Understanding Crop Marks & Bleed
Crop marks are a set of lines printed just outside of the corners of your document or artwork to show where to cut or trim the sheet to its final size. They will not appear on the finished piece. Presses and digital printers cannot print all the way to the edge the sheet; therefore if […]
Scanning for Different Media
The process and applications of a scanner are relatively simplistic. It acts and functions much like a copier. It has the same little scanning bar that blinds you if you look into it, and instead of feeding paper (though a rare few do) it transmits the scanned object into your computer and allows you to […]
Understanding Viruses
The first tenet of warfare is this: know thy enemy. So what exactly are computer viruses? Computer viruses are devious little computer programs that attach themselves to legitimate program hosts and then engage in rampant self-replication. It’s easy to be fooled by their small size. Don’t be. They’re never small for long. Computer viruses propagate […]
Raster Images vs. Vector Graphics
Computer graphics can be created as either raster or vector images. Raster graphics are bitmaps. A bitmap is a grid of individual pixels that collectively compose an image. Raster graphics render images as a collection of countless tiny squares. Each square, or pixel, is coded in a specific hue or shade. Individually, these pixels are […]
Developing an Effective Brochure
Keeping Control There was once a television anchor that kept a typewriter on his desk at all times. The computer age had taken most newsrooms by storm, including his, but he was looking for security; a little bit of control in case the computers crashed just before he had to go on the air. We’ve […]
Writing Effective E-Mail Copy
Many e-mail users go through dozens, even hundreds of spam messages mail (unsolicited commercial e-mail, the online equivalent of mass direct mail) every day. And just as many people throw away junk mail, Internet users often delete spam e-mail without reading it. Though it’s nearly impossible to craft direct e-mail that everyone will read, there […]
Tips on Paper Selection
Choosing the right paper for a printing job can be a daunting task. It doesn’t have to be though. When selecting the best paper type for a particular job, you’re often faced with an overwhelming number of options. Asking your printer for “white” is like asking your waiter for “food” — you’ll have to be […]
Know Your PDF
A great, yet cryptic, philosopher king once said: “To know PDF is to know the universe.” Is this true, you expectantly ask? Is this really true? Well no, sadly it is not. But don’t be disheartened, for the truth about PDF is of far more practical value (albeit far less philosophical value). In truth, to […]
How To Use Fonts (And Why You Should Care)
Communication, both face-to-face and in writing, occurs on two levels: verbal and non-verbal. To achieve maximum impact, it is essential that this dual communication consistently corresponds. Think about it. Would you find a snickering salesperson persuasive? Would you find a monotone motivational speaker inspiring? No. Not any more than you find your state Congressperson sincere. […]
Quick Guide to File Compression
If you have owned your computer for a year or more, you have probably run into the problem of large files, and hard-drive space. The salesman’s promise, “You’ll never use all the space on this computer!”, sounds more and more like so much advertising. Once you actually start to use the computer for more than […]