Archive for October 2010
Artwork guidelines for large format digital printing
What makes for a good digital print file ? – The best method of delivery for a digital print file is an Adobe Acrobat PDF. A high resolution PDF means that the image quality of the graphics supplied will be sharp and clear at the nominated print size. When using photographic images within the main design, aim for a resolution of between 150 – 300dpi (dots per inch) at the finished print size.
How do I create a print quality PDF ? – Most modern graphic design packages such as Adobe InDesign, Quark, Illustrator, Corel Draw, Pagemaker or Photoshop can export files as postscript level 2 . EPS (Encapsulated postscript) files. This file is then dropped into Adobe Acrobat Distiller (set to Press quality) and a PDF is produced. This file is now ready to send to your large format digital print house via email or on CD.
What if I need PMS colours reproduced ? – Many graphic designers are faced with clients who have company logos that are made up of Pantone PMS colours (better known as spot colours). When it comes time to print a poster or banner, these Pantone colours can only be reproduced digitally in CMYK. Some Pantone colours will print very differently and cause all sorts of problems for both the designer and client. Always insist on a strip proof from your digital printer so you can get approval from your client before printing one or multiple copies.
Can you print files supplied from Microsoft Office ? – Word, Excel & Powerpoint are not recognized graphic packages and are therefore difficult but not impossible to print from. Most digital print groups will not accept files supplied in these generic formats. If you purchase the latest version of Microsoft Office 2007, you can get a genuine Microsoft download that will generate print quality PDF’s of your working files. This is great step forward in reproduction of work done using Microsoft products.
How to find a free printer
All of us like to get stuffs for free and why not all of us want to save that extra income everyday. If you search online you can come up with innumerable free stuffs online. One of the things that you would be surprised to find out is that there are also free printers available. Yes you have heard it right Printers for free – not a single penny from your pocket.
Why manufacturers provide free printers?
The reason is simple printers are less expensive to buy so much so that many people tend to buy new printers before the old ones have stopped working. Many manufacturers are so eager to get the profits from selling ink and toner cartridges that they are almost pushing their printers off the shelves.
Here are some ways that can help you find a free printer:
1. Buy a PC: Now days you can find many PC manufacturers that are finding ways to sell their systems faster. In the process they provide incentives to customers by offering stuffs for free. The most common stuffs they offer are the headphones, speakers and a free printer. So if you need a printer and are planning to buy a new PC then look for a system that has a free inkjet attached to it.
2. Find a friend who has bought a new printer: Old technology is hard to get rid of these days. There are various specific reasons that cannot be fulfilled by an older machine. So if you know someone who has just bought a new printer and wants to get rid of the old one why not ask him to donate the old printer for a good cause – namely you.
3. Check out a barter website: One of the popular ways to get rid of your old printer or scanner is to us one o the barter sites. You can browse through such barter sites and get yourself a printer or scanner for absolutely free.
How to Repair Printer
If you own a printer, you must have faced some technical issues that might have prevented you from getting the best out of it. Here are some of the common printer issues:
- Printer spooler service not running
- Paper jam issue
- Power cable issue
- Cartridge not working
- Paper rolling out of printer completely blank
- Printing result is not up to mark
- Driver failure
About 90 percent of printer problems are related with interface/configuration mistakes and special effects errors. Chances of any mechanical errors are very rare.
Interfacing and configuration issues arise when there is some problem in networking and you may get error like, printer is not found. There are two possible reasons, it may be not be getting identified by your operating system or there may be compatibility issue related with hardware. Please follow the following steps:
Step1. Cross-verify your USB cable, which is used for connecting printer to your computer. You must replace it if there is any damage caused to it.
Step 2. Make sure that your printer is being identified by your computer. From the main menu of Windows, choose the “Printers and Faxes” option and follow the steps to add your USB printer.
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Tips for Selecting the Best Small Printers
Basically, when selecting an appropriate printer of a small size, the success of your choice will depend upon a number of important factors. Of these, the particular specification and features of the device will be important. One of the primary concerns when trying to find best small printers is that you must align your preferences with the features and benefits of the many small portable printers that are currently sold on the market. You must then match these requirements with the price you are willing to pay, to ensure you make the best purchase while sticking to your budget limitations.
Small printers are available in both laser and inkjet versions. One of the first things you need to determine is how much use you will be getting out of the printer you are to purchase. If you print large quantities of pages at normal to top quality, then the best option for you will be one of the laser printer models. If you print less frequently, but require a premium quality result, then one of the top small inkjet printers will be a better choice as, while the cost of replace ink cartridges can be high, you will be using it less so will not need to replace it so often.
While laser printers do not need to be refilled as frequently, they are more expensive to buy. With a later, the quality of printing is very good and it will print at a much faster speed in comparison to its inkjet counterpart. The next issue to keep in mind is the resolution in which you wish to print to in terms of dots per inch (DPI). So weigh up the benefits between resolution in DPI and speed in page per minutes (PPM) and you’ll be on your way to spotting the best printers for home use for your purposes.
Other factors to consider are how portable your new small printer is. This is particularly important if you are travelling with your printer a lot and is one of the reasons one generally buys a small printer. Another nice feature is wireless connectivity, which allows you to link up to your printer from a lap top or even a hand-held portable device such as a Blackberry, Palm Pilot or PDA. Finding the best small printers to choose from is an exercise in shopping around and researching the main features that differentiate the good models from the average ones. For more information on how to choose a small printer, follow the links provided to visit our website.