Print is Not Dead

In a conversation this morning, The Pressman was reminded of the fact that the printed word is not dead. Here in Dallas alone there are signs like:

• The Advocate Magazine is delivered door-to-door to thousands of East and Central Dallas residents.
• The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, and USA Today are sold daily at hundreds of Starbucks locations in North Texas--and being read.
• Magazine bins are a regular feature by the doors of most restaurants in the Metro area.
• "Briefing" is published and delivered to Metro area homes by the DMN four times a week.
• Direct mail postcards show up daily in our mailboxes.
• Nordstrom still relies on catalog sales from the books delivered to its card holder's mailboxes.
• The same Starbucks still uses direct mail postcards to ask its gold card holders to come in for a free drink on their birthdays.

The printed word being alive means we are still reading as a society. It means many printers, writers, designers, postal workers, delivery people, fulfillment workers and others have work because of this vibrant industry.

Take a look around and take note.

The Executive Pressman

www.executivepress.com

Providing PDFs to Your Print House

Providing a PDF file to your printed didn't used to be an option. Now, with improvements to files, software and output devices, this file type is now useful and available to printing companies for use in the production of finished, high-quality printed products.

The Adobe product is now become the standard file for file exchange and output in the design and printing community. Since the PDF format is compact and platform independent, it is versatile and fairly easy and accurate to use.

By following the simple guidelines in the step-by-step tutorials offered on the Adobe website for your platform (PC or Mac), you will be able to repetitively create usable PDF files for production of your printed materials. The advantages are:

• Speeds the creation and approval of the final product.
• Generates a virtually error-free PostScript file.
• Shows exactly on screen how fonts, graphics and layout will print.
• Speeds the whole process, thereby saving time, money and relationships.

Consider this useful tool for your next design project. For more information, contact Executive Press for step-by-step help.

The Executive

Choosing an Appropriate Printing Partner

In today's economy, we all have to be more and more discerning about how and who we choose as partners to help us with our business challenges.

Do you know what to look for in a printing vendor?

We all need printed communication. From letterhead and business cards to catalogs and instruction manuals, the printing needs of a business are myriad. Here is a short list of what to look for in a potential printing partner/supplier:

• What is the range of their capabilities?
• Do they offer design services as well as printing?
• Do they offer both offset as well as digital printing?
• Can they bind or package your final product?
• Are there limitations on size of the final product or number of finished pieces?
• Do they offer mailing services?
• Do they deliver or ship?
• Do other people you know do business with them?
• What is their reputation in the community and their industry?
• Is their pricing competitive?
• What do they know about your industry?
• Do they ask questions?
• Do you know anyone at the company?

These are just "getting started questions" but we all have to start somewhere. Maybe you want to give them a trial job before you choose to give them all of your business. Be discerning, choosy and careful--but also be fair.

The Executive Pressman