Digital Asset Management
Jennifer | 3:38 pm | January 21, 2008 | budgets, ads, prepress, process, workflow, planning, plan, General
All of your electronic artwork - support files, final ads, standards manuals, etc…. Are digital assets. It can be difficult to keep your files organised and even more difficult to ensure your suppliers and clients have access to them. There are online sites that make this simpler.
If you need to have offsite backup (that is, you need your files to survive your office burning down) you can use simple storage facilities such as X-drive. If you want a more robust solution that allow not just file management, but full search facilities and the ability to have clients work off your files, there are wide-ranging sites such as Corbis’ Media Management service, which supplies the option of fully automatic file storage, archiving and retrieval.
Guess which service is more expensive.
There are a number of solutions available to you. As always, they’re only worth as much as you’re willing to work with them. It’s still up to you to ensure everything is kept up to date and proper search terms (if applicable) are generated for each shot. If your supplier is going to allow clients to customize art based on templates you’ve uploaded, test those applications over and over. Find the least tech-savvy person you know and have them go through the steps. You need to be sure it’ll work for everyone. Otherwise it’ll end up being an exercise in frustration for you and your clients.
More vocabulary
Jennifer | 10:19 am | January 11, 2008 | prepress, terminology, printing, process, workflow, General
Production works in acronyms, here are some you might come across:
- FSI - Free Standing Insert.
Those annoying flyers you get with your paper are referred to as FSIs. - GSM - Graphic Standards Manual.
This is the visual bible for your brand. Logo and tagline usage guidelines. - PMS - Pantone Matching System.
Pantone colours are specific ink mixes that create a colour standard. - CMYK - Process colour. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.
This is the most common colour printing. These 4 colours are combined to create all the colours you see in printed pieces. - RGB - Digital colour. Your monitor uses it - Red, Green, Blue.
This colour profile is often used for digital and new media work. - PSD - Photoshop file.
PSD files are photographic files created by photoshop. They are commonly used in press-ready file creation. - EPS - Encapsulated postscript, used for images.
EPS files can be vector art or photographic images, they are another common format found in press-ready files.
Other terms and phrases you might hear thrown around include…
Working files. When someone requests working files, they are asking for the files used to generate the graphics. This means fonts, images as separate files that are linked to the page layout file. Working files are necessary if adjustments might need to be made. For example, you would send your printer working files if there was concern that some photos might need to have adjustments made.
PDF/X1-a. PDF files can take many forms, they can be small files meant only to be used on screen, or highly specific files made to run on presses. The PDF-X series are common formats used in printing, and PDF/X1-a is usually the file type requested by most magazines.
I’ll keep posting more as I think of them. After awhile all these terms become a part of everyday language, it gets difficult to remember what isn’t common knowledge!
Help from Stora Enso’s “Ed” Series
Jennifer | 11:20 am | December 14, 2007 | paper, suppliers, prepress, printing, planning, General
Several paper companies offer promotional materials to qualified designers to help sway your choices in paper stocks. One great series that I’d recommend you look at is the Ed series from Stora Enso. It’s printed to promote Productolith, an FSC certified coated sheet. I use Productolith quite frequently; I like it.The series is up to issue #11 and covers everything from metallic inks to Prepress to finishing options. Very good for both process and project information, as well as inspiration to designers when choosing projects.
You can order the series at the Stora Enso site, or check with your local paper merchant to see if you can get copies delivered. I think it’s well worth it.
Learning to say “No.”….or at least, “I don’t know.”
Jennifer | 9:46 am | December 13, 2007 | process, suppliers, workflow, plan, planning, General
One of the hardest parts of managing any ad campaign is managing expectations. Unrealistic ideas of how long a job takes are a common reason for jobs going wrong. It is really important to have a realistic view of the length of time needed for a job.
The best defense against broken promises is to not make any before checking in with your team. Don’t make promises on behalf of suppliers or other departments; you don’t know their workload or capabilities. This goes double if you don’t have the technical background needed to truly understand the job.
A good example is in photo retouching. Many assume that this is a quick and simple process, when it’s one of the most time-consuming parts of a job. If you’re working with a large file (ie, outdoor signage) the size of the file ensures that even the simplest changes will take a long time. Complex changes, such as retouching portraits, will take a very long time to ensure that they’re realistic.
Another big area of confusing is finishing. Once a job is printing there can be special folds, die-cuts, foil stamping, etc…. This might be done by a machine or it could be an assembly line, but until you get your timing from your supplier do not assume it’ll be a quick turnaround.
Don’t promise your client a delivery date before you check your timing. Clients would much rather you get back to them with a well thought out plan, rather than quickly agree to their delivery date, only to have to change it on them later. The former gives the impression that you’re putting in thought and effort, the latter looks amateurish and disorganised.
Protect yourself and your client; put in the time to generate a proper, realistic plan.
Usage & Copyright. A quick primer.
Jennifer | 9:37 am | December 10, 2007 | copyright, suppliers, process, General
With the advent of royalty-free photo sites everywhere, it’s tempting to think that purchasing a photo or illustration is like buying a piece of equipment. It isn’t. When you purchase photos, illustrations or fonts, you’re actually buying the right to use them in your work.
Many illustrators and photographers refuse to hand over copyright and that’s ok, you don’t need it. What you want to buy is an exclusive, unlimited usage license. The reason for the distinction is that if you own the copyright then the photographer or illustrator is legally unable to create copies of the work for use in their own portfolios or on their own websites. Paying for a “full buyout” or the exclusive, unlimited use means that no other company can use the image, and your company can use the image anywhere, anytime, in perpetuity.
If you don’t have the money or need for the full buyout, you can purchase a smaller license. You can buy usage for one year, or a small geographic area. Generally, if it’s a photoshoot you’ve arranged, there’s no point in the reduced license as the cost of the shoot will include the full buyout license for a nominal fee. However, if you’ve found the image on a website and want it for your work, take a look at how you wish to use it and negotiate with the photographer based on that usage.
Once you have the high res illustration or image, make sure you track usage! If you have not purchased a full buyout and your rights are limited you need to be sure that you don’t illegally reproduce the image. If that happens, contact the photographer or illustrator right away, and they’ll negotiate a reasonable re-use fee (normally a 50% discount is applied for all uses after the first) with you.
If you use images without a license, you’re opening your company up to fines that could be well in excess of what you might have paid through a license. The internet has allowed photographers, designers and illustrators to police their work, so don’t try to save money by using images without compensation.
I should bring up a special note with regards to fonts. Like images, you buy usage rights, not the font outright. There are many free font sites out there, make sure you look at the fontographer’s notes. Many fontographers do not grant free use for commercial interests. If you’re using it in your advertising, you’ll need to get the ok from the originator of the font.
Sign up for information! (Vancouver only)
Jennifer | 2:03 pm | October 4, 2007 | Vancouver, General, Uncategorized
Hi - the sign-up page for the jobs & events lists is here. Be sure to sign up so you get the latest information on what’s happening in the area!
Project management with Google calendar
Jennifer | 6:22 pm | September 18, 2007 | process, workflow, plan, planning, General
Using Google Calendar is a great way to keep track of projects if you’re just managing a small amount, and need to share information with your team. All you need to do is create an iGoogle account and you can generate calendars to track all of your projects. You invite people to view and comment on calendars, send emails to remind them of deadlines and you can access it from any computer with internet access. Multiple calendars can be created, and you control who sees which calendars. It’s a good free planning tool for anyone working on a team! To see it in action, go to Google and look at the calendars that people have made public.
Some vocabulary.
Jennifer | 10:34 pm | September 17, 2007 | terminology, workflow, General
Production has it’s own language (and it’s not all swearwords). Here are some common terms that you might hear someone in production say…
pubset - the newspaper will make the final change. Usually when a change comes in too late for the agency to make and ship to the publication, the newspaper does it. Sometimes the pubset isn’t noticeable, sometimes it ruins the design. You take your chances.
snipe - we don’t hunt them. These are usually those diagonal messages you see on ads and billboards saying things like “Hurry! Offer ends soon!” or “Only 3 days left!”. Designers hate them (not that you should care, I’m just saying).
camera-ready - a hold over from the olden days. Used to mean the publication would take your paper ad, place it on their layout, take a picture of the whole page and print. Now it means you send files to them exactly as per their specifications, so they can just drop it into their computer page layout software.
mechanicals - file specifications from the publication. Types of files, image resolutions, file sizes, ad sizes, all the stuff the person responsible for sending the file needs to know.
bleed - art that isn’t supposed to be seen. Many magazines run on shaky web presses (more on press types later). So they aren’t trimmed exactly. Bleed is the artwork that extends beyond where the page should get cut. That way if the press doesn’t cut right where it should, you don’t get a white border on the page.
live/safety - artwork area where all the important information goes. As with bleed, your live area relates to trimming. This time, it’s the space within the trim that the press, no matter how shaky, won’t cut away. All the important information in your ad needs to be kept in your live area.
Budgets and estimates: how much can you spend?
Jennifer | 10:16 pm | | budgets, money, planning, General
Learning to watch your marketing budgets and allocating money to your advertising is extremely important. Agencies and designers bill based on their time, and they will charge you for their time even if you can’t afford to print the result of their design. Supply a budget right off the start.
Good suppliers will give you realistic estimates. If you haven’t budgeted enough money you will know before work gets started and you can alter your project or campaign accordingly.
If money is tight, your suppliers can be your biggest allies. Sit down with them and you will be surprised at the number of suggestions they have. Sometimes you can save money simply by taking ¼” off the size of a brochure or getting creative with your colour options.
When putting your costs together, always ensure you get detailed estimates or quotes from your suppliers, not just a cost. You need to be able to compare quotes from competing suppliers, and you need the details in order to do that. It can also be an important tool to use if costs begin to climb during the job.
I’ll go into more details on print costing later. Remember that when dealing with designers and agencies, their cost is only one factor. The non-comparable feature is their design sensibility and the personalities within the company. You’ll spend a lot of time with your design team, make sure you all speak the same language when it comes to your advertising needs.
Introduction
Jennifer | 9:20 pm | | General, Uncategorized
It is often said that the cost to advertise is measured in the rate of response, not in the actual money spent. But for many business owners, it is the actual cost that can sink them in a hurry.
The goal of this site is to help you:
- Create effective schedules to keep you on time and on budget.
- Estimate projects accurately and ensure that cost overruns are kept to a minimum.
- Save money through communicating with suppliers and using your creativity.
- Understand file formats and pre-production.
- Understand various printing methods.
- See examples of printing prices, timing schedules, printer equipment lists and quotes.
- Learn how to troublshoot common production problems.
The site is broken out by area so you can go straight to the info you need.