What is the resolution?

Whenever you are looking at the images in the computer, you are exactly looking at the grid of several tiny dots that are also known as the pixels. In the same way, when the photographs are printed, they also comprise of several small dots of the ink that is used for the printing purpose. Well, the resolution of the image often refers to these small dots or known as the pixels which are often squeezed into just one area. In case of smaller dots, you can fit them easily into the horizontal inch and this will make the image look really sharper before you.

If you zoom into any photo, which appears on a computer screen, then you can see these dots or the pixels easily that often creates the whole image. This is even more noticeable if you look closely at a newspaper, even better if you look at it through a magnifying glass.

It’s the resolution for an image can be measured trough the dots appearing per inch and it is known as the dpi (dots per inch). It is also known as the pixels per inch or the ppi, Although dots per inch is still the most common terminology. Well, the ppi and the dpi often refer to the same sort of thing. However, it’s simply the dots and the pixels and the amount of them when combined to create an image are measured.

The images we are viewing on the computer screen should have the dpi of 72 so that they can appear as sharper as well as clear, this is the same resolution used for TV screens and Mobile phones as it is deemed to be a goo resolution for viewing images. The images loaded with low resolution often results into the bigger pixels or the dots. This sort of pixel or dot is often detected with naked eye. This may generate a fuzzy type of image. If the same sort of image is taken in order to reproduce it on the paper while using a printing process that is used for commercial purposes, then the resolution should be 300 dpi. This can only produce a quality image and better outcome.

As far as the printed image is concerned, it often requires higher resolution with comparison to the on screen image. So, if you are having an image that appears to be sharp and clear on screen, it doesn’t mean that it can be reproduced perfectly when it will be printed!

This image was given above has the resolution of 72dpi.
That’s why it is looking sharp as well as crisp on-screen.

Now the image you are looking at is the reproduction of the above image after printing. This has been done through commercial printing methods. This appears to be fuzzy with comparison to the first one.

The only way to make it look sharp and clear is to increase its resolution. Reducing its size to the level at which this has been reproduced can offer better outcome.

Can I improve the image’s resolution?

As per the basic, the resolution of the image is often determined when it has been created for the first time. You cannot really enhance the resolution of the image that exists. In case you are trying to enhance the resolution for an existing image with the help of the computer, it may generate new pixels and these new pixels will acquire the color of the old pixels that surrounds them. This will further result into the blurry image and the ugly color blocks will appear on the image.

If you can reduce the size of the image and make it small on the computer, then the resolution of the image can be enhanced. Keep in mind that for an image the resolution as well as its size is inversely proportional. So, while trying to enhance the size of the image, its resolution will go down and when you will make it smaller in size, the resolution will go up. You might have seen it while zooming the images on computer in and out. If you have an image of 300dpi that measure it in this way – 100m x 100m, then the resolution of the image will drop to 150dpi if you are trying to reproduce it with 200m x 200m.

There are image editing tools and software that people are using which are enough capable of showing you the size as well as the resolution of the image. Well, as a user you can use this sort of information in order to measure how much you can enlarge or you can reduce the size of the image in order to achieve a proper resolution that is of 300dpi.

Here is an example of an image set-up for A5 landscape printing. The width is 210mm wide x 148.5mm high, and the resolution is set to 300dpi.

With this you can view as well as adjust the size of the image. This also helps in adjusting the resolution of the image. While using Photoshop, you can perform all these operations elegantly. Most of the image editing tools will exhibit the same sort of functionality.

Without printing at 300dpi, the end result will only be compromised, so getting as close as possible to this goal is very important, a resolution lower than 200dpi is likely to print poorly unless you are using it as an effect or background then you will need to try and get your resolution between 240 and 300dpi.

Lets say you want to create a grey which is 33% black. This is formed by using a percentage of black and white dots. So for every solid black dot there is also 67% of white intermittent dots used to visually create the appearance of grey.

This high percentage of white dots means that a lightweight or small font or even a thin line can affect the overall finished result, and can cause the font to look weak or or broken up.

The only way to counteract this problem, is to print the grey as a special ’spot colour’ or to
increase the font thickness so when the white dots are used to create the grey it doesn’t
end up eating away at the font. So tinted fonts which are either thin, small or very ornate will always struggle to look good, and are probably best avoided.

Another way of avoiding this line breakup would be to alter the resolution and use use finer dot with the screen ruling on the plates. Smaller, finer dots would visually help this problem to not look too bad. But that’s another story, maybe we’ll write a blog to explain it another day.

When we talk of flyer printing company, there are many benefits that it holds and will help you build your brand just by sending the business message all over the targeted audience. Though flyers cannot inform many potential customers at one time, however they are very effectual if your clients are confined to some area. If, you have opened the new store in your region and wish to inform the people living close by, then the flyer printing is a best choice.

The flyers are the best advertising tools for a company to get awareness about services and products amongst targeted audience. Besides this, it is effective in spreading the information about the new changes to be introduced to your company.

By flyers, it gets very simple to inform general public regarding any new offer and discounts that are offered by an organization. The flyers normally have information regarding the company and what business your company is in or services they are giving. It is one mode of the direct communication with customers that is effective than marketing techniques online.

Doesn’t matter which printing services online you are availing, thinking some important features is important. Selecting right content, graphics and color of the flyers is important since they will only leave the everlasting impact on customer. Flyer must be written in the language known by readers of area that you wish to popularize the business in. Content must elaborate the services totally. One more important feature is inserting the flyer with some attractive images. The graphics say more than the text and thus inserting the flyer with some good images and pictures is important.

Defining purpose of the flyers at time of designing is very essential. If flyers are for the promotional activities, then it must be very attractive in order to impress the audience and in case, it is for the informational purpose, then information must be detailed & written in concise way.

Once flyer is made, distributing them among potential customers is important. There is not any doubt that the flyer printing is affordable, cheap, and effective, but the distribution plays very important role. To distribute flyers will help you know the customer’s reaction. There are many companies accessible on internet that will cater to your needs of printing. Print-Print is one company that will give printing and flyer distribution services at best cost. When you have done the market research as well as have developed the advertising theme, now it is time putting it on the paper. Whereas there are some business owners who hire expert graphic designers.

The revolution in mobile technology has been the catalyst for this new media convergence.  Over a fairly short space of time mobile phones became an essential item, a way to stay in touch with your world.  The rise of smart-phones has expanded this even further, providing a permanent and dynamic connection to the internet.  This provides a new role for print; a real world gateway to digital content.  Through QR or Microsoft codes, printed material can link a mobile device directly to web-based content.  More low-tech solutions, such as displaying a website’s address in plain text, are now standard practice.

Exclusively digital media can suffer from a perceived lack of value that may well have nothing to do with the quality of the material.  The Seattle Post’s newspaper website saw a drop of 20% the week it became web-only.  Rather than becoming obsolete, printed information can be used to add a sense of value when combined with digital resources.  Well maintained data can allow marketers to target specific sections of their customer base, and digital printing techniques provide the opportunity to tailor the content to the interests or needs of the customer.  Further, if customers are provided with a way to interact digitally then you can invest more resources in the web-based content, knowing that the audience will be interested and willing to engage.

There are still those who doubt that print can stand up to the advance of technology, claiming that books will be replaced by eReaders in the same way digital downloads have replaced CDs.  Graham, Staplehurst, senior account director of brand consultancy Milward Brown, stated that in regard to eBooks “The idea of paper will be just quaint and interesting, an occasional anachronism”.  The Christmas of 2010  certainly saw a dramatic uptake eReader devices and eBooks.  However, eBooks have a much higher hurdle to jump than digital music did.  A song is a coherent object in itself, the format is secondary.  A book is different, the content does not exist independently of its format.  This applies to all printed material, a poster or a flyer won’t have the same effect if you see them on the internet.  Their tangible nature, the way they inhabit space, is a quality which cannot be recreated digitally.

Successful convergence utilises the potential of a range of media formats, using their strengths to build an exciting campaign.  Print can be a gateway to get customers engaged in a dialogue with a company, it can help build awareness and most of all it can provide a sense of permanency and reliability which is often missing from the digital world.  Print and digital can work side by side to the advantage of both.

Rather than highlighting specific issues related to printing, we are offering some tips which can help you get the most out of your printing. Designing for print is as much an art as a science, so don’t feel that you should be too constricted by guidelines, but they will help you to get the results you are looking for.

Colour:

One of the most important steps in getting the most vibrant colour in your printing is understanding the difference between RGB and CMYK. If you are providing files to be printed in four colour process you need to ensure that your design is supplied in CMYK.  Any RGB files need to be converted to protect your colouring. Also, check the paper stock you are printing on, as you may need to adjust the Total Area Coverage. The colour value’s total should never exceed 300%, and indeed you may need to reduce this number for different papers.

Image Specs:

Any graphics you place in your design will need a safety margin surrounding them.  This margin should separate the edge of the graphic from any other part of the design to avoid rebates in your printing.

Image files should be saved as TIFFs for the best results, though JPEG files can be used if you need to reduce the file’s size. TIFF compression is a lossless format, which won’t compromise the quality of your image. JPEGs will reduce the quality of the image as a trade off for the lower memory size.

Colour and grey-scale images should be produced at 300dpi resolution, and bitmap images should be kept at at least 1200dpi. Any lower resolution will reduce the quality of the printed image.

Fonts:

Do not use bold or italic styling options on your text. Instead, use the bold or italic font options, should they exist. The styling options will not be printed if there is not associated printer font. The space will be left blank or the text will be left in its standard form. Equally you should avoid stylised shadows or shadows.

Fine lettering should be limited to single colour only, and kept to a minimum weight of 0.25. Reducing letting to any finer than this can lead to unpredictable results, which won’t necessarily be accurately represented by your screen or office printer.

Backgrounds and Tints:

Solid black backgrounds should be produced in what is called a “Rich Black”, 100% black plus 40% cyan tint, to create a stronger black when it come to printing.  If you are using large blocks of colour across multiple pages, you run the risk of drawing attention to minor differences in the colour balance of each page. To prevent this, use as few colour processes as possible to create the banner.

Any content which runs to the edge of the page must extend beyond the page by 3mm.  If it does not extend to the edge they should be kept a minimum of 5mm from the page edge.

Silk OPP Lamination: Mirror Silk OPP Lamination provides a pearlescent finish, between matt and gloss. The lamination enhances the clarity and colour of the underlying print, and boosts the visual impact of the material. Suitable for most paper and card stocks, silk lamination is ideal for adding a quality feel to book or brochure covers.

Embossing: Embossing an image raises it from the background of the page, drawing attention to key aspects of your design. The effects of embossing can be dramatic on their own, but when used in conjunction with other techniques, such as spot UV varnishing or matt lamination, can create even more unique products. Embossed areas are best located away from creases or trims on the finished product.
Foil Blocking: Foil blocking is a cost effective way to add metallic colour to areas of your printed products. Using foils can create dramatic impact, both in appearance and texture, and is often combined with embossing to further these qualities. Foil blocking can also utilise pigmented, holographic and security foils to develop your printed products.
Selecting one or more of these speciality finishes can help your printed material to stand out from the crowd. While the more standard matt or gloss lamination and varnishing still work, using more dramatic finishes can make a huge difference to the impact and quality of your material. These exciting finishes will ensure that people take notice of your products.

Memostick is a recent development in print advertising, which has demonstrated high response rates for a number of different companies.  Memostick uses glue which is designed to adhere to a range of media, without damaging the surface or disrupting the print.  This means that Memostick labels can be safely stuck to existing printed material, without the risks of tearing or ink-transfer.  Once they have been peeled off by the reader, the Memostick labels can be reused and will continue to adhere to other surfaces, making them easy to store.  This makes Memostick a great option for producing coupons or vouchers, the adhesive technology helping to solve the challenges of distribution and retention in one fell swoop.

Because Memostick does not interfere with printed surfaces it is attached to, the labels can be placed to the covers of newspapers or magazines, where they will attract the most attention.  The most successful campaigns have deliberately placed Memostick labels in the lower right hand corner of publications, the point where people are most likely to turn the page, making sure that they will notice them.  The labels can be stored on a flat surface, a desk or fridge door for example, until they are used.  By retaining Memostick labels in such a way, they remain visible and more likely to trigger a consumer’s purchasing decision.

So far Memostick has produced extremely positive results, with response rates ranging between 2% and 17%.  A campaign for a branch of McDonald’s in New South Wales offered customers a free lunch from their deli range on Memostick labels attached to a local newspaper.  The response rate reached 16.9%, significantly higher than any other campaign they had previously run.  There have been successes in the UK as well, a Subway buy-one-get-one-free coupon was distributed with the Huddersfield Weekly News, and reached a response of around 13%.  The Memostick format obviously lends itself to localised media and redemption points, allowing for efficient reporting and analysis.

Creating Memostick labels is simply a matter of uploading artwork via a website.  To apply the labels requires a portable machine which can be adjusted to match the line speed, creating few technical challenges.  Recent improvements to the technology allows different types of glue, as well as different glue patterns, to ensure the best synchronisation with the specific paper stock and binding process.

Memostick’s strength lies in the successful distribution of vouchers or coupons, and the potential for customers to retain them in a way which re-enforces their appeal.  It is encouraging to see this kind of innovation continuing to provide companies with new print-based advertising options.  With the correct focus and support, Memostick based campaigns can produce exciting buzz and radically improve consumer awareness.

The proliferation of smart phones and tablet PCs have given large numbers people access to QR readers.  A two dimensional matrix bar-code, QR codes can be scanned by a reader, giving them access to information or weblinks.  Placing a QR code, with a link to a website or contact information, on a flyer or poster provides an easy follow up to the initial interest generated.  The audience can be given a link directly to a ticket booking service after scanning a gig poster, or provided with a map to a retail outlet from a flyer advertising  a sale.  Some companies have found more esoteric uses, such as providing nutritional information on food products by placing QR codes on menus.

Microsoft Tags operate in a similar way to QR, but offer the chance to do a little more.  Increased functionality means that tags can be smaller in size and read faster.  They also operate under a wider variety of light sources.  QR codes represent static information, while Microsoft Tags provide a cloud based back-end, which provides reporting on the frequency with which Tags are scanned. They also allow you to dynamically change your data source, so you could alter which website which your Tag links to, unlike QR codes.  Microsoft plans to scale out a more advanced analysis and reporting structure for its Tags service.

Neither QR codes or Microsoft Tags need to be restricted to simplistic customer service functions.  Unique codes can be generated to verify the authenticity of products, or as a tool to register new purchases.

Printed material can be given an even more exciting function by using it as a gateway to augmented reality services, or AR.  Augmented reality takes advantage of video-see-through technology, overlaying a real-time video images with computer generated graphics.  A user can scan a code or Tag, from a poster in a shopping mall for example, which will enable the smart phone or tablet to view the surrounding shops in real-time with an overlay of product information and promotional data.  Smaller scale AR can be used to add impact and excitement to printed material.  Packaging can include codes which generate a three dimensional models of the selected product, giving the customer a clearer idea of what they are purchasing.  Magazine or leaflet covers can be brought to life with augmented reality, providing details of their contents; Esquire, GQ and Grazia have all experimented with this already.

Interconnectivity between printed and digital information is creating new, exciting opportunities to connect with customers.  Involving people in a cross-media experience lets you grab their attention and get your message across.

Printed material can offer an ideal entry point to a wider marketing campaign. Dominoe’s pizza have had huge success with their ordering app, allowing users to order pizza via smart-phones or tablets.  To highlight this service to consumers, the app is featured prominently on the menus and flyers, which have long been the mainstay of their marketing campaign, helping them promote awareness of their digital presence.  With sales of the app topping one million pounds, this strategy is clearly paying off.  Waitrose have also pursued a cross-media campaign with great success, their “Shared Love of Food” promotion highlighting specific produce through TV, press and direct communication in their stores.  The result has been Waitrose selling fourteen weeks worth of rhubarb in just four days, following promotions with top TV chefs.

Printed material which is customised to specific consumers is now a reality rather than an aspiration.  A well managed, high quality database coupled with variable printing allows advertisers to produce printed material which includes personalised information.  Engaging customers on a personal level is an important first step in a multi-product advertisement.  The laws on digital communication require positive opt in, making print even more important as a stepping on point.  The rise of QR (quick response codes) lets consumers move seamlessly from printed material to digital content.  A two dimensional black and white square can be scanned via an enabled device such as an iphone, opening up relevant web based resources and drawing customers into a campaign.

Such campaigns are not simple to orchestrate; it is easy to bombard an audience with a message, resulting in the consumer rejecting the advertisement altogether.  A well structured cross-media strategy uses the strengths of the different media types to compliment each other, re-enforcing the brand.  For an integrated multi-product campaign to be successful in grabbing people’s interest  each layer of print, email, web or mobile communication needs to be seamlessly co-ordinated and automatically synchronised.

Building relationships with customers via cross-media advertising relies on accurate data and the ability to use it effectively.  Personalisation can only be effective if the data it is based on is correct; if customer details are inaccurate or the data is not well maintained the whole campaign is a waste of money.  Ensuring from the outset that the product you are offering is suitable and desirable for the recipient will save time, effort and resources.

When Mercedes Benz recently launched its £140,000 SLS AMG sports car in France earlier this year, it focused a direct mailing campaign aimed at 220 professional footballers. To get the message across they pre-loaded an Apple iPad with a feature film about the car which included a virtual test drive game. This was backed up by the same game being supported by Mercedes Benz website and after a very short while the game went viral, creating excellent exposure for the launch.  This is quote a cost effective way of getting the message out.

Despite the challenges which arise from cross-media advertising,  a properly orchestrated, well targeted campaign across print, web and now with the new generation of mobile devices can yield great results. Developing a personalised relationship with customers can drastically increase their response rate, compared to traditional marketing, increasing both awareness and interest in the targeted product.

Obviously giving away iPads to all your potential customers is not going to be available to everyone’s pocket, but it demonstrates that traditional printing services are by far means over – they can and will continue to run for many years and now in unison with new technology, providing fantastic results.

Digital tablets have made significant market gains over the last couple of years, with Apple’s high-profile iPad leading the way.  The success of tablets have led a number of people to question how long traditional print can remain competitive in the face of this latest digital revolution.

Forrester CEO George Colony commented recently that tablets would displace e-readers, and ultimately the internet, due to their capacity to incorporate multiple media types; what he referred to as a “Nexus of media”.  The two print sectors which appear to be facing the worst of this projected downturn are publishing houses and the press.  Both these industries are centred around a text based, physical product which is being targeted by the boom in tablets.

While predicting future trends is difficult, we can see a clear divide between generations. Young people are apparently reading only half the amount of older generations, although this is partially offset by the increase in life expectancy.  Even if today’s youngsters don’t expand their appetite for reading as they grow into maturity, the current market can be expected to support print for another thirty to fifty years.

It would be wrong to say that there will not be an impact on print; people are adapting fast to the availability of digital material.  Even before the boom in tablets there has been a huge move towards viewing text online.  Newspaper circulation in the US is estimated to be a little over 40 million, while the same newspaper’s websites are receiving over 100 million hits.  E-books have also taken off in a big way, with sales up 164% in 2010, leaving them with a healthy 8.3% of the US market.  Coupled with a retail sector struggling to compete with online services, and faced with huge rent bills, and the forecast for print could look grim indeed.

It is not, however, all doom and gloom.  But television, it was proclaimed, was going to kill radio.  It didn’t and radio is now reaching new peaks of listeners.  It did this by diversifying into niche markets and embracing the opportunities new technologies have brought.  Print still maintains a unique position, offering people an intellectual stimulus, quite separate from time spent using digital devices.  The immediate, tactile nature of both books and newspapers can’t be replicated by tablets.  Using tablet technology to browse through material is a user friendly and fun experience, but it remains substantially different to using printed media.

Ever since Apple helped itself to a huge slice of the music industry’s profits with the creation of iTunes and the iPod, numerous industries have felt threatened by the Apple machine.  Apple do appear to be pursuing the e-book market, demanding 30% of the sale cost of all books sold on their devices, but there is a long way to go before we see the demise of print.  It is up to  publishers and newspapers to keep their contributions relevant, tailoring their online and digital products to meet consumer demand while maintaining their profit margins.

However, similarly to TV advertising – most small to medium businesses will not be able to afford to advertise through digital tablet format, so the future is still bright for companies offering printing services – even if its used less by the big corporates.