Printing documents for professional use is a very complex process. There’s so much more that goes into it before pressing ‘print’. Professional printing services aim to make the printout look just as good as the computer document. When a document is printed professionally, the text is aligned correctly and the document colours are vibrant. Using a printing service is your best bet, especially for mass printing. Snupit can make it easy to find a printing service facility in your area. In the meantime, here are some clever ways to prepare your documents for professional printing:
1. Choose a document colour scheme
In terms of printing, colour is one of the most important factors to consider. The quality of your document printout is highly influenced by your colour choices. An easy place to start is deciding whether the document will be printed in colour or black and white. Nevertheless, a good printing service will have high quality digital colour printers. These printers are able to replicate pretty much any colour on your computer screen. If you would like to use color text for small font sizes, make sure that you use colours that will be produced with “solid ink”. This allow for the text to print better.
2. Be aware of your document page size
It’s often a good idea to select the document page size before you start typing, designing or anything of that nature. It’s a good idea to contact your printing service beforehand and check what printing services they offer. Before you create your publication, you should decide what size you want the finished product to be. Be sure to consult your commercial printing service. Try to remember that your page size and paper size are two different things. The page size takes the margin lengths into consideration.
3. Utilise bleeds if necessary
A bleed is an element within the document that crosses over the margin. A bleed will print in such a manner that it shows up on the edge of the paper. However, one shouldn’t forget that most printers cannot print all the way up to the edge of the paper. If you have elements in your publication that you want to print to the edge of the page, set these up as bleeds.
4. Avoid using generic typeface
Many people overlook the significance of a typeface choice. Some fonts tend to print better than others. Moreover, don’t forget that a typeface is often made up more than one font. For example, there is Times New Roman, Times New Roman Bold, Times New Roman Italic and Times New Roman Bold Italic. This is important when using a digital printer as it is able to pick up on these subtle differences with ease unlike a desktop printer.
5. Size digital photos and scanned images proportionately
A digital photo’s details are determined by the number of pixels that make up the photo. The more pixels that a picture has, the better it is for a document printout. If you happen to use a low-resolution picture do not be surprised when the image comes out blurry. However, pictures with a high number of pixels could end being difficult to print. Try to stay below 1000ppi.