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Graphic Design Tips: Copyrighted Images vs. Royalty Free Images

We’ve said it before, and will probably say it again:  Technology changes EVERTHING! This is especially true in the field of Graphic Design.  The growth of personal computers and desktop publishing software made EVERYONE an amateur graphic designer. Now, the internet has become a wealth of knowledge and resources; especially for people looking for photos. This brings us to a VERY important topic: Image Use and Copyright Law.

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Commercial Printing Tips: Understanding Ink Coverage

Here at Universal Printing, we love “Good Design.”  Thank You Mr. Puppy, for helping us underand Total Ink CoverageNot only do we have our own talented Design professionals in-house, but we’ve been fortunate to work with a number of amazing Ad Agencies and Independent Designers from around the country. Everyone has their own style and work habits, but almost all of them have one thing in common: They always want tips, suggestions, and feedback from their Printing Partner. 

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Understanding Resolution – Digital Printing from Digital Photos

In our previous blog post, we started our New Year’s Resolution of “Understanding Resolution” (if you missed it, just click the link to check it out.)  This time, we’re helping you put this information to good use by helping you get better images from the very beginning, starting with your Digital Camera.  Maybe you just got a new one over the Holiday Season, or perhaps you’ve had one for a while now.  It’s never too late to review your settings and make sure that your getting the best your camera can offer.

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Your Printing New Year’s Resolution… Is To Understand Resolution!

DPI… PPI… dots per inch… points per inch… pixels per inch… No matter how you say it, it all comes down to one simple thing: RESOLUTION. In order to get the BEST print quality from your images, you need to know it, understand it, and never take it for granted.

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Your New Year’s Resolution… Is To Understand Resolution!

DPI… PPI… dots per inch… points per inch… pixels per inch… No matter how you say it, it all comes down to one simple thing: RESOLUTION. In order to get the BEST print quality from your images, you need to know it, understand it, and never take it for granted. First off, we need to know what resolution MEANS. Resolution is how many dots/pixels fit into one inch. The term “dots per inch” (dpi) and “pixels per inch” (ppi) are often used interchangeably. For the most part, images used for the web will be LOW RESOLUTION (referred to as “Low Res”) at about 72 – 95ppi. For digital or offset printing, we here at Universal Printing suggest that you use images between 300 – 400dpi. The higher the resolution, the sharper and crisper your printed image will be. Low resolution images will look fuzzy, jaggy and blurry. Who wants that? So, when dealing with images for print, here are a few simple rules to follow: 1. Photos should be at least 300dpi at final production size in the layout. 2. Graphics that include text should be at least 400dpi final output size (so the edges of the type remain clear.) 3. Resolution and image size are directly related to each other. Enlarge an image, the resolution decreases; reduce an image, and the resolution increases. For example: a 2 x 2″ image at 300 dpi (acceptable) enlarged to 4 x 4″ has a new resolution of 150 dpi (unacceptable). To help you figure your enlargement/reduction resolution, check out our Resolution Calculator. 4. You can always be taken away, but it can NEVER be added. True, you can shrink your image, but to get HIGH RESOLUTION images, the resolution needs to be set during the initial creation of that image. So if you’re scanning, shooting with a digital camera, or creating from scratch, what you start with is the most you’ll get. 5. What you see is NOT what you’ll always get! Computer monitors generally have a display setting of 72 dpi. WAY lower than the 300-400dpi we expect for print production. If we ever tell you that some of your images are low resolution, they may not look bad on your monitor but will likely print blurry or jagged. Things to avoid: Web images are predominately low resolution (72-96 dpi) GIF or JPEG files. This resolution is good for quick transmission over the internet, but is not acceptable for use in printing. Do not save images or graphics from a website to use in your print project! “Upsampling” is when a low resolution image is saved to a higher resolution with no changes in dimensions. This simply adds more dots per inch (dpi), but creates blurry images, ugly blocks of color, and high contrast in images. The only way resolution can be improved is by decreasing the image size, or by recapturing the image at a higher quality setting.

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Commercial Printing 101 – Yes… you have time to bleed!

Say what you want about the movie Predator, it’s consistently rated on MANY lists as one of the best SciFi/Action/Adventure/Bang-Bang-Shoot-Em-Up movies of our time.   It also features on of the best movie quotes of all time (in my humble opinion.)

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Graphic Design Tips & Tricks | Easy Holiday Snowflakes

Happy Holidays! Have you been preparing your Holiday cards, or winter print ads or marketing materials?  Nothing says “Winter” like the image of snowflakes, and if you want to know how to create your own original custom snowflakes quick and easily, you’ve come to the right place!

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Graphic Design Tip! How Does Foil Stamping Work?

’Tis the Season to send out Holiday Cards!  The weather gets a little cooler and winter is right around the corner, which can only mean one thing: Holiday Season!  It’s time to start breaking out the decorations and start singing carols like that old holiday classic Silver & Gold.  There’s just something classy about silver and gold.  It’s used for expensive jewelry, it backs our nation’s currency, it’ used for trophies, awards, and medals. Silver and Gold simply epitomize class, value, and sophistication.

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