How to Organise Design and Print in 6 Easy Steps...

"TIME IS MONEY" is an old business cliché, so when it comes to getting information to your graphic designer in order to get the ball rolling on a graphic design and print project, it pays to streamline the process and get back to what you do best – your job. If you have to keep feeding bits and pieces to your designer or answering questions regarding the project, it can sap your energy as well as your time. Follow my 6 easy steps below and you will find that getting it right from the start will speed things up tremendously, save lots of time and as a bonus, you'll come across as a well organised professional.

 STEP 1. Write a graphic design brief - which is basically a written explanation from client to designer outlining the key aims, objectives and time scales of a creative project.

STEP 2. Supply all text as a Word document to your designer in plain black ordinary text as they will be extracting and formatting it in their chosen font(s) within their professional graphic design package.

STEP 3. Photographic images should be supplied as JPEG files separately, DON'T embed within a Word or PowerPoint document. They need to be as large as possible, ie; copies of the original shots. Avoid downloading existing images from your website as they will be of low resolution (72dpi) and print images need to be 300dpi. Much better to scale images down than to enlarge them. If you use a stock photo library, then always download the 300dpi versions.

STEP 4. Supply logos as vector graphics, normally as .EPS or .AI files. These will reproduce at the very highest quality and sharpness whatever their final size. Make sure if you do, that all fonts are converted to outlines or paths. This means that fonts originally used within the file do not have to be supplied separately.

STEP 5. Your designer will probably supply you back proofs as a PDF file attached to their emails. You will need to check PDF or printed proofs thoroughly, ie; with a 'fine tooth comb' as mistakes missed will need to be corrected and the job re proofed. Thus avoiding a complete re-print which will be costly and delay the final delivery of the printed job.

STEP 6. When you are happy with everything and approved the quote for the quantity required, email your designer/printer and say "approved, please proceed to print."

I hope the above is helpful to all those of you who have to outsource professional graphic design for final printing. If I can help you with a forthcoming project in any way, please have a look at my online portfolio here. Then call me for a brief initial chat on 0208 440 1155.