Beth Stacy, Director of First Impressions

The first voice you hear at any company can make or break your relationship with that company. So, Executive Press hired the best.

Beth Stacy is not only the receptionist, she is also handles all things financial for the company and is the direct mail department.

“I do everything from meet clients on the phone and at the front door to process mailing lists to cutting checks,” Beth said. “The secret to my success is that I love paperwork!”

The direct mail part of her job takes up a big part of her day. And it is more than sticking stamps on mail going out the door.

“The finished print pieces come to me, but there are a number of steps first,” Beth told me.

“Using specialized postal software, I process the list and divide it into the groups to get the best postage rate and discounts,” she said. Beth went on to describe how after those steps, the printed pieces are fed through the postage machine. The completed postcards, catalogs and other mailing pieces are then stacked in outgoing postal bins ready for delivery.

One of the things that makes Beth so approachable and likable as the company’s first impression is her love of animals.

“Our home is filled with our pets,” Beth said. “Two dogs and four cats warm up our home and keep me busy when I’m not at EP.” Being a dog person myself, I could tell when I met Beth that this made her special.

Executive Press is proud of our people and the work they do for our customers and in the community. When you call in, you can be assured that Beth and the rest of our team will do their best to meet your communication needs.

The Executive Pressman

Turnaround Time

Turnaround time. So, just how patient are you?

From the time of monks putting quill pens to parchment, the issue of "how long will it take to finish?" has been in the minds of both producers and customers. Once movable type came along then things moved faster. It only took days to get printed pages.

By the time computers made the scene as regular parts of the process in the 1980s, it got to the point that we were impatient. Waiting minutes for a desktop printer to spew out type when just a few years before we didn't mind waiting more than a day for the same output.

Technology does move the hands of time, so it seems.

So much so that one industry source has forecast that by the end of 2010, 30 percent of all printing done by professional printers and providers will take 1 day or less.

Wow, Gutenberg would be astonished.

Seriously, this is something we all have to consider when we place an order. How long something takes to be designed, printed, packaged and delivered varies by the product (simple brochure or catalog) and the complexity of the content. And the time sensitivity of the content.

Think about all of those things before you ask your printer to deliver something sooner than is practical.

The Executive

Typefaces and Fonts and Brand

Integral to the design of all documents that are read is the choice of a typeface or font.

It really is the "face" of a document.

First of all, what is a typeface or font? Actually, they are two different terms. A typeface, as defined by Wikipedia, "...is a set of one or more fonts, in one or more sizes, stylistically similar...compris(ed) of a set letters, numbers and punctuation marks..."

A font is, since the advent of computer technology, a single style of letter (to paraphrase Wikipedia).

So, fonts are a part of typography.

What does this mean to you?

Well, as a consumer or business owner, you can help shape your brand and look of your company. A certain typeface tells a story about you--from serious to playful to what your company does.

Setting type together with color, lines, shapes and photographs will define your collateral materials as well as your webpage. Be sure to be consistent and use the same faces in similar situations.

A qualified designer can take the concepts of your company and interpret them into these forms and shapes just as a qualified writer would tell your story in print or in a speech. Whether it is a PowerPoint presentation, a printed brochure or your webpage, what is written, both as a content and as viewed, is powerful to the reader's brain as well as their eyes.

The Executive

Presses versus copiers

As the digital age overtakes us, so do changes in the processes that we depend on and take for granted.

For example, printing and the printed page. We all have access to a desktop printer or a personal copier. And companies like Executive Press use printing presses and digital printers.

What's the difference between all of these beasts?

A traditional printing press relies on ink, a plate or platen for transfer and paper. The image is typically transferred photographically to a plate and then the plate afixed to the press. Ink is applied and paper fed through the press to capture the image.

Digital printers or copiers typically dispense with the photographic part and send the image straight to the image transfer system.

A good article describing the difference can be found here: http://americanprinter.com/digital-presses/printing_going_digital_staying/

The point is, while one might seem archaic or old, it still has it's place. Many applications (catalogs, books, larger forms) require large-scale reproduction and bindery. Most processes find a place, while maybe reduced in scale, as we move forward.

The Executive Pressman

Today's 5 Design Terms

We're going to review design terminology periodically in this space. Here are five terms to think about as you choose and work with a designer.

Bleed--when an image extends beyond the margins or the page itself.

Body Text--the central text or copy in a brochure, book, catalogue or printed collateral piece.

Descender--the letters y, g, j, p and q (in lower case), named so because their "tails" descend below the line they are written or printed on.

DPI--dots per inch, a measurement of definition of a digital image. Typical DPIs are 300, 600 or 1200. Usually measured at the full size of the image.

Greeking--dummy type used as a placeholder in an initial or draft design.

Those are today's five. Questions?

The Executive