What all graphic designers should know...

[Possum]

and apparently are NOT being taught in design school.

Before you even START your project –

Call your PRINTER! Find out what kind of file they need. Don't have an optimal setup? All you've got is Publisher? Fine, just let us know, we can work with you. We can help you avoid pitfalls, tell you what kind of graphics files you need, the importance of embedding fonts, etc.

In return, you'll get three benefits.

1. Your project will be printed with fewer delays and problems, and fewer unexpected results (that's not the color green I picked!).

2. You'll get knowledge you can use through the rest of your career, starting with your next project.

3. Next time you're in a bar with your old design school classmates, you can sound SMART! "Hey, Bubba, you didn't really send them RGB images, did ya?"

Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?

But if you insist on shoving a crappy file at us at the last minute, pleading, "I don't know how to do all that stuff, you're supposed to be the experts," be prepared...

to be skewered in the B4Print bar, where you can't even come to see what we've said about you, Ha, Ha!

[gnubler]

Anyone foolish enough to go to art school is doomed anyway. Suckers.

[ninjaPB_43]

4.  if you plan on not even attempting to learn the medium you design for, please step away from the keyboard, grab closest Louisville Slugger, and break both your knees.  Then roll your crippled ass in to the nearest print shop with file under one arm and an eighteen pack under the other. 

[DigitalCrapShoveler]

Communication with your local printer is essential. The quickest way to make your Printer happy is to ask what they want, and listen to what they say. They are there to help you, and the more they help you, the less they have to work. Appease them, and your job will roll on through like a round stone downhill... don't, and watch the cost of your job inflate to unholy proportions.

[Joe]

It would also not be unreasonable for me, the printing company prepress operator, to ask what your final trim size is supposed to be and you, the whiz bang creator of crap, to actually have a clue what it is. I mean just exactly how did you decide to make your document 10 43/64" x 16 15/16"?

And how about centering your work inside that document instead of shoving everything over to the top left corner and then leaving all of that extra white space along the right and bottom edge? Makes for a bitch in Preps to center your job. Let me know if it's okay to run it off center. I can accommodate this if that is your wish.

And if you want the job to print in black and Reflex Blue why is there 4 color artwork on the page as well Pantone Red 185 and Pantone Green 354 and 16 other spot colors but no Reflex Blue? Do you really not understand there might be a problem with this?

And seriously, just because an image looks black & white on your screen does mean it will only print in black if it is in the RGB color space. Photoshop has this wonderful feature called grayscale. You should investigate this marvel of the computer age.

And just because you have 9,000 fonts on your computer does not mean you have to use them all in your publication. Honestly, no one will be hurt if you only use 3 of them.

And error messages are there for a reason. When you get that error that you have images missing or not updated how about just finding them before you continue and tell it to use the low res screen image that you are going to complain about later? And that "can't embed this font" message...ha ha...wouldn't it be a trip for you to fix that so I don't have to call you at 11:00 pm at home while you are getting laid? Just trying to help.

And page number one is a right hand page. The page number goes on the outer edge of the page (the right hand side). So does the left hand page numbers (the left hand side).

And when you have finished your masterpiece and uploaded the files to my FTP site, before you go home, check and make sure they all made it there so I don't interrupt you getting laid again.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[tapdn]

Yep Joe, think that about covers it.  :cheesy:

[jimking]

It would also not be unreasonable for me, the printing company prepress operator, to ask what your final trim size is supposed to be and you, the whiz bang creator of crap, to actually have a clue what it is. I mean just exactly how did you decide to make your document 10 43/64" x 16 15/16"?

And how about centering your work inside that document instead of shoving everything over to the top left corner and then leaving all of that extra white space along the right and bottom edge? Makes for a bitch in Preps to center your job. Let me know if it's okay to run it off center. I can accommodate this if that is your wish.

And if you want the job to print in black and Reflex Blue why is there 4 color artwork on the page as well Pantone Red 185 and Pantone Green 354 and 16 other spot colors but no Reflex Blue? Do you really not understand there might be a problem with this?

And seriously, just because an image looks black & white on your screen does mean it will only print in black if it is in the RGB color space. Photoshop has this wonderful feature called grayscale. You should investigate this marvel of the computer age.

And just because you have 9,000 fonts on your computer does not mean you have to use them all in your publication. Honestly, no one will be hurt if you only use 3 of them.

And error messages are there for a reason. When you get that error that you have images missing or not updated how about just finding them before you continue and tell it to use the low res screen image that you are going to complain about later? And that "can't embed this font" message...ha ha...wouldn't it be a trip for you to fix that so I don't have to call you at 11:00 pm at home while you are getting laid? Just trying to help.

And page number one is a right hand page. The page number goes on the outer edge of the page (the right hand side). So does the left hand page numbers (the left hand side).

And when you have finished your masterpiece and uploaded the files to my FTP site, before you go home, check and make sure they all made it there so I don't interrupt you getting laid again.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Or breast feeding.  :laugh:

[ninjaPB_43]

..or headed to Cabo.

[gnubler]

You get five squirrely stars for that post, Joe!

[Joe]

You get five squirrely stars for that post, Joe!

I was inspired by my work day yesterday. :cool:

And thanks for the stars.

[Ear]

check and make sure they all made it there so I don't interrupt you getting laid again.

...or trying to win a battle against Slash on guitar hero.  :cheesy:

[Pointyhat]

Anyone foolish enough to go to art school is doomed anyway. Suckers.

I think that's the silliest thing I've ever heard, you're just saying that because you went to Art School.

[gnubler]

Anyone foolish enough to go to art school is doomed anyway. Suckers.

I think that's the silliest thing I've ever heard, you're just saying that because you went to Art School.

Did not! I'm a community college dropout, and proud of it!

[Sparky]

Anyone foolish enough to go to art school is doomed anyway. Suckers.

I think that's the silliest thing I've ever heard, you're just saying that because you went to Art School.

Did not! I'm a community college dropout, and proud of it!

Me too gnub... Los Angeles City College though, Architecture, 18 units my first semester (summer 1969) I was smokin pot with the "Judas Priest MC" on the quad while my math analysis professor didn't even miss me :rolleyes:

[Pointyhat]

Well then, I retract, It's now just the silliest thing I've ever heard.