Printed Leaflets – what they’re called and how they fold…

When a client contacts me here at DC-Graphics and tells me that they want a folded leaflet, a conversation often ensues with me trying to fathom the type of folded leaflet they have in mind.

A good example would be a document requirement of 6 pages or more. Documents such as these are normally designed to either be finished with a Concertina Fold (also called a ‘Z’ Fold) or a Roll Fold. Both names are quite close to what the finished outcome would look like. What follows is normally a series of questions from me to try and find out exactly what the client has in mind, what they have seen and if they have a sample leaflet for style in their possession. This can slow down the start of the design and print process, as they may have to mail the sample leaflet to me, or I have to travel to them to pick it up. One client tried to speed things up by actually photographing their sample leaflet with their Smartphone and then emailed the image to me! But if they had have had access to my handy guide below, a lot of time could have been saved. So below is a list and description of the most common types of folded leaflet used:

The Z Fold Leaflet

The Z Fold Leaflet is folded in equal parallel parts much like an accordion and will look like a ‘Z’ when viewed from above and opened out. This zig-zag style of leaflet is much easier to set up as it requires the flat page to be divided exactly into the required number of panels and will back up perfectly on the reverse. Example: A typical DL sized Z fold with 6 pages will fold into three equal sections measuring 99mm x 210mm. This leaflet size is very common as it originates from an A4 page which is in effect just folded twice. See the diagram. Because of this, the guides and back up will be exactly the same on the reverse.

The Roll Fold Leaflet

The Roll Fold Leaflet is a little more involved. The largest two panels being the same size at one end with the rest of the panels being slightly smaller so that they can fold into each other and line up correctly. This means each panel is slightly different in size and the designer has to consider the back up very carefully. Example: A typical DL sized Roll Fold will have three sections, two of which will make up the front and back cover and are the largest at 100mm each. The third panel needs to fold inside neatly without buckling the leaflet and therefore needs to be slightly smaller. As this leaflet will usually originate from an A4 sheet, so the last measurement must be 97mm. The first diagram shows the outside spread of the leaflet which includes the front and back cover on the right. The second diagram shows the inside spread which is the exact inverse and reverse of the measurements on the front. This is where most people slip up. The outside spread must start with the lowest measurement on the left and the inside spread, the lowest measurement on the right – remember, they have to back up correctly and so they are not the same on both sides!

The best and most simple way of checking that everything works is obvious. Print one out, cut it out and fold it up! If the margins and text line up correctly and the folding is flat without buckling, you have successfully created a correctly folded leaflet. Now call me on 0208 440 1155 or email me and I can start on a design and print your folding leaflet.

I Slapped Boris, Ken and Brian...

...on the front of a Newsletter that I design, print and distribute for one of my clients - Radio Taxis Group!

Issue 7, the March edition of 'Mountview News' - is a Newsletter that now seems to have developed into a 36 page magazine for all Radio Taxis' self employed London black taxi cab drivers. Geoffrey Riesel, the Chairman and CEO of Radio Taxis Group interviewed all 3 of the top candidates for Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone and Brian Paddick with the interests of London's black cab drivers at heart. You can read not only the 3 interviews but see the whole content of what I design, typeset and layout every quarter for Radio Taxis Group by going here.

My 'Magic' Marketing Letter for Business

I have been using a Direct Mail 'Magic' Marketing Letter to target Marketing Managers who outsource all of their graphic design and print work. This letter, once sent to a named prospect, ALWAYS got me noticed AND more importantly - remembered. It especially came into it's own when I made that all essential follow up phone call. It has truly helped me win new clients for my graphic design and print business. It's been so successful I thought it was time to share it with others absolutely FREE!

A small item (that costs virtually next to nothing) is added to your letter. You probably already have this small item at home and also at your office, so you could start to use this unusual method straight away. You use your own, existing letterheaded paper. You just need to copy me and follow my exact instructions to tailor it to suit your type of business.

My 'Magic' Marketing Letter secret will show you:

• What ultra-cheap item (you probably have already) to add to your letter 
• How it will make you stand out against all other mail 
• Why your follow-up phone call will work in your favour 
• How and why you will be remembered 
• Which day of the week is best to send it

To get this 'secret' information, I'm not asking for money, just a fair swap of your name and your email address. I will then send you by return email, my secret, successful method ABSOLUTELY FREE for you to implement straight away. All you have to do to get it is click here.

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.

Supplying Artwork for Print

MANY PEOPLE SPEND HOURS DESIGNING THEIR OWN MARKETING MATERIAL, knowing that they will want it printed professionally – eventually! But not saving your final work in the correct colour format and file type that professionals require can cause serious production problems when professional printing is needed. Having over 25 years' experience behind me means that I can handle everything from concept to completion for you. But, if you just happen to have a design completed and now need it printed, follow my guide below and you won't go wrong when you send your final finished artwork file to print and end up with a job to be proud of.

PDF’s are rapidly becoming the standard file format for transmitting files for printing, but it is important to prepare your PDF file in the correct way. 

 Supplying PDF Artwork 

Press ready PDF - with fonts embedded, for best results – high resolution – 300dpi. Here at DC-Graphics I prefer that all artwork to be supplied to me for printing to be as a high-resolution PDF.

 

Correct Preparation of PDF Files 

When creating a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Distiller, there are job options which must be set for commercial printing. These include default resolution, compression settings and font embedding. Please ensure you choose high resolution. Compression settings for colour and greyscale should be downsampled to 300dpi with “auto compression” set on high. Bitmapped (monochrome: i.e. line art) images should be set at 600dpi. Font embedding should be set to “embed all fonts.”

Bleed 
One of the most important elements in artwork for printing! Please ensure there is 3mm bleed all round the PDF, i.e. save the PDF with 6mm added to each measurement (i.e. for A4 usually 210mm x 297mm, save as 216mm x 303mm). Crop marks may be included if you wish. If your artwork is supplied without bleed I may not always be able to add it on for you and you may have to amend your original artwork yourself and then re-supply a new PDF artwork to me.

Bleed and Crop Marks 
As mentioned above, all artwork must have 3mm bleed if you require the image to bleed off the edge of the paper. Crop marks should be included if artwork does not fill a whole page area (i.e. no bleed). They should be 5mm long, 3mm outside of the page area and coloured in the colour ‘registration’ to ensure they appear on each colour separation. Please ensure that artwork is supplied at the correct finished size (i.e crop size) required. If this is not possible, please inform me to allow time for amending the artwork.

CMYK not RGB 
Please ensure that all embedded images are CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) files. RGB images may look good on your screen but final output to print is always in CMYK. One should be aware that files converted from RGB to CMYK may alter the colour composition significantly! Further to this, please ensure that objects that should be black only, (black text, for example) are not RGB black, but only show on the black CMYK channel.

Microsoft Office Files 
When creating a PDF from an MS Publisher or Word file, care must be taken to ensure spot colours are created correctly in your original documents. Do not set to RGB (Red, Green, Blue) colours as they cannot be printed as such.

Supplying EPS Files 
Ensure your files have bleed and crop marks and please confirm the final size of the artwork and supply a hard copy for reference.

 

Artwork Amendments or Re-submission 

I will endeavor to correct any easy to rectify issues that we spot. More extensive amending or correcting is charged dependent upon the amount of time required to rectify. Or I will contact you to advise how to correct the problem and request that you then re-supply a new PDF.

 

Imposition 
Please do not supply imposed pages or pages in “printers pairs” because my printer uses imposition software to impose correctly for our printing processes.

Booklets 
If you are supplying a document with multiple pages, please try and make the front and back cover of the document a separate file, and supply as single pages in page order. Also, please remember to allow for “creep” – I suggest you keep all text and copy at least 5mm away from the trimmed edge.

Fonts 
Include all fonts you have used in the file. Whilst I have an extensive font collection, there is no guarantee the version you have used matches mine. This can create problems with line lengths and spacing of the type. I will assume all fonts supplied are licensed and take no responsibility for embedded fonts.

Lineart and Images 
• Scanned colour and greyscale images should be 300dpi at the final size in the document submitted for output. 
• Images should be submitted as TIFF’s, EPS or JPEG’s. 
• Line Art (bitmapped) should be 600 – 1200dpi at the final size in the document submitted for output.

Screens 
Screen tints may range from 99% down to 1%. From a practical printing viewpoint, anything above 90% or less than 5% will generally not be visible to the naked eye.

Sending Artwork by Email 
Please address it to: studio@dc-graphics.co.uk with any relevant information regarding the job. Maximum file size preferred by email is 10mb. Files larger than this should be sent on disk or by using one of the many file upload sites that are now readily available and allow you to send large files, often free of charge. Check out either www.mailbigfile.com or www.yousendit.com
 

Sending Artwork on Disk 
I can accept CD Rom, DVD, and USB memory sticks. Please include a hard copy of your artwork for reference with any useful instructions. Please quote the order reference number and include a contact name, email address and telephone number in case of a query. Don’t forget to keep a copy of your file, in case I need you to undertake changes or corrections.

High Resolution Digital Proofs 
My print quotes always include a PDF proof. If you require a high resolution digital proof, then these can be supplied for an extra charge. Proofs are calibrated to the printing presses that will print your job.

If all this is too much to bear, then I can obviously design your project for you and all of the above will be taken care of for you at no extra cost at all. Just contact me on 0208 440 1155 or email me here.

8 Ways to Improve Your Direct Mail Responses

The offer of an incentive can lift your Direct Mail promotion – especially if it is desirable, not a gimmick and is backed up with good quality graphic design. And, most important of all, relevant to your product or services. It’s also a good idea to state a closing date on your mailshot, to provide a real sense of your reader possibly missing out if they don’t respond fast.

First of all, write a design brief for your graphic designer telling them exactly what you want to achieve, your target market etc.

1. Use postcards to send out a press release. Using good quality graphics, be sure to concentrate the text on a single event, such as a new item or a service that your business sells or provides. Keep the text simple, and keep track of the responses to the postcard.

2. Send the postcards to specifically targeted people – especially existing clients or customers.

3. Decide on the size of the direct mail. A postcard is normally A6 (148mm x 105mm) but you could go larger, say A5 (148mm x 210mm). Use 300gsm card thickness if possible, 250gsm card minimum. Graphic design and print quotes can be supplied by sending me your specifications here.

4. If you don't fancy the postcard idea, try paper, but folded in an unusual or unique way. Or have unusual fonts or graphics. As long as you make your mailing interesting and unusual, it can help in its success.

5. Write killer, compelling text that draws the reader in. It's worth spending a lot of time on this step. The text is just as important as the graphics.

6. Include a free offer or a special 'hard to resist' deal with your mailing (see ideas below). This can encourage a much better response to your direct mail campaign and whets your client or customers' appetite.

7. Send using second class mail on a Monday, to plan for delivery that coming Wednesday. This avoids your mail having to compete with any weekend mail build up on a Monday morning. Allow a couple of days to pass before following up, this gives the receiver time to have seen and opened your mailshot.

8. Make sure that you make those all important follow-up phone calls to all those you sent the mailing to. You just can't rely on sitting back and waiting for the phone to ring. It's probably not going to happen!

Some ideas of offers to use with the above tips…

• Money off in £££s

• % price discount

• Buy one, get one free

• Free first month

• Lifelong discounts

• Exclusive additional benefits

• Free trial

• A related product free

• Multi-purchase discount

• Extra amount free

• Enter a free prize draw

• Enter a competition

• Membership benefits

• Loyalty points

Good luck with writing your design brief and please contact me when you are ready to progress with the graphic design and print part of your intended campaign. I can then get back to you with a very competitive quotation.

What’s Best? A Brochure or a Folder with Insert Sheets?

OVER THE YEARS I have worked on a broad range of graphic design projects. I often have to advise a client the best way to tackle a project’s effectiveness compared with its cost effectiveness.

In terms of effectiveness, the difference between a brochure and a presentation folder with inserts really depends on the type of services or products you sell and your target audience. But with cost effectiveness the difference is not straight-forward. In fact a brochure can cost far less to print when compared to an equivalent folder with inserts.

Here at DC-Graphics, the question I always ask a client is how regularly the literature needs to change, be updated or added to. In many cases just one or two pages of a brochure may change over a period of time but this would mean that the whole brochure will need to be re-printed. So although a brochure may be cheaper initially, when re-printed the cost could be greater than an initial investment of a presentation folder with inserts, as only the affected inserts need re-printing. Alternatively several smaller brochures or leaflets can be more cost effective than one large brochure.

Another benefit of a folder is that inserts or smaller brochures can be used separately when required as well as together, adding further flexibility and cost benefit. If you don't want a normal 'run of the mill' A4 folder, I can design a custom shaped folder – perhaps with with curved corners, slots for incorporating a business card, square folders, interlocking flap folders etc. Even ring binder folders with the insert sheets pre punched and colour coded with the legend or guide printed on the folder itself.

Contact me here if you are thinking of instigating something like this and I will get back to you with a competitive quote for a brochure or a presentation folder.

Direct Mail Printed Newsletters Making a Comeback

EMAIL NEWSLETTERS are very often not read. In fact they are often deleted without them having been opened. They more often than not, end up in spam/junk mail folders and eventually get deleted for good. Many businesses are now realising this and are going back to the good, ‘old fashioned’ printed newsletter, sent out as direct mail, ie; in the post to a specific, named recipient who you know will more than likely receive it and open it. This means your newsletter is much harder to ignore and throw away.

If you do it the right way, a printed newsletter can be a really good investment for your business. It might be a customer newsletter to boost sales and referrals or it could be an employee newsletter to educate workers and provide recognition.

The rewards you could reap could not only be an increase in sales but improved employee morale and more enhanced customer service levels. Either way, your newsletter should generate a return on your company’s investment. And the more cost effective your newsletter, the greater the return.

Here’s some tips:

• Your newsletter’s articles should have a specific objective. Avoid using “fun” articles that don’t accomplish anything unless they are specifically linked to your customer's or employee's interests.

• Articles in in a customer newsletter might be chosen for their ability to draw-in potential customers, boost sales, encourage repeat business and improve customer loyalty.

• Articles in an employee newsletter might be used to spur-on workers towards a common goal, provide recognition, improve morale within the business etc.

Sharing:

If you’re a dealer or retailer, you probably receive some advertising money from your suppliers when you include their products in your ads and flyers. Take advantage of this advertising money by featuring your suppliers’ products in your newsletter too, either through an article or as a display advertisement or as an ‘advertorial’, an ad backed up with an editorial story.

Save on postage:

Reduce postage costs by sending your newsletter out with your invoices. You can save a fair bit on postage if you include your newsletter with another mailing you are planning. Using an A4 sized newsletter means it can be folded so it will fit inside your invoice envelopes.

Size does matter – part 1:

A four page, A4 newsletter is by far the most popular format for a company newsletter to send out to clients and customers. Sometimes a single A4 sheet printed both sides is adequate. Remember, if you are targeting busy business people, keep your newsletter brief, relevant and to the point.

Size does matter – part 2:

On the flip side, an internal, staff newsletter may need a lot more pages. News about staff and their achievements both personally and business-wise will fill more space. I create one every quarter for my client Radio Taxis, a black cab company in London. They realised that their drivers don’t do email that much, are obviously on the road most of the time, and so they asked me to design, print and distribute their A4, 30+ page newsletter every quarter. You can see what it’s actually like and even flick through it online by clicking here.

How I can help:

DC-Graphics can design and print a quality newsletter and even get it mailed out for you. This leaves you with time to get on with what you do best – your job. If you're thinking of creating a printed newsletter from scratch, then you will need to write a graphic design brief so that your designer knows your goals and aspirations. Check out my Gallery Pages 1 - 4, my online portfolio of work. Then contact me here for a quote or to send me your brief.