This tip caught our attention because we’re always looking for ways to save you unnecessary work, particularly in the studio … that way maybe you’ll have extra time to enter your great designs in a contest or look at beautiful paper samples! PS

Need to know all the fonts that appear in a document, but you only have a PDF, not the original file? So right about now you’re naturally wondering if there is a way to tell which fonts are used in a PDF file. Why yes, in most cases there is, and it can be a real time-saver. However, there are a few caveats.

To view the fonts used in the original document, choose File > Document Properties (Command/Ctrl + D) or click on the arrow on the upper right of the PDF document, then select the Fonts pane in the Document Properties dialog. ...more

Depending on the printers’ customers, Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody (CoC) certification may be a necessity or a differentiator. An increasing number of corporate clients are requiring FSC certification for approved vendors. Of those who are not, many understand the public relations benefits that accrue from being able to display an FSC stamp.

“My belief is that it will be important for specific printers because of their clients. I assume that most large, international and even national corporations will push for certification. And this will make printers interested in certification,” says Gerry Bonetto, government affairs director, Printing Industries of California. ...more

Folding is my passion—having spent the past nine years of my life researching brochure folds. So, given my specialty, the first thing I do when I find a new folding style (after the victory dance) is to classify it. Yes, folding styles can be classified—in my work I discovered that folding styles have distinct characteristics that allow them to be classified into folding “families.”

I have found that there are eight different folding families: Accordions, Basics, Exotics, Gates, Maps, Parallels, Posters and Rolls. All brochure folds can be classified into one of these families, and once classified, can be further dissected, assessed for folding compensation requirements and named. ...more

Why is it that one misstep from a service provider can end a long-term relationship? Do we suffer from a chronic case of the-customer-is-always-right syndrome? Is it just too easy to take your business elsewhere when something nasty this way comes?

All I know is that improper or unprofessional behavior can ruin your company's reputation. Let me share three stories that are all true.

Incident #1
I've used the same car service for years to take me to and from Boston's Logan Airport. On my return to Logan one frigid and windy night, they failed to show up. ...more

If you think VDP means a mailing that simply mentions a person’s name, think again. Variable Data Publishing has come along way since the "Dear [Name]” mailpieces of the last 20 years.

Maybe Jim, who enjoys poker, could receive an invitation to a celebrity tournament where the players are holding cards with Jim’s name cleverly imbedded in the deck. Or, how about a mobile phone offer for a weekend at his favorite Maui resort? The image might show an inviting blue ocean with an island beauty writing “Jim” in the sand. ...more

Everywhere I look, the word "transpromo" is popping up in trade publications and on printing news sites. I did a little digging and a lot of reading to find out what all the transpromo hoopla is about.

A transpromo document is the marriage of a piece of transactional printing with promotional or marketing content - all in the same document. ...more