fast is it? 3 B&W pages per minute at 300 dpi, or 2 color pages per minute at 300 dpi.

Imagine? Anything you need to keep, but would rather have a digital copy of, you can scan it and put it on CD. Or, it’s fantastic if you just want a digital copy of it (in case something happens to the hard copy).

Some of the specs from the EPSON website:

• Automatic document feeder for documents up to 8.5″ x 14″
• Professional level 4800 x 9600 dpi resolution
• 3.4 Dmax for wide dynamic range and greater image quality
• Powerful Epson Easy Photo Fix™ to restore faded color photos
• Transparency unit with dedicated light source for better scan uniformity
• Versatile scanning with film holders for 35mm negatives, slides and 2-1/4″ transparencies
• Digital ICE™ Technologies for film scans
• Powerful software package for photo and document scanning; includes Adobe® Photoshop® Elements

T A K E A W A Y S:

I wonder a couple of things and I’ll try and find out:

1. Can it scan front and back automatically?
2. Does it recognize if a page is blank?

Technorati Tags: Production, Technology

Keep client info close at hand

Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers

Today’s post is going to be simple. Very, very simple. And short.

There’s one thing (or 2 depending how you look at it) I started doing last year that has saved me a lot of time. A LOT of it.

I started keeping spec sheets with vital information for all my clients. I keep on a sheet of paper the colors, fonts, and other things that I need to remember for each client.

I also keep a contact sheet for each of them too. On the contact sheets, I keep telephone numbers, addresses, URLs, passwords, etc.

(Members of Design & Thrive have access to both forms.)

It’s such a simple idea, but I did notice that less time was spent ruffling through papers and trying to find out the information I needed on each client.

And it keeps everything localized.

T A K E A W A Y S :

It’s such a simple idea but trust me it works! Sometimes, the simple things are the easiest.

And, it will save you much frustration too!

Technorati Tags: Management, Production

K.I.S.S.: Keep it simple, stupid

Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers

I hate working off of production files sent by other people — especially non-designers who try and “take a stab” at it. BUT, it’s really bad when the files are created by so-called designers.

Whenever I get a file, at first, I always feel overwhelmed. I’ve got to go in and try to figure out what someone has done. See if the file is set up correctly and if I can modify it quickly.

My biggest pet peeve is getting a file that has NO text (character) and/or paragraph styles. If everything has been what I call hard-coded.

QUESTION: Do designers care more about the looks of the document than the way they’ve set it up?

Well, this type of file makes my job way harder.

I got such a file the other day. I had been told that it was going to be a modification of an existing file done by a bona-fide graphic designer.

Well, when I opened the file, I felt like writing back “I should charge you more for this”. I’d quoted the job as though I was “modifying” a file. Never did I suspect that it was actually going to be one of essentially building it from scratch.

Do yourself and all other designers modifying your files a favor: USE character and paragraph styles!

Here are a couple of reasons why:

1. Makes designing easier
2. Makes designing quicker
3. Keeps everything consistent
4. Ensures less possibility of formatting mistakes
5. GREAT for branding and creating a visual identity package
6. If changes need to be made later on, it won’t have to be done manually but automatically (and throughout the entire document.)

It’s all in the way you handle it from this point on:

My first temptation is to bash the other designer who did the job. But, as I’ve grown older and a little wiser, I don’t do that anymore. It reflects badly on all designers (and especially me). It’s expected that you would.

Instead, if you don’t and calmly tell the client that this is going to be a lot longer because the file is not set up to be easily modified, it makes you look very diplomatic and a professional.

T A K E A W A Y :

I sometimes wonder if it’s done intentionally (when designers are providing the final production files) to ensure that only he/she will be the ones modifying them the next time. And, if it’s not them, then it makes it that much harder for the next designer to use them.

Or, is ti because they are so eager to design that they dive in and let their creativity run free.

Regardless of which it is: keep it simple, stupid. You’re not just making it harder on others but yourself too! Not smart.

Technorati Tags: Management, Production

Always design with the final in mind

Wednesday’s Production Tip for Graphic Designers

It never ceases to amaze me. I received an email from a fellow graphic designer. He wanted my opinion and critique for a project he was doing.

He sent me a proof of a flyer he was working on. It had to be 8.5″ x 5.5″ and printed in 2 colors (blue and black).

And what was the proof he sent me? It was a PDF of a full color flyer. FULL 4 COLOR flyer.

So, I told him “Isn’t it supposed to be a 2-color job? ”

And his response was “Yes ” Undoubtedly surprised I would ask.

I was baffled. Why would you design something in 4 color (granted, only the picture was 4 color which took up 1/2 the flyer), if it’s going to be printed in only 2?

And worse, this was the proof he’d sent a client!!!

C O N C L U S I O N :

How can someone critique something like a flyer (or anything for that matter) when you are not getting an actual representation of what it will actually look like when printed?

And what about the approval from the client? They are approving something that ultimately won’t look like that when printed.

Still scratching my head…

Technorati Tags: Print Design, Production

Think about where your designs will go!

Friday’s Creative Review for Graphic Designers

WARNING: Parental discretion is advised. Sort of.

Some things just crack me up.

You know how I always emphasize that you should know how and in what context your designs will be used?

Well, you should also take into account how and where it will be printed.

Here’s a ad that appears on a bus. I don’t think I need to really explain why it’s really not all that appropriate do I?

I guess the designers never took into consideration what the bolts on the bus will do to the picture did they?

This is what happens when you don’t go and check out where your design is going.

C O N C L U S I O N :

Whether you are creating a poster, billboard, or an ad for a bus, go check out where it will appear. Check out if there are any marks or imperfections you should know about.

Another classic nipplegate example!

Technorati Tags: Branding, Production, The good, the bad, & the ugly

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